WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.940 Don't get frustrated if your mind wanders while 00:00:01.940 --> 00:00:04.459 you're doing it, right? So a lot of times athletes 00:00:04.459 --> 00:00:07.839 will try to listen to the script, but their mind 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:10.039 will wander and they're like, oh, I didn't get 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:12.640 fully immersed. Okay, take note, right? Mind 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:15.500 wandered at three minutes and 37 seconds. What 00:00:15.500 --> 00:00:17.239 were you thinking about? What was going on, right? 00:00:17.379 --> 00:00:19.640 And then the next day you try again, right? And 00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:21.579 over time, you're able to start focusing more. 00:00:23.370 --> 00:00:25.789 Hi, Tom. It's my pleasure to have you on Evidence 00:00:25.789 --> 00:00:28.850 Strong Show for the second time. And today we're 00:00:28.850 --> 00:00:31.629 talking imagery for Olympic weightlifting performance. 00:00:31.809 --> 00:00:35.649 But before we go into the woods, please briefly 00:00:35.649 --> 00:00:37.530 introduce yourself. Yeah, definitely. Thanks 00:00:37.530 --> 00:00:39.390 for having me again. This is one of my favorite 00:00:39.390 --> 00:00:42.109 topics. I know when I had mentioned it the first 00:00:42.109 --> 00:00:44.329 time we recorded, we were like, oh, now we have 00:00:44.329 --> 00:00:46.929 to do a part two because it's a good topic for 00:00:46.929 --> 00:00:48.969 especially for weightlifters and any athletes. 00:00:49.189 --> 00:00:51.549 Yeah, I'm Tom Smalley. I'm a certified mental 00:00:51.549 --> 00:00:54.130 performance consultant. I own my own private 00:00:54.130 --> 00:00:55.670 practice, struggle in the strength performance, 00:00:56.070 --> 00:00:59.710 helping high performers of all sports be their 00:00:59.710 --> 00:01:02.229 best when their best is required. And so that's 00:01:02.229 --> 00:01:04.969 kind of, we believe that challenges are the catalyst 00:01:04.969 --> 00:01:09.150 for growth. And we like to show how that happens. 00:01:09.230 --> 00:01:11.890 There's a process to that and it's through a 00:01:11.890 --> 00:01:14.090 lot of hard work, but mindset really does make 00:01:14.090 --> 00:01:16.409 a difference in high performance. All right. 00:01:16.450 --> 00:01:18.469 And today we're covering one of the techniques 00:01:18.469 --> 00:01:21.569 in Marjorie and let's go through some kind of 00:01:21.569 --> 00:01:23.790 definitions. so we know what we're talking about. 00:01:23.950 --> 00:01:25.989 Yeah, totally. A good place to start is that 00:01:25.989 --> 00:01:28.609 mental imagery gets kind of misconstrued with 00:01:28.609 --> 00:01:31.750 visualization, right? So visualization, the idea 00:01:31.750 --> 00:01:34.650 of mental imagery is you're using all of your 00:01:34.650 --> 00:01:38.450 senses, right? And because we're using our senses, 00:01:38.530 --> 00:01:41.989 it creates a more real experience when we're 00:01:41.989 --> 00:01:45.129 practicing it. And so visualization only thinks 00:01:45.129 --> 00:01:47.689 of the visual aspect, right, and a sight. But 00:01:47.689 --> 00:01:50.150 mental imagery, we're trying to use the feel, 00:01:50.250 --> 00:01:53.500 the hearing. The I mean, for some, like it could 00:01:53.500 --> 00:01:56.079 be the taste. It could be the the kinesthetic 00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:58.019 awareness. Right. So we're trying to bring all 00:01:58.019 --> 00:02:00.700 of those things in. Right. And into this one 00:02:00.700 --> 00:02:02.920 script that we're building for mental imagery 00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:05.159 to practice. And so that's what mental imagery 00:02:05.159 --> 00:02:08.180 really is, is is using all of your senses to 00:02:08.180 --> 00:02:11.699 experience and replicate a moment to reinforce 00:02:11.699 --> 00:02:14.539 better behaviors. And so, you know, I think the 00:02:14.539 --> 00:02:16.020 thing that people don't understand is there's 00:02:16.020 --> 00:02:18.879 different types. Right. So there's two sections 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:21.479 of mental imagery and that's. cognitive mental 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:24.719 imagery and motivational. And so cognitive is 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:28.240 going to be more about skill execution and strategy 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:31.560 and tactical planning, right? And then the motivational 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:36.479 aspect of imagery, that specific subtype is more 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:40.400 confidence, resilience -based, seeing achievement, 00:02:40.740 --> 00:02:44.400 seeing you put success together, overcoming obstacles. 