THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE: Unlocking the mystery of motivation and visualization

By Chad Nikazy

www.topstepfitness.com

4/22/08

 

Motivation. It’s a tricky concept when it comes to sports performance and even more so when it comes to general fitness.

 

For athletes it shouldn’t be hard to find your motivation. The great ones are internally motivated and seldom have trouble finding new motivators even once they’ve accomplished their initial goals. I’m certainly not lumping myself into that “great ones” category, but I’ve always fit into the internally motivated category. I just don’t have trouble finding ways to get motivated. I learned as a young teen to practice visualization with regard to my sport at the time – wrestling. There was a legend that went around about my coach that he could take us “down the spiral staircase”. During that mythical trip we could lose 5 pounds and become champions in our minds. Although we never went “down the staircase” we learned the principles from him and practiced them on our own. I spent hours in quiet meditation – staring a hole through the wall or the ceiling – visualizing success in competition. I saw it, felt it, heard it, smelled it all in my head. When the real thing came around I had already been down that road and was well prepared. I won my state championship 1000 times by the time I actually won it on the mat.

 

Visualization practice not only applies to wrestlers though, triathletes, runners, cyclists, and certainly mixed martial artists can apply the principles as well. If you’re competing in anything – regardless of what the sport may be – someone out there is training to beat you. They honestly believe they will beat you. And they’re training to do so – training hard. How hard (smart) are you training? I trained myself and I train my athletes so hard that it’s inconceivable that anyone is working harder. Understand, I’m not suggesting overtraining. Part of training “hard” is training smart. Enlisting the help of a good coach (E-geeks / Top Step Fitness) will make training hard and to your limit a successful endeavor.

 

Now for the tough part. What if you’re just a regular guy/girl who wants to shed a few pounds and live a little longer? Motivation tends to run out easier for these folks. I’ve been training people for nearly 10 years now and I see it all the time (seeing it now as a matter of fact). Enter the mental reset button; THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE. Visualize yourself at the top of a long and winding spiral staircase. At each descending floor are the obstacles that have held you back from reaching your potential. You’re going down those stairs and you’re going to confront them – and win. These obstacles are your own and everyone’s are different. Get a notepad out. Write them down. Really think about your life. What are the things that have kept you from achieving the fitness you desperately want? You can’t say you don’t “desperately want” fitness or you wouldn’t still be reading this. So what are they? No time? Fear of failure? Fear of the unknown? Bad past experiences? Bullying? Name calling? For athletes it can be specific opponents, our athletic limiters, fear of failure, or even fear of success (believe it or not, this enemy lived on my own stair case). It’s dark going down the Spiral staircase, but for the first time in your life you’re headed down those stairs with the light of hope following you – floor by floor. Now spend quiet time practicing the spiral staircase in your mind. You’ve named your enemies. Now ask yourself why you can’t defeat them? On the spiral staircase there are no answers to those questions, because you CAN defeat them. Visualize it. Nothing can hold you back. You’re strong and resolute. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.- 2 Timothy 1:7

 

Set goals for yourself. Work with your coach to figure out how you’re going to achieve them. When you start questioning yourself it’s time for another trip down the staircase. Each time you become stronger as your enemies become smaller and weaker.

 

Visualize success. Understand though, that there is no instant gratification on the stair case. It’s an exhausting process just like exercise itself. Try it. It will pay off.

____________________________________________

RESISTANCE TRAINING FOR ATHLETES

By Chad Nikazy

www.topstepfitness.com

This installment comes from our friend Chad Nikazy of Top Step Fitness: Wrestling, Multisport and Conditioning. Chad is a competitive triathlete – and when it comes to sports conditioning and getting the most from your weight workouts, he’s the go to guy. Visit his website at www.topstepfitness.com.

Like all relationships, my love affair with the weight room has had its ups and downs. As a high school wrestler I put just enough hours to get by. But then came college and the “bigger is better” mentality. I was 5’5 and 135lbs, but found myself working out with the “300 club,” a group of guys who could all bench at least 300lbs.

While I never put up 300lbs, I benched 285lbs and was, pound for pound, easily the strongest in the group. Plus, I was having a blast. Lifting daily and fueling the habit with a steady diet of pizza, beer, and a few dangerous supplements, I packed on an extra 25lbs of (mostly) muscle.

Flash forward to marriage and adulthood. My 160lbs had “redistributed” itself in all the wrong places. Enter my sudden interest in triathlon training. Swimming, running, and cycling took the pounds off. I did a little lifting but kept it to one set of each muscle group for 15-20 light reps. I wanted to steer clear of my old ways.

Problem was, I kept catching my wife giving me strange glances. I’d lost nearly 30lbs and I was a fast triathlete – but I’d also gone from muscle-bound to Poindexter. Worst of all, I was much more prone to injury.

Now my training – and the way I train my athletes – is geared toward preparing for a fight…because essentially that’s what we’re doing. Whether wrestler or triathlete, we’re all preparing for a struggle requiring muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility – not just a strong heart and lungs.

What follows are some things I’ve learned from years of doing things the wrong way:

Body Weight Exercises

These are absolutely key because they typically engage multiple-joints and – obviously, require that you lift and carry your own body weight. Plus, such exercises mimic the stresses of actual competition. Try pushups (there are many variations), squats, lunges, pull-ups, etc.

 

Train On Your Feet

Forget lying on a bench or sitting down. Standing forces core body stabilization to support the weight. Also helps work your abs and back.

Use Free Weights

For the athletes reading this, stay off the weight machines. Beginners, use the machines for while, but eventually move the free weights. Free weights offer a full range of motion and force core stabilization. I prefer dumbbells to barbells in most instances.

 

Perform Multi-Joint Exercise

When is the last time someone said “let’s play that new sport…you know…leg extension! After that, we’ll play leg curl.” Do squats and dead lifts instead.

 

Confuse Your Muscles

Changing the types and order of exercises you do on a regular basis keeps your muscles challenged and prevents (in a good way) adaptation. This is a huge component of the Top Step Fitness Conditioning program. We’ll do 15-20 different varieties of exercise over the course of an hour – in varying orders, durations, etc. Confusion leads to growth!

 

Balance Your Exercises

Always train the muscle opposite another trained muscle. Dumbbell bench press is great, but balance that with some rows to keep your lats strong. Imbalanced muscles lead to injury. Think of doing equal amounts of “pushing” as you’re doing “pulling.”

 

Active Recovery

My clients never stop moving…NEVER. Resting between exercises just wastes precious time. Doing two sets of alternating shoulder presses? Do the first set – then knock out 30 mountain climbers – go right into the second set – then do 30 jumping jacks. Keeps the heart pumping and the blood flowing. I’m convinced keeping your blood flowing reduces lactic acid accumulation caused by weight lifting. Plus, you get a free cardio workout in…something we can all appreciate!

 

Get Crazy