Mind Wide Open

Developing Your Greatest Skill, the Language of Your Mind for Increased Performance

By Rachael Cadden

*Photo courtesy of www.EricNelsonPhotography.com

Before building anything, a foundation is set. In athletics, architecture and mental conditioning.

The foundation is the basics. By understanding and mastering the basics, we can go deeper, then improve, enhance and accelerate your mental conditioning for personal and athletic achievement.

This entry is setting the foundation that will be your accomplice in increasing your performance, pushing beyond your limits and defying the impossible.

All of us have our own internal language.  It is what we tell ourselves, consciously and unconsciously, and drives our achievement or lack thereof regardless of intention or will. Usually influenced or taught to us growing up by others. Some we learned and created from our own experiences and circumstances. We all have an internal language of belief about ourselves, what we can do, our surroundings and how it inhibits, limits or accelerates us from/into personal excellence and achievement.

Example, we all grew up believing the sky is blue. In our young state we didn’t question it. What if the sky really isn’t blue? What if it was actually purple. What if I told you what you “thought” about the sky being blue your entire life isn’t actually true. Would you believe it or be open to believing it? Think about it and just notice how your mind may combat and even question the absurdity. It is the same with ingrained language patterns and beliefs. Often the mind, for survival or protection, does the same. It combats anything that challenges the story we’ve believed.

These old languages/beliefs/stories are the driving force that often limits advancement.

This example is obviously far fetched and will allow you to see, think and be more aware of your own thoughts in your performance and accomplishments. It’s broad and very general, most of my work is individualized and personalized, but these examples will provide insight for developing your mental conditioning by first being aware. It is your personal responsibility,  notice them, be willing to let them go and give yourself a new language. How? By practicing.

Let’s challenge what language or thoughts you have been holding onto, what stories you have been telling yourself and your belief about what you can lift, run, PR, perform, achieve, race, accomplish and crush. It begins with your awareness. Notice your thoughts going into a WOD (workout of the day), a WOD that is a challenge for you, one that scares you or involves movements that you are not “good” or “strong” at. How quick are you to think or state your reason why you are not good or strong at something. Are you beginning to see?

Awareness and thinking independently of your old beliefs is a process and isn’t remedied or conditioned overnight. It requires your action and like any skill, involves PRACTICE. The practice of being aware and thinking independently of your old beliefs. Almost every WOD does this for me.  Once you have uncovered something, you will find another layer of stories and beliefs in your language/thinking to let go of. It no longer serves you or your performance so why rehearse or hang onto it?

By the way, most of your thoughts that pertain to belief about yourself aren’t true. You just believe they are because it “feels” true.  Challenge them! I dare you.

By doing so you give up the right to blame circumstances and outside excuses and move beyond reasons.

Training, practice and conditioning the language of your mind will enhance and develop an elite mindset for personal and athletic achievement.

Developing the language of your mind obviously overflows into all areas of your personal life, career and successes.

It’s time to learn a new language and give up your right to keep telling your story. Are you willing?  Welcome to the revolution!

What have you been thinking?

Comments and questions welcome.

Stay tuned, next up: Visualization and Tapping Into Your Animal Brain.

Rachael Cadden, Neuro Linguistics Practitioner & Mindset Coach

Available for individual, group and specialized consults

• Contact Rachael at: Rachael@VerveEnterprises.com
• You can read this post at it’s source at:    Mind Wide Open

What Lies Beneath

...Picture this, you’re heading towards the finish line… it’s hard to explain but somehow the hard work, sacrifices, discipline and all the little things that yesterday didn’t mean much, now have real meaning. The emotions are overwhelming. You’re just about to achieve the experience you’ve been chasing… aspirations, dreams that maybe at one time you thought ‘not possible’ …. are about to be realized…    read more

Getting Into Shape 

Can a species be overweight? Humans, by any measure of biological fitness, are highly successful, but what does being fit really mean?

by Theresa Pinto

Florida must lead the nation in wrongful child deaths and I cry each time I hear about a three month old starved to death by his mother or a 2 year old beaten to death by her dad. And it is usually at this time that I realize deeply my role, and perhaps my only true role, for my children is to make sure they survive and know how to ensure their own survival when I’m no longer around; to make sure they don’t drown in canals or get hit by cars or shoot themselves with a neighbors gun. I do want them to be polite and considerate and creative and fun and happy and to listen to good music, but really I just want them to live.