00:02:44.439 --> 00:02:47.800 So both are very beneficial. And I think, especially 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:50.439 in weightlifting, in this sport, I'd... say both 00:02:50.439 --> 00:02:53.120 are equally beneficial and when i have a weightlifter 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:55.879 make a script largely it's there's going to be 00:02:55.879 --> 00:02:58.120 some cognitive skill execution mental imagery 00:02:58.120 --> 00:03:01.020 and some motivational parts too is there a framework 00:03:01.020 --> 00:03:03.759 and how to go about it because it's easy to say 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:06.840 or imagine with all your senses something that 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:09.419 is beneficial for your performance but for the 00:03:09.419 --> 00:03:12.860 person who has never done it this is a huge leap 00:03:12.860 --> 00:03:16.639 to take a huge gap to bridge so how how should 00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:18.419 we go about it something i really like to emphasize 00:03:18.419 --> 00:03:21.569 is especially when I start working with a client 00:03:21.569 --> 00:03:23.990 that I identify maybe would benefit from mental 00:03:23.990 --> 00:03:25.990 imagery is like, hey, this is not gonna be like, 00:03:26.090 --> 00:03:27.990 we create this mental imagery script, you read 00:03:27.990 --> 00:03:30.349 it and you're gonna be all great and everything's 00:03:30.349 --> 00:03:32.270 awesome and it's gonna work immediately, right? 00:03:32.349 --> 00:03:34.610 This is just like a snatch or a clean and jerk, 00:03:34.729 --> 00:03:36.849 right? Or any sort of technique you learn in 00:03:36.849 --> 00:03:39.430 sport and the skill acquisition, it's a skill 00:03:39.430 --> 00:03:41.270 that you have to practice and acquire, right? 00:03:41.310 --> 00:03:44.650 The ability to actually use your senses in the 00:03:44.650 --> 00:03:47.250 imaginary experience, right? And so a lot of 00:03:47.250 --> 00:03:50.250 what I do is, In my approach with my clients, 00:03:50.330 --> 00:03:52.969 I like to almost start with non -sports related 00:03:52.969 --> 00:03:56.949 imagery scripts, like thinking of, for example, 00:03:56.949 --> 00:03:59.569 I use this with a quarterback I worked with. 00:03:59.689 --> 00:04:03.110 It was a script of him on the beach, but it was 00:04:03.110 --> 00:04:06.530 really just practicing using our senses in that 00:04:06.530 --> 00:04:09.610 actual experience so that when we built his actual 00:04:09.610 --> 00:04:13.090 mental imagery script of the fourth quarter and 00:04:13.090 --> 00:04:15.449 leading a drive, he was actually able to know 00:04:15.449 --> 00:04:17.560 how to use his senses in there, right? Because 00:04:17.560 --> 00:04:20.339 using your senses in mental imagery is a skill 00:04:20.339 --> 00:04:22.259 you have to acquire over time. It's something 00:04:22.259 --> 00:04:24.720 you actually have to practice. So for a weightlifter, 00:04:24.860 --> 00:04:27.879 I might use a mental imagery script of like, 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:30.779 you know, you're outside at a park and you hear 00:04:30.779 --> 00:04:33.019 birds chirping or whatever it may be, right? 00:04:33.160 --> 00:04:35.720 And we might practice just using the senses. 00:04:35.779 --> 00:04:37.920 And then we have a rating scale of each sensory 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:40.680 checklist and say on a scale of one to five, 00:04:40.779 --> 00:04:42.819 one being the lowest or five being the highest. 00:04:42.920 --> 00:04:46.319 How well did I use my hearing? How well did I 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:48.620 use my... my kinesthetic, right? How well did 00:04:48.620 --> 00:04:51.079 I use my sight, right? And then we rate them. 