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Jelisej
06-15-2013, 04:32 PM
Recently I've read an article in newspapers and it got me thinking- first I found topic a bit absurd but then.... I mean athletes do use hypnotherapy, some bodybuilders use hypnotherapy to be more motivated, as a matter of fact I know that hypnotherapy can have a big impact on hormones, but this article goes bit further- it claims that through hypnotherapy we can command some specific body part without any training.
Well read it for yourself:
Can hypnotherapy make your boobs bigger? We find out | The Sun |Woman|Health|Health (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/health/health/4966650/bigger-boobs-hypnotherapy.html)

One of interesting parts from article:
Zack refers to a study at the University of Manchester where they split people into two groups.
One had to exercise to promote muscle growth, the other had to visualise muscle growth. They found that the group who visualised got 50 per cent of the same muscle growth as the group that exercised.



I'll also throw in some more texts from internet:
Visualization

Visualization is the ability to form mental image in your mind. Visualization can be used for all sort of purpose, fantasizing or daydreaming will be the most common.

Athletes use visualization to rehearse their movements. The brain doesn't make different between an imagined event and a real one, providing that you are able to visualize things with clarity and intensity, something imagined or visualized in your mind can have the same value as a real experience, it is why you can mentally train for any ability and even for body change, it was demonstrated by studies at the Manchester University that people were able to have muscles growth during one week of sessions of hypnosis, during hypnosis sessions the group were asked to visualize themselves having bigger muscles.

Usually, an athlete will use visualization to correct his weaknesses, improve his game and increase his motivation. Mark Plaatjes , gold medalist at the men's marathon in the 1993 Stuttgart athletic world championship said that he was mentally very prepared. He even worried that things were too perfect, Plaatjes is an adept at mental training or visualization.

What is mental Training ? the mind controls the body, not the other way around

Mental training involves the use of exercises to strengthen different abilities for the beginner the ability to visualize with clarity must be developed first, the most effective techniques for that is called Image Streaming another techniques is too simply do 3 sessions of visualization everyday , 15 minutes minimum for each session. The image streaming techniques developed by Win Wenger is easy to do you simply have to close your eyes and describe outloud into a recorder what you are perceiving without editing.

Once, you have developed a good ability for visualization you can use the technique for so many purposes, if you want to gain a new habit or skill, you can mentally train this skill, a period of 3 to 21 days will be required to observe significant change.

Creative Visualization

Back in 1998, I used creative visualization as a manifesting method, at night in my bed, I visualized my ideal lifestyle, my house , the way of life and everything I wanted, 3 years later, I had this lifestyle. Creative visualization is a technique to manifest thing in your life, you should visualize what you want in a relaxed state and a quiet environment at night, before sleeping is very good time or when you wake up if you have enough time, a session of half hour is the way to go, if you can do longer it is good too. Depending on what you want to achieve you might need several weeks or months of visualization some method are designed to bring you very fast result, that's the case of the Cybernetic Transposition T process developed by Stuart Lichtman. (the method harmonize conflicting parts of your being that may prevent you to have what you want quickly).

One of the best way, to work with visualization is to observe your thoughts and beliefs, and to image the opposite of the belief that hold you back. If you are a master procrastinator you can use visualization to imagine yourself doing your work, if when you do that you feel some discomfort, you can explore this discomfort until the point you discover the belief behind it, may be, a belief of not deserving or a fear of success/failure is hided there.

Visualization and healing

Visualization can be used to heal however you must first have a positive belief about healing before you use visualization for this aim. It is why combining affirmation and visualization is a good technique to assert your ability to heal yourself.



