We now move into an
area that is far too neglected by mainstream health and fitness
professionals, the mind. Most books or courses concentrate on
the physical side of weight gain and completely neglect the mental
side of things.
Visualization can play
an important part in gaining weight and maintaining a healthy
lifestyle. Gaining weight can be difficult for many people who
don't use their minds to help in the process.
Visualization is a
powerful technique that can help you make lasting lifestyle changes.
Just by "day dreaming", you can significantly improve
your chances in achieving your goals.
Visualization is a
great weight gain tool and its as simple as visualizing your body
as you want your body to look like. This mental image of yourself
is then transferred to your subconscious mind, which in turn starts
to work on your body, shaping it in accordance with your mental
image.
This means that if
you program your subconscious with a mental image of yourself
as a more muscular person, through persistence your mind will
accept this and aid your body to conform to this mental image.
Once your mind is programmed
with the proper mental images, it will start to work in assisting
you to gain weight. I can't stress enough how important it is
for you to believe in your visualization goals. You have to let
go of your past failures and refuse to entertain any negative
images that come into your mind.
If you can visualize your body at its perfect proportions, the
subconscious mind will work to make it become a reality. It will
then begin to positively reinforce your body into aiding the metabolism
and eating habits.
Programming your mind
into believing that you can gain weight, and to visualize yourself
with your perfect proportions is of the greatest importance.
Try to think of a different
image of yourself, then let your subconscious do the work for
you. If you think of your body as being out of shape all the time,
then the subconscious mind will find ways to make it so.
The sub-conscious looks
after all of all your vital functions, it is the cause of all
your good and bad habits, and also regulates the muscles of the
body (The muscles are controlled by the sub-conscious) and body-fat
composition on the body.
Try to visualize your
body as lean and as muscular as you would like, and your mind
will work on that image. The mind can be a great partner in gaining
weight.
Relaxation
Relaxation the best
way to reach the sub-conscious and will slow down the mind, turn
off the exterior world so as to tune in to one's inner self. The
best times for these sessions are in the morning and late at night
right, just before going to sleep.
Perform two sessions,
one in the afternoon (Primary) and the other before going to sleep
(Secondary) but once a day is quite sufficient. Sessions usually
last 20 minutes, which isn't time consuming especially when taking
in the benefits received.
It has been stated
that one of these sessions is equivalent to 2 hours of deep sleep
and upon waking you will feel revitalized and full of energy.
Believe me instead of worrying about time constraints; you will
be looking forward to the next session.
When you begin your
relaxation sessions, make sure you won't be disturbed - lock the
door, take the phone off the hook and loosen all clothing. Now
find a comfortable position, whether it is lying down or sitting
in a comfortable chair.
Sitting may be preferable
as you may fall asleep if you become too comfortable. You want
to be conscious and not asleep in order to tap into your sub-conscious
mind.
Try to exhale all the
air from your lungs completely and then breathing in through the
nose. Take ten seconds to fill the lungs with air (not to capacity,
but comfortable) hold for ten seconds and then exhale slowly through
the nose for another ten seconds.
Each one of these breathing
cycles should last for 30 seconds, complete five cycles and after
each cycle you will be feeling more and more relaxed.
Having reaching this
calm relaxed state, start your visualizations. Put together images
that power your emotions. Make them alive and colourful. Make
the scenes as real as possible and imagine yourself as muscular
and toned as possible.
Picture yourself ten
weeks from now on the beach, walking briskly and confidently to
your favourite spot, your breathing is normal and relaxed. You
smile to yourself; you could keep walking like this for miles
without feeling fatigued.
You lay your towel
out and begin to take your clothes off revealing a muscular, toned,
well conditioned body. You have just bought a brand new swimming
suit which just weeks before would have been lying in your closet
waiting to be used.
Glancing around you
notice the beach is busy, you catch the eye of someone of the
opposite sex, they smile at you and you smile back. You walk confidently
to the water and swim a couple of hundred yards with no problem
or fatigue.
Or try this:
Visualize your family
and friends complimenting you about how good your body looks.
Try to view the scene as it is happening this instant - in the
present, not in the future.
Using these visualizations
you can construct in your mind any scene that desire. See yourself
exercising, socializing, in the company of friends. Try and hear
people complimenting you about your new muscular body, and watch
their admiring glances. Make the mental image as real as possible.
" Remember set
a goal for your ideal weight
" You must want to gain weight
" Visualize yourself at your ideal weight
" Use positive
images at every opportunity
Practice these sessions
on a daily basis and over a period of ten weeks you'll be on your
way to become more fulfilled, happier and muscular.
Gary is the author of several e-books, including "Maximum
Weight Loss in Ten Weeks" - the complete e-book and time-saving
solution for burning away unwanted fat, and "Maximum Weight
Gain in Ten Weeks" - easy-to-use and follow techniques that
serve as a guide to muscle growth without having to "live
in the gym".
Visit Gary's website
at http://www.maximumfitness.com/
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