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:53.459 And then over time, as we keep practicing, the 00:04:53.459 --> 00:04:56.860 intention is to improve over time of being able 00:04:56.860 --> 00:04:58.860 to use those things better and better. But a 00:04:58.860 --> 00:05:01.560 lot of times, like we won't even start with a 00:05:01.560 --> 00:05:04.399 mental imagery experience based in their sport, 00:05:04.519 --> 00:05:06.939 because if they don't have the skill to apply 00:05:06.939 --> 00:05:10.000 into that, then they're not going to receive 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:12.279 the stimulus that they need from that. All right. 00:05:12.300 --> 00:05:14.860 So the first step would be to try to recreate 00:05:14.860 --> 00:05:27.160 some... Totally. Yeah, definitely. So my first 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:30.540 step usually is, you know, I like to ask them. 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:33.300 More ask them questions, right? About like, hey, 00:05:33.399 --> 00:05:35.560 what's something you're trying to work for? So 00:05:35.560 --> 00:05:38.259 identifying the goal behind the mental imagery 00:05:38.259 --> 00:05:41.139 first, right? So before you even dive into which 00:05:41.139 --> 00:05:43.779 experience you want to replicate, it's, hey, 00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:46.759 what are you working towards? What specific situation 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:48.920 or performance would you like to mentally prepare 00:05:48.920 --> 00:05:51.339 for, right? And then if the example is stepping 00:05:51.339 --> 00:05:54.759 up to the bar confidently during my first snatch, 00:05:55.019 --> 00:05:57.259 right? So that's their goal. Then we go to step 00:05:57.259 --> 00:06:00.220 two, right? And it's selecting the imagery touch. 00:06:00.300 --> 00:06:02.980 right? Checking the boxes that match the needs 00:06:02.980 --> 00:06:05.120 of the client, right? Is your script going to 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:07.839 be more cognitive based, right? Cognitive specific, 00:06:08.060 --> 00:06:10.579 meaning skill execution, or cognitive general, 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:13.740 meaning strategy and tactics. Usually in weightlifting, 00:06:13.959 --> 00:06:15.959 we're going to see cognitive specific, right? 00:06:16.040 --> 00:06:19.240 Skill execution is largely the main portion of 00:06:19.240 --> 00:06:20.839 the sport, right? You know, obviously the strength 00:06:20.839 --> 00:06:23.259 aspect is important too, and the mental aspect, 00:06:23.339 --> 00:06:26.000 but like skill execution, if you don't know how 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:27.500 to do the lifts, we can't do them, right? So 00:06:27.500 --> 00:06:29.959 a lot of what we're going to see is is skill 00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:33.279 execution and cognitive specific mental imagery. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:35.360 So we'll check that box, right? And then we start 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:37.980 working on what that looks like. And then we 00:06:37.980 --> 00:06:40.759 think about, okay, do we want any of the motivational 00:06:40.759 --> 00:06:43.279 imagery too? Like what personal goal are we striving 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:45.660 for? Do we want to put ourselves in a situation 00:06:45.660 --> 00:06:49.360 of achieving it in detail? The podium, the handshake, 00:06:49.500 --> 00:06:52.379 the feeling of slamming the bar, right? Like 00:06:52.379 --> 00:06:55.939 those things really reproduce that moment and 00:06:55.939 --> 00:06:59.170 make us actually have the same neural. response 00:06:59.170 --> 00:07:02.569 as if it was happening in real life. And so the 00:07:02.569 --> 00:07:05.110 more descriptive, the better, right? And so, 00:07:05.350 --> 00:07:08.029 you know, we dive into the which types of motivational 00:07:08.029 --> 00:07:10.910 imagery, right? So motivational specific, right? 00:07:10.970 --> 00:07:13.189 Could be that achieving the goal. Motivational 00:07:13.189 --> 00:07:15.829 general could be emotional control. Do you want 00:07:15.829 --> 00:07:18.170 to write in your mental imagery script? Do you 00:07:18.170 --> 00:07:22.310 want to maybe feel calm or focused or energized? 00:07:22.589 --> 00:07:24.910 What emotional state do you want to feel, right? 