It essentially comes down to what we biologists call fitness, a far cry from the tears brought on by more and more bad news about children’s rights and freedoms. Not the pilates and gymnasium kinds of fitness, nor the tainted and genocidal concepts propounded by Social Darwinists, but the basic and instinctual assurance that my genes will be passed on at least through one whole generation. That I will probably have grandchildren someday and so on and so on. Fitness is, in more cold terms, a statistical measure of each person’s genetic success.

When I was eight, the last time I saw my father, he brought me a 110 film camera, a present clasped in his rough and tanned hand offset by his crisp white suit and black shirt with butterfly collar. He arrived in a white Caddy, which I later realized must have been rented, and took me and my sister to see “The Beast Master,” where I was exposed to my first ever, gratuitous titty shot. My memories are kept in small doses, vague and thin, punctuated by vivid imagery but lacking a continuity of events. This is one of those. And even though this was the last time I saw him, I have a specific feeling of happiness associated with this memory and an enduring love for the critically panned “The Beast Master.”

My whole childhood was basically uneventful, and looking back on it, a kind of trailer park version of the movie Avalon. I had misfortunes, like the time the Texeira sisters tried to spray me with the water hose and I had to seek protection from the overgrown and mannish Janice (another one of those particulate but vague memories, with nothing leading up to it and nothing following; just a sharp image of the two from behind Janice’s back). And I had moments of euphoria, such as the time I gave a belly-dancing performance for 100 unruly elementary students (I was one of their own) and was applauded and sought after as I left the stage.

My mother, after my father left, provided me with a stable and loving and disciplined home, with the help of her parents, even if she couldn’t afford to buy any film for my new 110 camera that I had placed like a trophy on the single shelf in my room. Our family immigrated from Italy in the early 1900s and two generations later, that village mentality, those so cherished family values were still strong. While other girls in my neighborhood dropped out of high school and walked around the block with protruding bellies not derived from eating too much, I stayed home and played Continental with my grandmother and then went on to college. Eventually, I did get pregnant, but long after my high school days and in the traditional manner, with a husband and a cramped one-bedroom apartment in the middle of a sprawling city. I was now the picture of biological success, my family’s evolutionary trajectory passing through me and on to my son, and Darwin’s theory racking up more points, except for the fact that my mother had adopted me and none of what is biologically hers is in me or my son. If not for her single daughter by blood, she would be considered “unfit” in the grandest of terms. My adoptive father leaving us was shattering, but how much more for my older sister, his “biological” daughter, who was not included in the trip to the movie theater? My own situation has become a web of indefinable biological success with the addition of a stepson who is “half” related to my daughter.

Certain countries, like Germany and Japan and Switzerland, have faced off with biological instinct and maintain a low replacement level, as in females are not having their 2.1 kids. Sometimes countries even have a negative rate of natural increase, so that more of the population dies than are even born each year. Social scientists have come up with all kinds of explanations for this phenomenon- the most probable being that as we educate women and offer more opportunities to them to extend themselves, they prolong having babies in order to improve their own lot in life. Or we could consider these countries a kind of experiment in evolutionary group selection, whereby the fitness of the entire country’s population is lifted by the improvement of each individual, even if ironically, the improved individual puts off having kids or has none at all. But this assumes that we are still given to notions of territory and race as definers of the “group” which is selected for, a controversial notion at best. People who study population know that industrialized nations have very low replacement levels, in which a certain level of fertility is maintained to keep the population static, compared to developing nations that need much higher replacement levels, due to things like lack of food or public safety or women’s rights. Developed countries around the world are slowly decreasing in population size and then the opposite of that are the ones who can least provide for their offspring but keep them coming for lack of knowledge and resources and usually in circumstances beyond their control. Maybe we are trying to find a perfect blend of age and wisdom that will allow us to raise the most fit children.

