The Crucial Role of Focus in Effective Training
The Unbeatable Power of Focus
If you’re trying to be your very best at anything, there are a few things that simply can’t be taught. My top three would be: focus, determination, and resilience.
The most important, in my opinion, is FOCUS! I’ve witnessed athletes with tremendous amounts of talent get sidetracked by shiny objects, flattering words, and relationships built on sand.
As a result, many don’t fully realize their potential. The mind controls the body; where the mind goes, the body follows.
A weak mind struggles to develop and control a strong body. All too often, the focus on the prize is challenged by trivial distractions.
These distractions can evolve into significant obstacles, making the path to the goal increasingly difficult to navigate.
Mastering Self-Improvement in Bodybuilding
Improving from week to week, month to month, and year to year requires a disciplined work ethic that hones the ability to focus and block out the noise of confusion and self-doubt. Once the focus wanes, the physique, in terms of improvement and development, is not far behind.
In the heat of the battle, it’s you against everyone else: the weights, the athletes, the judges, the naysayers, and more! The measure of progress can be found in the study of one’s commitment and focus on the goal. You don’t need to gauge progress based on the number of contests you win, but rather on your ability to concentrate and focus on self-improvement on the journey to the stage.
The Transformative Power of Focus in Training
Questions you might ask yourself include:
- Did you leave your cell phone in the car today to focus on your workout?
- In the gym, did you speak out loud only about the number of reps and sets you were going to perform, or were you discussing topics unrelated to the workout?
- Were you able to tune out the gym’s music in favor of the clanging of the weights?
Focus isn’t something you learn, but rather something you develop! We all have the ability to focus when it’s based on something we truly desire. However, it’s also true that many of us desire more than we need. It’s easy to veer off course and allow our minds to wander, getting distracted by our surroundings instead of staying focused on the task at hand.
Training hard isn’t difficult, but if you’re not focused on training hard, you’re merely going through the motions without a clear understanding of what you’re aiming to achieve. My suggestion to those who aren’t seeing gains, not making progress, or hitting a wall is to take a moment to reset your mind, visualize the finish line, and then focus on the workouts you believe will help you reach your goal!