Imagine you have gone to the gym, excited with a plan of what you are going to do. You warm up and you feel good, focused and ready to rumble. You begin training and all the usual distractions like other gym members and music become a distant blur to you. You are totally focused on achieving your goals and feeling the muscles work against the resistance. Before you know it your muscles are pumped, aching and your workout is over! You just had an amazing workout- (where did the time go?). You were just in the zone! Wouldn’t it be great if every workout you did was like that! Achieving optimum activation levels or being “in the zone” mentally and physically (It can be a spiritual experience as well) is an important part of improving muscle gains. Here are some ideas on how to achieve this optimum mind/body state on a more consistent basis.
Know what level of activation you are before training.
Here are the three categories of activation and their signs and symptoms:
(Signs and symptoms taken from the Australian Sport Commission)
- Over-activated — cold and clammy hands, need to urinate regularly, sweating, negative self-talk, increased muscle tension, butterflies in stomach, nausea, dry mouth, fidgeting, difficulty sleeping, inability to concentrate, tensing wrong muscles, consistently under-performing in the gym
- Optimal activation — total immersion in the activity, feeling in complete control, inner calm, energised, heightened awareness, in the moment, confident.
- Under-activated — lack of enthusiasm, moving slowly, mind wandering (that is, easily distracted), lack of concern about performance, heavy/lethargic feeling.
Knowing where you are, activation wise, and where you need to get to in terms of your unique optimum level of activation is important, some people need to be more or less pumped up than others. If you are either under or over activated you can use some of these ideas below to get you in the zone.
Ideas to decrease activation
- Breathing: breathe in through the nose for a count of 4 and breath out the mouth for a count of 8. Breathe and “fill the belly” as opposed to shallow chest breathing.
- Muscle relaxation: When you breathe in tense a group of muscles then when you breathe out relax them and keep them relaxed. Perform this for other areas of your body until all muscles have been relaxed in this way.
- Listen to relaxing music
- Meditation: I like to use this when I have had a stressful day- I focus in on my breathing and count each breathe (usually to 10). Some people use a number, others an image in their mind.
- Warm up: Make sure your warm up is controlled and you begin the process of focusing in on your training goals in a calm and focussed manner.
- Attitude: Have the attitude that when you go to the gym you forget about all other issues/ worries that you might have and leave them at the door so you can get in the right frame of mind.
Ideas to increase activation
- Increased breathing rate: A vigorous warm up will get the heart and lungs pumping.
- Verbal cues (Ronnie Coleman is a classic” Light weight” or Ain’t nothin but a peanut” or “Yeah Buddy”) are all sayings to help him get in the zone.
- Positive self-talk: “ I am going to lift this weight 10 times no matter what!”
- Listening to upbeat music
- Have Attitude: Attack the weights, dominate them!
- Using imagery (think Arnold when he envisioned his biceps to be as big as mountains) or imagine yourself repping with a weight you normally couldn’t handle and doing it easily.
- Boost self-esteem: Convince yourself that you are awesome! (Probably keep this activity to yourself) tell yourself that you are the greatest and you can achieve or do anything. It is amazing how this can boost self esteem and put you in a head space that allows optimum activation levels to occur more easily.
Other ideas to achieve optimal activation levels.
Have goals: The easiest way for me to get in the zone is to start off the workout looking at my training diary and looking at my goals for the session. You need a plan so that you don’t waste any time and get straight down to business.
Time you train: If it is at all possible, train when there are less people at the gym. There are fewer distractions and no queues for equipment.
Avoid chit chat: Nothing worse when you are having a great workout and someone wants to talk to you. I make it a point to be polite and say hello, but I never get involved in a discussion during a workout. Don’t let them stop you, just start your next set, they will get the picture. You could also wear an i-pod (doesn’t even have to be on) so that you are left to your own devices.
Avoid overtraining: Sometimes no matter what you do you can’t get in the right head space. A good reason for that is that you may be suffering from overtraining. Have a couple of days off and come back fresh!
Training partner: Sometimes a good training partner can help get you in the zone. I personally have found it much easier by myself, but you have to do what works for you.
Exercise selection, range of motion, density training: These can have an impact on how easy you get into the zone. I know that when I perform certain exercises with either a full or partial range of motion (depends on muscle group being trained) I feel it solely in the muscles I want to work allowing me to focus 100% on them. Also density training systems like Hany Rambods’ FST- 7 training, Charles Poliquins’ volume training: 10 x 10 or Vince Girondas’ 8 x 8 allows you to focus in on the muscle and achieve huge pumps with little chance of distraction between sets (rest periods are short and you are using the same equipment).
Nutrition: Make sure you have adequate fuel in the tank to get you through the workout. It is also imperative that you are sufficiently hydrated as being slightly dehydrated can affect mental and physical performance by up to 20%!
Supplements: The best supplements I have tried for getting in the zone and having a strong mind muscle connection are nitric oxide supplements (Amazing!). I have found really good results with glutamine too. Good old coffee can get you focussed pretty fast as well.
Achieving optimum activation levels or being “in the zone” is integral to gaining muscle. So what are you waiting for, apply these ideas, get to the gym and get in the ZONE!