00:07:25.189 --> 00:07:27.449 Breathing, body language, heart rate, and then 00:07:27.449 --> 00:07:29.990 the motivation. general mastery, right? It's 00:07:29.990 --> 00:07:32.279 what challenges might come up. Do you want to 00:07:32.279 --> 00:07:35.480 see yourself overcoming them, right? Picturing 00:07:35.480 --> 00:07:38.220 yourself staying composed, staying in control, 00:07:38.500 --> 00:07:40.920 right? Focusing on your breathing, all of those 00:07:40.920 --> 00:07:44.379 things. And then that's when we start, when we 00:07:44.379 --> 00:07:46.500 take those things, all those bullet notes that 00:07:46.500 --> 00:07:48.740 we took, then we start putting that script together. 00:07:49.019 --> 00:07:51.639 All right, how do you decide which, because all 00:07:51.639 --> 00:07:54.199 of this sounds amazing, I want all of this, but 00:07:54.199 --> 00:07:57.379 probably I will not benefit from all of it equally 00:07:57.379 --> 00:08:01.019 because it would take me three hours to visualize. 00:08:01.100 --> 00:08:03.079 some of the aspects. So how you go about choosing? 00:08:03.420 --> 00:08:04.939 Yeah, no, it's a really good question. I think 00:08:04.939 --> 00:08:07.220 it's, we usually ask ourselves when, what's important 00:08:07.220 --> 00:08:10.279 now? Like what's, what's the most pressing challenge 00:08:10.279 --> 00:08:12.920 we're facing right now? And then we'll, we'll 00:08:12.920 --> 00:08:15.519 address that one in like, what have we been struggling 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:17.279 with the most? And that's the, that's the one 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:18.560 we're going to attack with the mental imagery 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:21.699 the most, right? So if it, if it was, you know, 00:08:21.699 --> 00:08:24.639 the first, I tend to miss my first snatch. Okay. 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:26.759 We're going to do one on the first snatch and 00:08:26.759 --> 00:08:28.740 then we're going to master that one and really 00:08:28.740 --> 00:08:31.620 be super descriptive. and super specific. And 00:08:31.620 --> 00:08:33.820 then once you feel, once you start making your 00:08:33.820 --> 00:08:35.580 first snatches, you feel comfortable, then we 00:08:35.580 --> 00:08:37.500 can move on to another one. And then also as 00:08:37.500 --> 00:08:40.460 they get more competent, right? In that skill 00:08:40.460 --> 00:08:42.440 -based learning of mental imagery, you could 00:08:42.440 --> 00:08:44.860 have two, you know, I have some weightlifters 00:08:44.860 --> 00:08:47.080 that I work with that have one for their first 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:48.960 snatch and one for their first clean and jerk, 00:08:49.059 --> 00:08:50.820 right? And then I have some that just have one 00:08:50.820 --> 00:08:53.360 for the overall meat day, right? And going into 00:08:53.360 --> 00:08:55.220 the meat and not actually doing the lifts, right? 00:08:55.299 --> 00:08:57.480 So that's more like motivational and arousal 00:08:57.480 --> 00:09:00.129 regulation. So it really differs. depends on 00:09:00.129 --> 00:09:02.409 what the client's needs are. And that's for myself 00:09:02.409 --> 00:09:05.210 as the CMPC and the client to decide, right? 00:09:05.289 --> 00:09:07.169 It's a collaborative approach. What do you, you 00:09:07.169 --> 00:09:09.309 know, what do you feel like you really are missing? 00:09:09.490 --> 00:09:11.590 But I agree with you that, you know, all of it 00:09:11.590 --> 00:09:13.889 sounds great, but throwing everything at once 00:09:13.889 --> 00:09:16.990 is never the answer. I think in any time we're 00:09:16.990 --> 00:09:19.669 learning any skill, it's segmenting it and, and 00:09:19.669 --> 00:09:22.289 learning the process of it is going to be more, 00:09:22.370 --> 00:09:25.330 they're going to get more out of doing less way 00:09:25.330 --> 00:09:28.509 better than doing way more and doing at a, at 00:09:28.509 --> 00:09:31.649 a. less degree like as less experience level 00:09:31.649 --> 00:09:34.669 all right so we have some kind of structure and 00:09:34.669 --> 00:09:37.769 and framework how to think about imagery could 00:09:37.769 --> 00:09:41.509 we maybe go through the example let's say let's 00:09:41.509 --> 00:09:45.049 go with the first snatch imagery how just an 00:09:45.049 --> 00:09:47.309 example of course it will not be personal you 00:09:47.309 --> 00:09:49.809 know we don't know why the person struggles at 00:09:49.809 --> 00:09:51.830 the first snatch or maybe they don't struggle 00:09:51.830 --> 00:09:54.429 but they want to be less