STRATEGIES OF THE CHAMPIONS - CHAMPION FOCUS

Most people just meander through life without much focus or direction and get easily battered and tossed and turned by life’s little, and sometimes big, storms.

Champions however, have the ability to focus all of their energy to achieve success in their chosen field and even when the storms come, and they do for Champions too, they use the storms energy to learn, to grow, to improve and to get stronger both physically and mentally.

Champions can do this because they have two types of focus. The first is what I call a general life focus, which is really a knowing of what their priorities are, and actually prioritizing them. The second is what I call an in the moment focus which they use during training and competitions.

Your life focus is more than just having a training program and a nutrition plan, it is prioritizing Champion behavior. That is everything including training, eating, rest and recovery, sleep, getting coaching advice, bodywork treatment, working on your mindset, and eliminating distractions.

It is also knowing what is most important so that when distractions or interruptions come into your life, it is not a difficult decision, you just know what to do. For example, your mates ask you to go out on the town the night before a big training session. If you have prioritized being a Champion you might tell them “not tonight sorry” or you might go out for a short while, but drink only water and come home early enough to get plenty of sleep.

As another example, you might be at a birthday celebration and they are handing out pieces of birthday cake. If you are in a getting lean phase or making weight for a competition, you will simply say “no thanks” and it won’t be a big deal. However, if you are in a bulking phase, you might even go back for seconds.

If you have children, like I do now, and your partner calls during a training session to tell you your child has had an accident and needs to go to hospital, and you have prioritized your child’s wellbeing over being a Champion, then you rush home and help your child and simply reschedule your training session to another time. When you know what is most important to you, these things that come up are not a big deal, you just do what you know is most important.

Your in the moment focus is what enables you to do what most normal people think is impossible for them. It is what enabled me to deadlift more than most men twice my size and why so many people have said to me something like “I can’t comprehend how someone your size can lift so much weight”.

Once you learn this focus, you will be able to focus all of your energy in specific moments and accomplish amazing things. Think of Bruce Lee and his 1 inch punch.

Scientifically speaking, lifting a weight is simply a transfer of energy. For example when performing a deadlift, you first give the bar and weights kinetic energy as you move them during your lift and at the top of the lift the bar and weights has increased its potential energy, compared to when it was on the floor.

So in simple terms, the amount of weight you can lift depends on the amount of energy you can put through your body and muscles in a few seconds. Typically bigger muscles have a higher capacity for energy throughput, but you can also train your muscles, your nervous system and your whole body to transfer more energy without getting bigger.

To help you develop your Champion Focus I have two strategies for you:

1) For your life focus, take an hour to sit down and list out all the things that are happening in your life and all the things that would be happening in your life if you were living the life of your dreams.

Then put them into two lists. One list of things that supports you unleashing your inner Champion and living the life of your dreams, and the other list those things that hold you back. Then for the things that support you, put that list in order of importance to you.

This will help you clearly see where you should be focusing your time and energy and what things you might need to let go of.

2) For your in the moment focus, the quickest and easiest way to get in the zone to lift heavy weights is to tap into your primal energy by beating your chest like Tarzan, or hitting your sternum or breastbone (between your breasts). You might think it looks stupid or will draw attention to yourself, but if your priority is to be a Champion, who gives a f..k what other people think!

As well as helping you get out of your head and into your body, this will also help stimulate your Thymus gland, which is behind the top of your breastbone (sternum). Thumping your thymus has been claimed to release fear, increase your life force energy, increase strength, increase vitality and strengthen your immune system. So just give it a try ok.

BONUS: watch the video on Champion Focus and get an extra bonus tip.