Visualization And Why It Helps Increase Your Strength

           What you see is far different from how you feel. We usually begin things by a thought. How we see that thought is different for everyone but a common entity is that if you see, feel it and give into its power, it can generate your strength in ways you have never imagined. In the field of strength and fitness, most people just go around cutting corners, dragging their sorry asses along and don’t give any real thought to how they can find within themselves the power to generate what they want to happen. There’s a whole other world in visualizing what you want.

            To really understand the power of visualization, you can’t just think of something and just act on it in my opinion; it’s really digging deep into the very core of your soul. To see is to feel, to see is to dream it, to see it, it consumes you and you control what you want to see. It’s not easy because not everyone can see inside themselves. When you see something, what are you doing, where are you and how do you want to achieve it? The basics of Visualization is to go into a near trance-like state and you can do this with your eyes open or closed whatever you prefer but also when you’re in this trance, learn to block out the outside world and focus on what matters most.

            One of my favorite Visualizations is what’s called Theater Of The Mind; it teleports you into a movie theater that can be as big as you want. It gives you freedom to see whatever you want to achieve no matter how big or how small, it’s your time, your movie and your own endeavor. Some people see just themselves in the theater, watching themselves at their best and they’re by themselves without anyone around. For me, it’s a little out there. When I walk into the Theater Of My Mind, I actually sit next to someone and it’s not just a random person. I picture sitting next to someone that may have passed on that I admire or more frequently it’s one of the gods or goddesses of Mount Olympus or Greek/Norse/Irish Mythology such as Zeus, Hercules, Thor, Pan, Aphrodite and whoever shows up. They help me on my journey and channel my intuition. In Greek or Latin stories of the gods, it is said that the gods visit mortals in their dreams.

            Very few can see but the rest don’t know how to use their imagination and look into the very heart of what they want. When you look into your mind what you want whether it’s to be stronger, more athletic, win a game, score a touchdown, hit a homerun, break a world record or whatever it is you desire, feel it as if you were there at the front lines, people cheering you and you are the king/queen of your own arena. Sense the atmosphere, feel the surge of energy that makes you victorious, see the smiles of your loved ones as they congratulate your successes and your peers admiring your courage and strength. These are all the examples of what you can create in your visualizations, you have the power to create whatever you desire and no one can take that away from you.

            Go beyond what you see, feel more powerful in that moment in time, destroy all your obstacles and turn yourself into a person you want to be the most, see yourself at your best and see how far you can push it in the future. There are no limits, there is no darkness in the tunnel, you are shining bright and it burns those that stand in your way. Throw yourself into the stratosphere, beyond the stars, shoot through planets, become a universe of strength and vitality that makes everything you desire become simpler, easier and more powerful. You have it in you and it’s waiting to be unleashed.  

Muscle Control Journey

      Well where do I start? First to introduce myself I am Lewis Lindsey Jr. Well from the time I was young I had always admired the strength in others be it physical or mental. Throughout my life me along with my brother Jarell have always seen examples of both from different folks. One of the main ones my father Lewis Sr who was 5’6 and served in Vietnam had always shown signs of strength. 

     Lifting up my  mom who at the time was heavier and on top of that losing her ability to walk due to MS he was holding a dead weight but he made it look easy. In terms of their mental strength my father held on strong throughout the years even after having his Strokes and Heart Attacks he still maintained his sense of humor and will power until the end of his life in 2005. I remember this story my mom use to tell me at the time. She would talk about this story all the time where the ambulance was trying to pick up my mom who at this point is losing her ability to walk so their lifting dead weight.  

     My father wasn't a big guy by looks but while these pretty big guys were struggling to lift my mom up together he was able to do it singlehandedly.  I can believe that as I've seen him on the regular do things like this and that became my motivation to want to be able to gain that strength mentally and physically. So by the age of 10 I was already lifting my mom up who at the time was dead weight and around the high 200 range. My brother in law was also another man of great strength doing many feats of strength himself both in the mental and physical department. So I had those influences early in life. I also without realizing it was introduced to isometrics by my brother in law as he would have me sometimes do wall sits and push up holds then but years later when I would see my younger brother again I would be reintroduced to it like he was.  

