Sports Psychology (Mental Muscle Training)

By far, it is the training and development of mental fortitude, focus, concentration and the ’strength of character’ that will determine an athletes (or any individual)  success in sports and life.

All physical preparation, the manipulation of training variables, adoption of dietary regimens are bound to failure if the mental and emotional constitution of a man is weak.  There is no superficial tactic that will trump flawed mental strategies.

This is why I always fall back and refer to one’s character; their clarity of vision and expression of commitment / discipline when confronted with questions about training mechanics and specifics.

You can only GET what you ARE!  The results you see in the mirror or on the playing field are in direct response to the type of character and inner strength you’ve developed.  And every superficial effort put forth is only as strong as the soil from which it sprouts.

To quote Emerson (as always), “Every action is measure by the depth of the sentiment from which is proceeds.” In other words if you think you are going to lose, if you think you are too small, too short, too fat or too slow… you are probably right.  This is your deeply held ’sentiment’ and every action you take henceforth will be measured by it.

This is why you have tried “ALL THE TRICKS IN THE BOOK”… and are still not seeing the results you aim for.  It’s not that the tricks are bad, it’s that your thinking is!

Last night I had to honor of speaking with a man that trains the Mental Muscle of professional and Olympic athletes in a similar fashion to that which I do with their physical muscle.

Todd is the author and creator of the Champions Challenge , a system that encourages athletes to change their performance for the better by practicing mental training exercises.  This, in my opinion, is the ABSOLUTE foundation for the realization of full athletic and life potential.

Very rare is it that I am this excited and convinced that a product, if used properly, has the potential to change it’s users life in the way that the Champions Challenge does.

Well, I invited a few people to listen in on my call with Todd last
night and I also recorded it for you to listen to (below).

Just a quick heads up before you listen to the call… as it turned out, some 14 year old chuckle head snook onto the call when his mommy and daddy were in the shower and decided to interrupt Todd and myself on several occasions.

So, try your best to focus on what Todd is teaching us, but be prepared for me to grow a bit restless with our intruder.  If you can’t tell by my tone, I was ready to give the little lad a few lashings with my belt… but tried my best to stay cool

 

If you feel like the stuff that Todd is teaching us on this call may be of support to you or your atheltes, I would invite you to check out his Champions Challenge <=  Click Here

The truth about D1 Football walk-ons…

I don’t know about you, but I’ll bet that most folks who are struck with a great idea or a inclination to shoot for a HUGE goal immediately shoot themselves down with negative self talk or are quickly discouraged by those who are “just being realistic.”

“Within the every goal are the seeds for its fulfillment”, once said W Clement Stone. The mere fact that you have a desire for something means that you have the ability to obtain it.

Here is a question that I got from one of my readers and Football Strength System customers this week:

Hey Coach Elliott,

I just graduated from high school. I was not as good as I could have been. I was plagued by injuries. I broke my thumb in the 5th game of my senior year in football. I had 3 pins put in it. I recovered just in time to play goalie for my school’s soccer team. We had the first ever winning record in our school’s soccer history (about 7 years) and made the playoffs. I however got kicked in the 3rd to last game of the regular season and had a level 3 ankle sprain. I was in a splint for a week, a cast for 3 weeks, a boot for a week, and then an ankle brace for 4 more weeks. It still bothers me to. Well because of these injuries i have been unable to work out much over the last 9 months and it’s starting to show. My goal and the reason i purchased your book is because I would like to get strong and fast enough in the next year to try to walk on to my college’s football team next year. I know that is possible except that I am going to the University of Alabama which is a major D1 college. Do you think my goal is possible or completely ridiculous? Please be honest with me. Regardless of what you say I still plan to work out using the stuff in your book Football Strength System. Currently I am 6′ tall and weigh around 170. Do you think you can help me develop a work out routine to accomplish my goal?

- Kory

Kory,

The first thing that you need to start doing is, STOP GETTING INJURED! Shit happens, but you’ve got to cultivate an attitude that says, “I NEVER get injured, just a little banged up”. Your ‘Self Explanatory Style’ dictates much of the results you receive in life. Never speak of your situation in negative terms or let anyone else speak about you in this way.

