Getting yourself into the zone

You can train hard, learn new tricks and be the best in training, but if you can't turn it on when you need to perform, you will never be the best.

So why would you want to be the best? Well we all have our reasons and that's not what is important here, what is important is how you can turn your stunning performance in training, into results when you need to perform.

You've heard of people 'cracking' under pressure, people not being able to handle the heat and even seen those which look like they have so much potential, but it never comes to fruition.

You've also seen the top performers, the naturals and the people who make it look easy.

So What's the difference? How can you move yourself from one to the other?

Just like your coach has shown you tricks which help your performance, I am going to show you a trick now. The funniest thing is that it is really,... and I mean REALLY easy.

Cutting to the chase, this is how you do it.

Look at this:
What does this mean and why did I put it here?
Well this is going to be tattooed onto my arm by the end of the week, because this is the secret to how you get yourself into the zone.

Let me explain.

Feeling - You first have the feeling, you might be feeling tired, unmotivated and not wanting to do anything. This is the feeling you don't want.

Perfect Moment - Think of a perfect moment where you were feeling that feeling which you want right now, where you were in the zone.

Intensify - Make it come to life, hear the sounds, say what you were saying to yourself in that time, see what you saw. Make it into a movie in your mind.

TRUST YOURSELF - Believe, for no other reason than you want to feel that way, you want to get into the zone. Trust that you will create this feeling.

Feeling - Enjoy the zone.

That's it.

Profound Simplicity.

Nick Hansen
Performance Coach

What it takes to be a consistent gym member

A lot of people have asked me this questions and I thought it was about time I let everyone know the answer. Here is a simple diagram to explain:

Well we all knew that. The trouble is that there is a lot of Life Factors which get in the way of the above.
Let me explain diagrammatically:

The Cycle of 0 Results

This is the cycle of 0 results. It's name is that because when you do it, you really do get no results.

1. It starts off with a person that is sick of their fitness results.

2. They then enthusiastically sign up and go down to the gym.

2. Things happen in life that makes it harder for the new member to go down to the gym, kids, work, motivation etc.

3. The new gym member then quits.

This cycles forever if it is not stopped.

"The First Mistake"
You might think that the first mistake is actually eating that bad food, or drinking too much. Sure that is not the best thing to do, but what you told yourself after you did it is the deadly mistake. You would have compared what you're meant to do to what you actually did. After which you would have beaten up yourself for the behavior. This is all a noble attempt to get train yourself to not do that behavior, but as you know it is not very effective.

After you do this several times you eventually get so annoyed at yourself that you just give up eating and proclaim that, that is your identity. "I'm just not a healthy food person." Then you try to justify this by say things like "Healthy food just tastes bad," "I should be able to drink whenever I want."

Consequences
What happens now is after making that mistake, you go down to the gym enthusiastic to work it off. Unfortunately what happens though is you have a 'bad day. '(What happens when you put diesel in a car which needs unleaded?) So you have one bad day and shake it off. You then go down again and have another bad day, and another. Eventually you think that this fitness thing is much harder than you thought and give up.

Same Action, Same Results
Now you have quit going to the gym, eating well and drinking in moderation and it all goes out the window. A few months will go by and you will look at your results, decide that you really need to do something about your health and sign up to another gym membership. The cycle starts again.

The power is in your hands, either way you cannot avoid taking action. By not doing anything, that is an action, which will get you 0 results. Breaking the cycle, will get you results.

Ultimate Sporting Performance

A lot of people talk about sport being all about technique, it's how you hit the ball, how you throw the ball and so on. But if it was really about this, then why are so many people who know how to do it, getting such average results?

Well the reason is not really complicated, it comes back to the most simple things.

It comes down to the grey stuff between you ears, and the good news is that you actually have to use it less, to get better sporting results.

Our minds can process 5-9 chunks of information at one time, that's what our consicous mind can handle. But the real technique, the real reason you can now drive the car, talk on the moblie, observe the weather and listen to music is that as soon as we have learnt something, and really learnt it, it becomes intuitive.

What's really cool is that we have a type of memory for muscle movement that never forgets, thats why once you learn how to ride a bike, you may not ride one for 10 years, then get back onto it and ride it like you were just riding it the previous day.

When we start any sport, we are trying to take in much more information than we can handle, we simply get overloaded. But as we learn more movements, we can use them intuitively and don't have to think about it. That's why good sports players play good, because they have learnt it, and just play from their intuition.