    I would look up the likes of Bruce Lee one of my favorite fighters and philosophers and saw how he also incorporated isometrics in his daily routine from reading his books. My Jarell also shared with me 7 Seconds to a Perfect Body by Paul O Brien(now legally Batman O Brien) and got more into isometrics. I was definitely seeing that I was getting stronger but didn't have control of the strength which was pretty scary for people(laughing) so I had to first learn to control it. So then one day with my brother I learned about Maxick and Muscle Control. I learned the need to control my muscle well my body through the mind and I learned to not so much tense the muscles but rather to relax them.  

   I believe I started muscle control since April to now July 28, 2013. My muscles feel less tense and more rubbery and I notice I have a little more control of my muscles and though I haven’t yet gotten complete control I can see I’m on the pathway there and I look forward to continuing this journey and want to share that with others would want to get into Isometrics and Muscle Control. I have great respect for the likes of Benjamin Bergman, Batman O Brien and other modern strongmen who continue to keep this legendary culture alive and being willing to teach others. I can say my journey isn’t over and I only have more to grow and I indeed will.  

Spiderman & Bodyweight Exercise

I recently saw the reboot of Spiderman and I got to say I was quite impressed with the cast and the unknown Andrew Garfield taking on the role of the Web-Slinging hero. Each character played their roles with gusto and there were unexpected actors in the film I did not really think would be in this type of movie.

 What really impresses me about this particular superhero is that he’s one of an extreme few comic book heroes that has a more natural and sleek physique unlike the very muscular heroes like Hulk, Superman, Wolverine and guys like Captain America. Spiderman’s built like a functional athlete like a classic running back or a Charles Atlas type athlete. He doesn’t look like he’s on roids or a overbearing weightlifter, just a natural looking athlete who uses his bodyweight throughout most of his fights.

 He reminds of one animal in the jungle that just seems to fly through the air and just swings through the trees like Tarzan and I’m talking about the jungle gymnast the Gibbon. As a matter of fact, I have a comic book I bought a while back that features Spiderman and other Marvel superheroes as if they were on the Planet Of The Apes and Spiderman’s Ape-body is the Gibbon. The gibbon is the gymnast of the Animal Kingdom bar none, other apes and monkeys are good but the way the Gibbon brachiates just can’t be matched by grip agility, strength, flexibility and coordination. If you want to learn to develop this ape-like power check out what one of my buds has to show you.

 In one scene in the film, Peter (Spiderman) is learning to use his jumping and web-slinging abilities. While on top of building in New York, he holds an awesome free-handed Handstand while using only 2 fingers. I know it wasn’t real but it was beautiful nonetheless and that particular handstand reminds me of the Shaolin Monks and the kick ass performers of Circe De Soilie. Handstands are one of the most kick ass forms of not only upper body strength but just to hold one free-handed is a beauty in itself. Back in the early 20^th century, athletes from all walks of life have at one time attempted Hand Balancing, gymnasts, wrestlers, strongmen, weight lifters, bodybuilders, boxers and even Trapeze artists; all had a hand in doing some form of Handstand Training.

 Spiderman’s Grace and Fluidity is just mind-blowing and the closest to Spiderman I can think in terms of athletic strength and power is either the athletes of Ninja Warrior or Bodyweight Extraordinaire Brad Johnson, these guys just tear it up in workouts that are only seen to believe, the finger strength is just phenomenal and only can be explained by experience. Experience real bodyweight training and you’ll get a sense of what it’s like to have superhuman abilities and reaching beyond the norm. If you’re a fan of superheroes, check out The Amazing Spiderman.