Elite Physique The New Science of Building a Better Body

38 Elite Physique
The more realistic you can make the visualization, the more likely it will help.
Visualization can be used for more than just your sets and goals. Use it to also
imagine yourself getting up early, and preparing your preworkout meal when
everyone else is still asleep, so you can fit in your workout on a busy day, if that
is a challenge you’ll face moving forward. Many of my athletes have successfully
used visualization, as have countless other star athletes such as Michael Jordan
and Tiger Woods.
The ABCs of Motivation
As a physical therapist, I know how difficult it can be to keep my patients motivated.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a professional athlete, celebrity, or CEO: They all have bad
days. Sometimes they have bad weeks or even months. One of my duties is to help
get them out of that rut, or at the very least, get them through a successful session
with me. During these times I focus on the ABCs of motivation (see figure 2.2):
•
Autonomy: This is the sense of control and independence. For example, I would
let my client choose which exercise he prefers that day to warm up, or where
he’d like to go to lunch after the session.
•
Belonging: This is the need to feel included, accepted, and connected with
others. For example, I would ask my client to tell me about her tennis game
or what’s going on in the storyline of her favorite TV show.
•
Competence: This is the need to feel capable of doing something successfully.
For example, I would choose exercises that I know my client is capable of
performing well that day. There are times to push a client to achieve a new
PR in the squat, or perform a balance exercise longer than normal, but this
day isn’t one of them.
Motivation
A
Autonomy
B
Belonging
C
Competence
FIGURE 2.2 ABCs of motivation.
E8315/Waterbury/F02.02/670182/mh-R1
My goal is to help my patients experience the ABCs during each session, especially
when they are struggling with life. You can use this same approach the next
time your significant other, child, or friend needs a boost.
Final Thoughts
In this chapter, we talk about ways to get an intelligent plan in place. Oftentimes,
people start on a journey without a clear destination, which in this case is a leaner,
stronger physique that performs as well as it looks. Achieving that goal requires
dedication and focus, so the steps in this chapter are as important as how you
train and eat. As the saying goes: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.