In nature, the nature we tend to view as outside of ourselves and good for esoteric ecological studies, we see this model a few times. Meerkats and Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers live cooperative lifestyles, so that some deny or just outright lose their will to procreate to help the more dominant ones rear their own. While our level of cooperative behavior is not nearly as extreme as these, we still exhibit altruism to a level that is seen as a minority position in the natural realm.

So what does it mean to be evolutionarily fit in human society? As a species, we have an ability to adapt and change that is not common, and our level of diversity in all things, internal and external, is great. Fitness can be measured financially, emotionally, socially, physically, intellectually, artistically. We basically vie for anyone who appears to be on top, based on what’s most important to us after a lifetime of gathering experiences that help us order our own priorities in life. But fitness is a paradoxical construct in itself, since the toll on a parent of raising fit offspring can range from miniscule, as in most of the reptile world, to the ultimate sacrifice itself. But in the end, there is still a tradeoff, however leveraged it might be by the fact that some part of the parent will persist. A type of female octopus will watch over her developing eggs to the point where she is too weak to defend herself and gets torn to pieces, dying a slow and painful death, just as her young ones swim off. Indricotheres, a group of gargantuan prehistoric land mammals, gave up five years of their lives to pregnancy, nursing and raising her single offspring, only to carelessly and sometimes meanly turn them out as enemies when they were three. In other terms, Werner Herzog melancholically captures the futility of fitness as he films a penguin, wings akimbo, running towards the mountains for reasons unknown, dooming itself and any offspring to death.

Maybe fitness means all these things. Maybe it means none of it. But are we guided by the principles that seem to direct all of life around us and we just can’t stand far back enough to see ourselves through the same lens? Not that we lack control or free will, but that, however we want to define it, scientifically, religiously, instinctually, there is something more to our decisions than just the sum of our experiences and rationale.

In the end, what may be dictating to our subconscious is a craving to immortalize ourselves, whether through children of our own or our own exploits. For those who know me and my mother well, it is obvious I am my mother’s daughter, so like her in many ways for she has left her imprint on me in a manner that can’t be genetically determined. The divide between those who procreate and those who decide to self-create is not wide, and each in their way increases the measure of their fitness by our species standards because in any act of creation, there is an addition to the wealth of our species. As our emphasis on the ego and the inner journey and prolonging our individual lives, as the importance of “I” has grown, so has our fitness.

There are so many variables, so much we can’t see, and so many ways to expand the idea, find exceptions to the rule. It is too easy to bring in polemical constructs that seem to throw the equation completely off the mark, like abortion or gay marriage or fertility treatment or daycare. All the issues that sound the alarms of parenting and family in the modern day. And this too somehow weaves its way into the idea of fitness, that we each have our own idea of what makes us most biologically fit and translate that into present day societal values that are worth struggling over and fighting about.

What I know is this, that each time I look at my children, really see into their lives, sweeping feelings of depression and euphoria at the same time come over me. I wonder if their lives will have meaning and I don’t want to miss anything but I know I will. I am overwhelmed with love and devotion, as much as I am overwhelmed with feelings of imprisonment at times. And then I certainly decide that this reaction cannot be governed by my DNA. It becomes obvious to me that human biological fitness is no longer measured in strictly measurable terms. There are stepfathers who act like lions, taking out the previous lions’ young and those that take care of their new stepchildren better than most fathers do.

Taillard De Chardin, a theological philosopher once thought that humans were evolving into a kind of superorganism, as our numbers grew into the billions.  Maybe the idea of evolutionary fitness was never always measured in purely DNA terms, maybe the idea of the selfish gene is incorrect.  I immediately think then about the mother elephant I watched some long forgotten time ago on some long forgotten animal show who gave up her own life to stay with her weak and doomed son as her herd moved on in search of water during a severe drought, the same son she would have eventually turned out of the herd to fend for himself some day since he has no place in their matriarchy. And I am utterly at a loss to say what is guiding any of us.