Hypnosis Methods and Bodybuilding | Hypnosis Methods | Bodybuilding Hypnosis (http://www.hypnosispoint.com/articles/hynosis-methods-bodybuilding.html)


Bodybuilding Muscle Hypnosis (http://www.sportshypnosis.co.uk/Muscle_Hypnosis.htm)

IAbstract from link above, Hypnotherapy and hormonal response

It is documented that the ability of hypnosis to increase emotional responses, also serves to release testosterone in the body, aiding musclular development.
Ultimately it is the mind that controls muscle, this includes the delivery of electrical impulses that signals the muscle to work. Research shows that this stage lights up identical parts of the brain that would be energised if you were actually working out.


During hypnosis the brain’s Hypothalamus releases neurotransmitters that command the pituitary gland to release development hormones. The Endocrine system is the system that initiates the changes that occurred during puberty.

Through unconscious visualisation every cell of the body is communicated too, showing your mind and body how you wish to look and feel once your goals have been achieved. You clearly see and thus become the person you wish to be.

Although hypnosis's main attribute in the bodybuilding arena is the removal of mental blocks to muscular development, success has also been seen in increasing weight lifting abilities, focusing and motivation, increased endurance and speeding recovery times.

The 'will' always breaks before muscle (assuming the muscle is adequately warmed up). Therefore, with good direction you can use hypnosis to intensify your training session to go far beyond ones usual level of pain threshold.

pman42
06-15-2013, 05:06 PM
I picked up a copy of Arnold's autobiography at a used bookstore for $2 the other day. one thing he writes about at length is the mind-muscle connection. when going into the gym, he would leave aside all distractions. not think about anything other than the workout. then, he would totally focus on the muscle being used. visualize blood rushing into it and the muscle contracting. he would picture his body the way he wanted it. he said many other guys went through the same workouts but didn't have this "championship mentality" and they didn't grow.

thought this was interesting. of course the drugs don't hurt

Jelisej
06-15-2013, 05:38 PM
"he would leave aside all distractions. not think about anything other than the workout"

This is a hard one for me, lot of training sessions are ruined because my mind is elsewere, I'm pretty sure that I'm not only one on this board with this issue.
As for visualisation is commonly used in many sports- I beleive that this is key to be successful. I remeber as a child some local "strongmen" and what strike me most is their self belief, their confidence in their own strenght.

One thing I would not recommend to anyone is hypnotherapy, that is like opening Pandoras box, you dont really know what gremlins are going to come out.... And it has an effect on mood but also on hormone levels- personaly I've known people getting an gyno as a result of hypnotherapy.

burlyman30
06-16-2013, 08:22 PM
99% of the time, my mind is in the right place. I've heard people complain occasionally about the music in my gym, and then I think to myself "there's music at the gym?" I shut it out completely once I enter the gym. I seriously had no idea there was music there.

I think I learned this focus/connection at the gym early on as a teen. I had a lot of tumultuous internal stuff going on as a teen. When I would work out, all of that trouble went away. It was a mental sanctuary for me. It was the one place in my life that I knew I could control the outcome. It was the place that cause and effect actually seemed to be beneficial to me. Ever since then, I am fortunate enough to almost always enter that zone as I go to my "work" in the gym.

It was tumultuous financial times that actually got me back to the gym again after a multi-year break while building my business. And it was that time in the gym that helped me de-stress when nothing else could. I started back for mental health reasons, not nearly so much the physical side of it. Pouring my focus into something completely outside of my situation got me healthy again.

In my younger days, that focus helped me reach heights of strength and muscularity that I never could have reached without it. It's that focus that helped me push to get those extra reps or extra weight. Pushing beyond my body's programmed limitations with the intensity I drummed up mentally enabled me to reach further and achieve more. Anabolics can't do that for you. However, once you learn to enter this zone, anabolic usage is certainly enhanced by it.

Eden
06-16-2013, 09:31 PM
I always get my mind into a certain place, it's like I shut down concern for my feelings, or the drive to the gym, or how I feel about co-workers, or whatever. All that matters is the set, and making my body do what I want it to do. I have always found many bbers to be very confident not always in an arrogant way, but they believed in themselves, and no matter what anyone said their confidence never wavered.