Set Realistic Goals With Visualization

I remember the moment I realized I was no longer a profession athlete. It was in 1992, a year after I had retired from the International Federation of Body-Building (IFBB). I was languishing on the treadmill in my neighborhood gym after a long day of training people, session after session (5 am to 8 pm), when a huge and ripped guy walked in and began warming up with 220 lbs, before starting his leg training session and disgustingly bulging his gigantic body. I smiled weakly in his direction and thought; I used to look like that not too long ago. And of course when he passed me, I ran faster like there was no tomorrow.

Obviously, my 30-minute training sessions weren't having the same chiseling effects as the training sessions I endured when I was in a competitive level. That's when I realized I'd have to change my stay-in-shape strategy. Here are a few of my pro-to-real-world fitness secrets.

Many professional athletes practice visualization, which means picturing themselves going through the motions to achieve a certain goal - complete with sounds, colors, tastes and smells - and have seen it pay off big time. During my 7-year professional career, I spent 10 minutes a day visualizing and looking at my body the way I wanted it to feel and look, the results that I mentally conceived in the visualization were experienced in my training sessions, making them tremendously intensive and effective. Now, whenever I work out, I close my eyes and visualize my arm and leg muscles flexing, my heart pumping strong and my body looking super lean.

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