The most important thing that you can do is assess the way you are thinking and speaking, and then adjust it to support you. For example, in February I was battling with a cold. I WASN’T SICK! Nor would I allow anyone to even ask me if I was “sick” – I was simply, Fighting Something Off!

This set my subconscious mind, which in some way controls my immune system, to FIGHT MODE… a resourceful state to be in, when Fighting Something Off.

When you say, “I am sick” or “I am injured” you have associated all of your being with a weakened state. It’s just like saying ” I am stupid” or ” I am useless”… how much more resourceful would the phrase – “I’m still learning” , be?

Another point… you are always BECOMING! You are a PROCESS and are never static. Always aim to phrase your assessments of your situation in that manner. Never say “I am poor.” YOU are not poor… you may not be in the possession of much money, but you are never poor. To phrase it in terms of a process, you may say, “I am building my fortune.” or “I am leaning how to make more money.”

To quote you and to assess your Self Explanatory Style lets examine your phrase,
“I was plagued by injuries”.

You weren’t “plagued”, you were just recovering from a few bumps and bruises.

My point is not to make light of your situation but to make you (and anyone reading this) aware of how insidious Negative Self Talk can be. Most people are negative, and they will puke all of their negative vomit all over you if you are not aware. Notice if you are using the language of winners or losers.

Sure, you DID break your finger and you DID sprain your ankle… but how you think and subsequently, how you speak about the situation is more important that the so-called facts about it. Facts are relative. So, please don’t be offended.

Now, about walking on to The University Of Alabama’s football team.

You ask me if I think your goal is “possible or completely ridiculous”. If you’ve read my book The Football Strength System, you KNOW that I would never tell you that your goals are ridiculous.

Ridiculous would be to back down and NOT try to walk on. Put realistic aside for the moment. You make possible what you COMITT to making possible.

How does this list sound for realistic:

1. I can talk to a man in India via a piece of hard plastic that I carry around in my pocket. (and have him schedule my laundry pick-up)
2. I can jump on a 4 ton hunk of flying metal and take a nap… in a few hours I’ll arrive in Europe.
3. I am sitting in front of a “TV” with a bunch of letter buttons attached to it, writing a letter to some friends who live hundreds of miles away… and they will be able to read it instantly.

Was Columbus “realistic” when he hopped aboard a ship and decided to sail to the “end of the world”?
Was Gandhi “realistic” when he protested English rule?
Was Jesus “realistic” when he walked on water?
Was Kennedy “realistic” when he started the space program and placed a man on the moon?
Was Ford “realistic” when he said that every American will own a car?
Was ATT “realistic” when they said that every home in America will have a phone?
Was Fred Smith “realistic” when he said that packages should be delivered by ‘next day to anywhere in the world, no matter what?

This is shit that we take for granted, but at the time that these people set their goals… everyone thought they were out of their minds!

I tell my kids to dream and COMMIT to their dreams. Most dreamers are just ‘pie-in-the-skyers’. They like to think about making big shit happen but they never COMMIT to making it happen. Edison failed at making the light bulb work over 15,000 times, but he didn’t give a shit – he was committed to make it work and it did. And thats one of the SECRETS, you may not succeed the first time, second time or third time but you KEEP GOING!

You may fall on your face 10 times before you reach your goal but it doesn’t matter – you are committed! Most people “pack it up” and run at the first sign of a true challenge or in the face of “failure”. Don’t be afraid of failure. Learn from your mistakes and try again!

Perhaps Im a little psycho, but I dont give a shit. If you wanna be an freakin astronaut, be it! If you wanna, play pro ball, play it (look at the Doug Fluties and Kurt Warners) If you want to move trash for a living, then GREAT – just do it with 100% of your heart and soul and be the best goddam trash collector in the freaking world!!!

You asked me to make a program for you to follow. You dont need any other program than the one in my Football Strength System. The most important muscel to exercise for you right now is that of your attitude. I say – “MAKE shit happen!”

Keep us posted brother!