We could all use a superhero version of ourselves.

The more I meet and chat with experienced personal trainers, the more I notice various common skills they share, arising from a multitude of years of experience in assisting clients reach their personal and fitness goals. A skill set that so often arises seems to go above and beyond what most personal trainers originally embark on their careers being expected to know or even understand.

As fitness professionals, we need to know about muscles and bones and the heart and lungs. We need to know what effects various types of exercise have on these body systems and how all this ultimately helps us mould and sculpt the human body into the expectations and wishes of our clients.

We need to know how to demonstrate and teach a wide array of exercises using all sorts of equipment and gadgets. Granted, but the common skill set I see in the creme de la creme of the personal training world is, quite literally, above and beyond.

We simply must understand what makes people tick, and if the ticker isn’t ticking as it should, we need to know how to fix it, because not even the fanciest or most perfectly designed fitness programme in existence will make any difference if we fail to make it off the starting line.

It would seem that of all the constituents of the human body, the most likely of its components to determine success or failure, is situated the highest of all: in the head. Of course psychologists are the experts when it comes to what goes on in that all-important playing field between the ears, not personal trainers.

Fitness professionals, nevertheless, cannot help but notice some of the profound effects that science of the mind has on performance and success and thus strive to learn as much as they can about it.

After years and years of observing people and interacting with them, we tend to draw certain conclusions when variables play out toward similar outcomes time and again.

Every good fitness professional knows the old saying ‘attitude determines altitude’. When I, for one, decide I need to lose a few kilograms of fat, I instinctively know that, ‘decide’ is the key word. Indeed, it is well and truly half the battle, won from the outset if you appreciate the power of your own mind and the importance of setting out on the right path.

That first repetition of mental might saves probably a whole lot more than nine when you’re slaving away on the treadmill

The very first repetition of any successful exercise and fitness programme is accomplished by flexing that all-important mental muscle before any other. They say a stitch in time saves nine, and in terms of physical exercise, that first repetition of mental might saves probably a whole lot more than nine when you’re slaving away on the treadmill or stationary bike later on, waging war with your own will to shed even the slightest of slithers of abdominal fat.

Psychologists tell us to visualise. You could play a few inspirational movies in the movie theatre of your own mind when required, but you could also take this concept all the way, as many trainers have learned to do with their clients and themselves in pursuit of training success.

The power of visualisation gets really interesting when you see yourself right now, as you want to be. Sounds a little deep, I know, but it actually couldn’t be simpler.

I cannot help but remember a cartoon I saw many years ago called Doug. Doug was a boy with an alter ego called ‘Quailman’. The superhero version of himself would surface in dire times of need. However, he trundled through the daily challenges of life the rest of the time facing mundane challenges and mishaps just like we all do. In such situations, he would always ask himself: “What would quailman do?”

We could all use a superhero version of ourselves. Your quailman might be a leaner and fitter you, so why don’t you try asking yourself on a daily basis, when presented with those little gremlins like sloth or gluttony, what would the leaner and fitter version of you do? Think of a sporting champion. It has been said that the mindset of a champion precedes the act of becoming a champion in itself. If you think like a champion, then all of your actions and behaviours will start to reflect that mindset. It makes perfect sense. If you start behaving like a champion and making all the decisions a champion would make, then it’s only a matter of time before those choices start to pay off.

As a champion, you wouldn’t miss a workout. As a champion, you wouldn’t slack when you get to the gym. As a champion, you wouldn’t give into naughty treats at every sign of temptation.

Just think where months or even years of such behaviour might take you. Become your goal, now, and suddenly your choices get a whole lot easier.

Would you like to be in the same shape you were in 10 years ago? Do you remember how you felt? Is your vision crystal clear? Try taking your mind there first, and once it’s arrived, it almost seems like a matter of course that your body must simply follow suit, as you make all the necessary lifestyle changes to bring your dormant superhero self to life.

matthew.muscat.inglott@mcast.edu.mt