nervous for the totally 00:09:54.429 --> 00:09:56.809 how would you go about putting these elements 00:09:56.809 --> 00:10:00.200 of cognitive and motivational into this imagery 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:02.399 yeah so essentially you know what i have them 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:05.100 do and you know i'm always happy to guide them 00:10:05.100 --> 00:10:06.659 through it as they're writing it but i really 00:10:06.659 --> 00:10:09.000 like for them to sit down and and think about 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:11.820 that moment right so what i like what i really 00:10:11.820 --> 00:10:13.620 have them do is like i'll have them actually 00:10:13.620 --> 00:10:15.899 have a checklist of all their sensory right so 00:10:15.899 --> 00:10:18.980 it'll go through visual what you see right and 00:10:18.980 --> 00:10:21.419 it'll be a little table right sense visual what 00:10:21.419 --> 00:10:24.080 you see included question mark and then auditory 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:26.600 sounds included question mark right and there'll 00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:29.039 be a little Box to check. Emotional. A factory 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:31.720 or, you know, smells, tastes, if relevant, obviously. 00:10:32.139 --> 00:10:34.220 Kinesthetic. Is it included? Right. So they have 00:10:34.220 --> 00:10:36.679 boxes to check as they're writing it. So it gives 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:38.860 them a parameter of like, oh, maybe I should 00:10:38.860 --> 00:10:41.240 add in something else about how the bar feels 00:10:41.240 --> 00:10:43.179 in my hand because I didn't get enough kinesthetic 00:10:43.179 --> 00:10:46.759 in there. Right. So it reinforces. But just like 00:10:46.759 --> 00:10:49.200 when we used to write essays for college, like 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:51.700 you just do revisions and revisions. And then 00:10:51.700 --> 00:10:54.820 when we decide, OK, it's thorough enough, it's 00:10:54.820 --> 00:10:57.399 specific enough, then. we can actually start. 00:10:57.539 --> 00:11:00.379 So some people like for me to record it and read 00:11:00.379 --> 00:11:03.309 it. And so they can listen to it. And some athletes 00:11:03.309 --> 00:11:05.250 like to record it themselves and listen to it. 00:11:05.269 --> 00:11:06.950 And then some just like to read it beforehand. 00:11:07.149 --> 00:11:10.450 But essentially, we try to have them write it. 00:11:10.529 --> 00:11:13.049 And usually when they the first time they give 00:11:13.049 --> 00:11:14.769 it back, it's usually not descriptive enough. 00:11:14.970 --> 00:11:17.250 And that's the expectation. I really emphasize 00:11:17.250 --> 00:11:19.289 like, hey, I want you to be I want you to go 00:11:19.289 --> 00:11:21.350 overboard on description. Right. I want it to 00:11:21.350 --> 00:11:23.990 be every detail possible. Right. That you're 00:11:23.990 --> 00:11:27.649 that comes that you feel is important in that 00:11:27.649 --> 00:11:30.840 moment that you're expressing. So I think it 00:11:30.840 --> 00:11:33.220 comes with trial and error and obviously having 00:11:33.220 --> 00:11:36.179 a somebody that's educated and experienced like 00:11:36.179 --> 00:11:38.980 myself or another CNBC or sports like like to 00:11:38.980 --> 00:11:40.580 really guide you through that kind of stuff. 00:11:40.659 --> 00:11:43.240 But I think really like doing a I have my athletes 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:46.000 set a timer like, hey, here's 20 minutes. I want 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:47.580 you to write down everything that comes to your 00:11:47.580 --> 00:11:49.440 mind about that moment. And then we'll figure 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:51.519 out the details of where to piece them together 00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:54.240 later. Right. But I also, you know, another another 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:57.220 strategy if if if an athlete has really bad writer's 00:11:57.220 --> 00:12:00.019 block for mental imagery is. Hey, I want you 00:12:00.019 --> 00:12:02.759 to write 10 to 15 minutes of the best competition 00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:04.820 experience you ever had. And I want you to write 00:12:04.820 --> 00:12:07.419 as much detail as