Theresa Pinto is a writer, consultant and mother of four living in Miami. She is also the editor of LoudestGirl Magazine.

This was re-published here with permission.

To read this in it’s original context and other stimulating topics visit www.loudestgirl.com.

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems

This is an article about smart weight training…a system of organizing weights, sets, reps, and rest periods in such a way that you’ll get maximum caloric burn and fat loss for minimum time and effort. The system works and has a documented history of very happy victi…er, I mean, clients.

Escalating Density Training  (EDT for short) is also iconoclastic by its very nature…in designing the system, I’ve broken nearly every known rule of exercise and weight training. I suppose that’s a reflection of EDT’s architect- namely, me.

Ever since childhood, I’ve lived by a simple code: if you want to be successful, do the opposite of what everyone else does (This simple premise isn’t accurate across the board by the way…actually it only works about 98 percent of the time. Oh well…)

Up until this very moment however, chances are that you’ve never even heard of Escalating Density Training, or “EDT” for short. That’s because, for various reasons, I’ve never tried to promote it to women in any type of orchestrated way. Why? Well, it’s mostly because I’m a ….well, a guy. And my thinking has been that women listen to other women a lot more than they’ll listen to a guy. And who can blame you? After all, us guys are a brutish lot.

In fact, my wife still can’t understand why there’s nothing but a toothbrush in my medicine cabinet (OK, I gotta ask- what is it with all these products you girls use? Between my wife and daughter, our house is like a cross between a Bed Bath & Beyond and the pharmacy section of Albertsons!)

But I digress. Over the past several months, I’ve become increasingly aware that EDT may in fact be the world’s most perfect form of training for females- especially females looking to tighten up in a serious way.

I’ll make just one more observation before acquainting you with my life’s work:

You’re gonna really like EDT. Promise.

Imagine a training system where each workout has a time-limit and a concise objective. A system where each workout is a competition with yourself, a game that fires up your competitive juices (even if you didn’t know you had any!) A system that produces measurable improvements every time you go to the gym. A system that finds and exploits the “sweet spot” between cardio and weight training.

With it’s roots in time-management principles, EDT’s simplicity is disarming: there are no pre-determined number of reps, sets, or rest periods. Instead, your goal is to amass as many total repetitions as possible in each 15-minute “PR Zone” (”PR” standing for “personal record.”). If I’ve got your attention, please continue with me as I explain the nuts and bolts of the EDT system. I’ll also provide an introductory program that drops bodyfat so rapidly, it’ll make your plastic surgeon nervous!

Meet Your New Best Friend…

Here’s a quick and painless guide to the nuts and bolts of the EDT system. It’s super-simple, but you’ll need to set aside of your preconceived notions about weight training in order to grasp the concept. Ready? OK, let’s get started…

Training Sessions and “PR Zones”

I don’t use the word “workout.” Instead, we use the term “training session.” Working out implies dull, meaningless activity for the sole purpose of burning calories. “Training” on the other hand, implies you’ve got a purpose, a plan. And you do! So don’t sell yourself short, you’re now in training girl! Leave the workouts to the Tuesday Night Book Club bimbos!

OK, now when you’re “on” EDT, each training session is composed of between 1 and 3 15-minute time periods that we call “PR Zones.” What’s PR Mean? Any takers? Anyone…anyone? OK, it stands for “personal record.” Which is what you’ll be striving to break on each and every PR Zone. Let’s continue…

What Are PR Zones For?

They’re for setting and breaking your PR’s. Your PR’s are like your own personal World records. They represent the best performances you’ve ever done. Ever time you break a PR, you’ve got definitive proof that you’re at your all-time best- numbers don’t lie (unlike your scale and your boyfriend!)

