Doing it halfway is no good; you have to do it all the way, give yourself wholly to it. Taisen Deshimaru
It is easy to get into the habit of thinking about “this, that, and the other thing” when you are in the middle of a workout. This is the result of an undisciplined mind. If you find yourself focusing on other things during your workout, stop yourself and refocus on why you are working out in the first place.
Thinking of other things, instead of focusing your energy on your workout, is definitely not taking your training “deadly serious.” Your training is to important to do half-heartedly. Focus all your energy on the task at hand.
Arnold Schwarzenegger pointed out during his bodybuilding years that your muscles actually increase in size and get bigger if you concentrate and visualize this happening as you workout. Now, if concentrating on your weight training increases the effectiveness of your workout, why wouldn’t the same be true concerning your martial arts workout? What you concentrate on matters. Our mind has much greater powers than we give it credit for having.
Do you want to increase your flexibility? Visualize your muscles lengthening and becoming more flexible and stronger as you stretch. If you want to make your front kick stronger, visualize yourself going through each part of the kick. Focus totally on your kick when you are practicing it. If you are not including your mind in your workout, you are leaving out a vital part of your training.
