your own way
GE T
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Photo Credit: KAI YORK
DO YOU EVER NOTICE YOURSELF SAYING ONE THING AND DOING ANOTHER?
13.
This phenomenon comes up in the sport of physique competition
because the real work is in the weeks and months leading up to
the contest. It’s one thing to say “I”m doing a show!” but it’s
the little decisions along the way that add up to big results, either
positive or negative. When an athlete’s thoughts are on point,
the result is clear. The opposite is also true. When our thoughts
are off, our actions reflect that self-talk and the mediocre results
speak for themselves.
level in her next contest, feeling very proud of her accomplishment.
Another teammate decided that her life would be better if she
started working out after work instead of before. She posted her
goal for herself on the team’s private Facebook page and gave
herself a realistic deadline of 6 months to practice this skill. Using
the resources available to her, making herself accountable, and
giving herself a realistic timeframe in which to practice the new
skill, are three helpful methods she used for effective goal setting.
Mindset is everything. How you think has an appreciable effect
on how the body responds to training, nutrition, water, and
quality rest. In our book The Team Blessed Bodies Athlete Mindset
Workbook, which we co-authored with famed Sports Psychologist
Terry Orlick, we have a whole chapter dedicated to Clearing the
Obstacles to Excellence. Here are some things that a few of our
Blessed Bodies competitors have done to help themselves when
self-sabotaging thoughts were an issue.
Another teammate rewards herself whenever she accomplishes
a short term goal, like accumulating days of consistency and
compliance to her plan. She’ll buy herself a cute new sports bra,
snap a photo of herself in it, and post it on Instagram as a way to
treat herself and celebrate her hard work.
One athlete in contest prep found that she struggled late in the
day to adhere to her nutrition plan. She started putting reminders
in her phone to put herself to bed early, and created a phone tree
of teammates whom she could call if she felt stressed. It worked.
She placed second out of thirteen, and qualified for the regional
Self-Sabotage is another issue. One athlete, when she’s having
trouble making it to the gym, will call a training partner or a
friend and ask them to meet her there, as a way of getting
herself to do it.
All these strategies can help an athlete stay focused when negative
self-talk or behaviors come up.