During each PR Zone, you’ll try to rack up as many total repetitions as possible using 2 “antagonistic” or opposing exercises. For example, bicep curls and tricep pushdowns. Or bench presses and rows. There are lots of possible configurations as you might imagine. Don’t get caught up in the details though- just focus on the overriding idea. I’ll provide the specifics in just a bit.

How Much Weight? How Many Reps? How….?

OK: let’s say you’re doing a PR Zone for arms…a very simple example that nearly everyone can relate to. Your two exercises are standing dumbbell curls and lying EZ-curl tricep extensions. Before you start your stopwatch and begin your PR Zone, you’ll need to determine (or estimate) your “10RM” weight for both exercises. That means a weight that you can do a set of 10 with before reaching failure.

So start light and do 2-3 sets on both exercises- alternating back and forth between the curls and the extensions. Do sets of maybe 5-6 reps until you hit a weight that’s heavy enough to give you a sense of what your 10RM would be (NOTE: This process of finding your 10RM weight only happens once.

The next time you repeat that same PR Zone, you’ll already know what weights to use). The main thing is that the weights you’ve chosen for both exercises are equally difficult for whatever reps you’ve used during your warm-ups. Got it?

Good. With your weights selected, start your timer. Start by performing your first set of curls. How many reps? 10? No, no, no! We’re seeking maximum performance, not maximum perspiration. So you’ll start by doing a set of 5 reps- even though 10 reps are possible. Just trust me here. You’ll be in plenty of time by the time the PR Zone ends, believe me!

So you’ve done 5 reps on the curls, so next, do 5 reps on the extensions.

How long should you rest? Get ready….ready?

I…….DON’T….CARE

I really don’t. Rest as long or as little as you like. One less thing to worry about. Now, the clock’s ticking, and you’re going back and forth between curls and extensions, doing sets of 5 resting maybe 15-20 seconds or so between each set. But as time goes on you’ll become fatigued. No- you really will. So when his happens, you’re gonna do two things to optimize your performance: First, you’ll drop your reps. Although you’ll start the PR Zone by doing sets of 5, over the course of 15 minutes, you’ll gradually drop down to sets of 4, then sets of 3, and so on.

Toward the very end of the PR Zone, you may even be doing sets of 1! Don’t worry- by this time, the weight that was a 10RM 15 minutes ago is now more like a 3RM!

The second thing you’ll do- and it’ll happen instinctively…no need to think about it- is you’ll gradually increase your rest between sets.

Your 15 Minutes Of Fame Is Now Over

Allrighty then. You finished the PR Zone. Hopefully you performed “X” number of reps for both exercises. Let’s say you got 64 reps for each exercise. That’s called your Baseline PR. It’ll become your training target for the next repeat of this PR Zone

Now Here’s The REALLY Cool Thing About EDT…

Depending on the program you’re on, in maybe 4-6 days later you’re going to repeat this PR Zone. And when you do, a couple of really neat things happen. First, when you start the PR Zone, you know you’ll be finished in 15 minutes…no matter what happens. It’s not like “OK Susan, here’s your program, enjoy!” and you’re lookin’ at that sucker and your thought bubble is like “Holy frig…how long is that gonna take?” Nope. Not when you’re training with me.

The second thing that you’ll enjoy here is that you know exactly what you need to accomplish…in this case, you need to get 65 reps or better. How much better? Again…

I…….DON’T….CARE

Are ya feelin’ the love? OK look…my point is that we’re all different… some of us are more aggressive than others. Then main thing is to ensure that you’re making progress. And honestly, small margins or progression that you can sustain long term are worth a whole hell of a lot more than big jumps that you can’t maintain.

When Do I Add Weight?

Ah…now you’re thinkin’ like a lifter! OK, here’s how it works: As soon as you can increase the total number of reps in any given PR Zone by 20 percent or more, start the next workout with 5 pounds or 5 percent more weight (whichever is less) and start over. Similarly, if you manage to improve upon your last performance (for the same workout) by 40 percent, then you’ll increase your weights by 10 pound or 10 percent (whichever is less) on the next PR Zone.