So what is really the key to ultimate sporting performance? Well when you get to a stage where you have learnt the technique, this is when it is time to practice using our intuition. The key is to be able to know how to get the technique on command. When you get up to hit that golf ball, or throw that basketball, you can get yourself into that feelnig.

How does one strenghthen their intuitive muscles? Simply, use it. When you are playing that sport, just practice getting that feeling on command. At any time practice getting that feeling. Even try putting yourself under pressure and getting that feeling, that is a really awesome challenge.

So now that you know this, put it into action. My philosphy on learning is that if you don't use it, if that information isn't used to make a difference in some aspect of your life, it was information not used effectively.

The simple lessons are often the most profound.

Nick Hansen
Performance Coach

Fitness Mindset Part 2

Now we know about mindsets and how they can help or hinder us. What the world looks like depends on how you view it, what pair of glasses you are wearing. What else we know about glasses is that we can change what pair we are using, we can change how we view the world.

First let us discover how we make our glasses, how we make our reality.

How we make our reality

Remember, that our map of the world can never be the world, just like how the atlas of Australia can never actually be Australia.

We create our perception of reality, we make our world.

The first way in which we make our reality is through our beliefs.

Our beliefs are formed just like an argument in a court case, both side find evidence and argue their case. There is enough evidence for either side to win the case, the skill is in each side finding it and arguing it persuasively.

Let's put in the contex of going to the gym. One side says that 'Going to the gym is hard work' and the other says 'The gym revitalises my energy and makes me pumped for the day, I love going to the gym.'

Here is just a few facts about the gym that everyone knows:

You will:

1. Need a weekly routine.
   
2. Work hard at the gym.
   
3. Get more energy.
   
4. Have better helth
   
5. Need to eat healthy
   
6. Improve your physical image.
   
7. Push yourself past your comfort zone.
   

If you were trying to argue the case that going to the gym was hard, what would you say?

I'd say: 'You see your honour, going to the gym is just too hard work because why should you have to get out of bed on a cold day, drag yourself down to a sweat smelly place and hurt yourself for hours? There is much better things to do with your time, like eating nice foods and watching TV.'

Now I'm no lawyer, but if I believed that I wouldn't go to the gym either.

How about we try to argue that the gym is easy and good.

I'd say: "Your honour, you know that feeling when you want to kick butt, smash heads in and conquer the world? Do you know that feeling when your muscles feel like they are bulging and you look in the mirror and they actually are? Or how about that feeling where your shoulders are relaxed and you can breath easily? This feeling is easily achieved through a regular gym routine. You get to go down daily, listen to your favourite music, meet stacks of hot people, and feel really good about yourself. Tell me that the gym is the best thing next to sliced bread!"

If you make something sound really nice, then like holding a string above a cat's face, you will naturally want it. (and win court cases)

So until next time, your homeplay:

1. Find something that you want to make easy.
   
2. List all the great things about that thing.
   
   1. Really feel the pleasure.
      
3. List all the consequences if you don't do it.
   
   1. Really feel the pain of the consequences.
      

We live in a feeling universe, our actions are driven by our desires. The more you feel it on an emotional level (not just a logical, mental level) the more it will work.

Stay tuned.

Nick Hansen

Fitness Mindset

So what is the fitness mindset?

Well my definition is, the mindset where you consider yourself to be a fitness person, it is apart of who you are, and you love it.

See a mindset is really basic, it's just like wearing a pair of glasses. We all view things differently, some would read the above sentence and think that is impossible and not who they are, and others would read it and say 'Spot on Nick, you hit the nail on the head.'

So if you viewed everything through a pair of red glasses, how would the world look? Or maybe you switched it to blue? How would it look then? This is how our minds work, this is our mindset.

So in order have the things you want (fab hips, strong abs, bigger bank balance etc.) in terms of your mindset, you need to see the things that will help you to achieve them.
*Perfect* example, if you are looking to lose 6kgs and all you can see is McDonalds and KFC you're in trouble. But,.. what if you didnt even notice them, what if you could drive past KFC and smell the chicken but think 'Eeek, why would I want to do that to myself.'
Do you think the pair of glasses that can't see KFC and McDonalds would help you more?

Well there is really no doubt, you don't have to be a rocket scientist.

Awareness is 95% of the journey. In the next blog we will discover how we can change our glasses!

Stay tuned.

Nick Hansen