possible, because if we write 00:12:07.419 --> 00:12:09.720 the best competition experience we ever had with 00:12:09.720 --> 00:12:11.440 detail, we're probably going to reinforce the 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:14.100 best things possible. Right. So that really helps 00:12:14.100 --> 00:12:16.539 get them when you can relate it to a past experience 00:12:16.539 --> 00:12:18.779 that they had. It gets their their mind flowing 00:12:18.779 --> 00:12:20.399 a little bit more. And because it's daunting 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:22.480 to just get a piece of paper or notepad and to 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:24.779 start writing about and trying to, like, understand 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:27.220 how you should write it. But if I tell an athlete, 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:29.580 hey, tell me about that. competition you had 00:12:29.580 --> 00:12:32.039 and where you thrived and you faced resilience 00:12:32.039 --> 00:12:35.100 and you overcame challenges. And give me as much 00:12:35.100 --> 00:12:37.580 detail as possible with these senses. They're 00:12:37.580 --> 00:12:39.679 usually like, OK, awesome. I get to talk about 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:41.899 myself. I get to write about myself and relive 00:12:41.899 --> 00:12:44.559 this experience. That sounds great. So that is 00:12:44.559 --> 00:12:47.259 a really good way to get the mind flowing of 00:12:47.259 --> 00:12:49.789 ideas of what you would want in there. But yeah, 00:12:49.889 --> 00:12:53.629 it's a really good way to, one, reflect on what 00:12:53.629 --> 00:12:57.269 you, sometimes athletes realize, oh, this went 00:12:57.269 --> 00:12:59.250 really well, but this is actually something I 00:12:59.250 --> 00:13:02.149 want to improve on, right? And so it also brings 00:13:02.149 --> 00:13:04.049 in reflection, which I think is super powerful. 00:13:04.570 --> 00:13:07.470 When you choose between cognitive and motivational, 00:13:07.549 --> 00:13:10.490 is there a balance you have to strike? Is it 00:13:10.490 --> 00:13:13.570 personal? How do you decide on that? Really depending 00:13:13.570 --> 00:13:15.850 on the client. I think when they describe their 00:13:15.850 --> 00:13:19.289 problem, right? Is it a, I get the yip, right? 00:13:19.409 --> 00:13:23.570 And I clark. Or is it a, like, so for example, 00:13:23.570 --> 00:13:25.789 I've used mental imagery for athletes that clark 00:13:25.789 --> 00:13:28.049 with cleans or snatches, right? They pull it 00:13:28.049 --> 00:13:30.450 and don't get underneath, right? In that aspect, 00:13:30.570 --> 00:13:33.110 we understand that, okay, there might be more 00:13:33.110 --> 00:13:35.529 of a motivation. aspect of confidence getting 00:13:35.529 --> 00:13:38.629 under the bar, right? And it might be more beneficial 00:13:38.629 --> 00:13:41.330 to do it that way and add more of that in. It 00:13:41.330 --> 00:13:45.190 also could be said to be more cognitive because 00:13:45.190 --> 00:13:48.389 you want to produce more force and be conscious 00:13:48.389 --> 00:13:52.309 of that and experience that, right? So I think 00:13:52.309 --> 00:13:55.330 it's super dependent on the athlete. That's why, 00:13:55.350 --> 00:13:57.710 especially with weightlifting, I feel like it's 00:13:57.710 --> 00:13:59.929 really important to incorporate both because 00:13:59.929 --> 00:14:03.460 I think it proves very valuable to see. or to 00:14:03.460 --> 00:14:06.960 reimagine an experience of success, right? There's 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:09.299 no better predictor for confidence than achievement, 00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:12.679 right? The reality is the more frequently you 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:14.940 do something successfully, the more confident 00:14:14.940 --> 00:14:16.600 you're gonna be you're gonna do it again, right? 00:14:16.700 --> 00:14:19.480 That's just human nature. But if we can do that 00:14:19.480 --> 00:14:21.779 in mental imagery, it's pretty beneficial, right? 00:14:21.899 --> 00:14:23.799 So I think, but then the other aspect is like, 00:14:23.899 --> 00:14:26.639 I think there's a lot of benefit to when you're 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:29.139 a new lifter, especially new lifters and new 00:14:29.139 --> 00:14:31.480 to a sport, cognitive mental imagery can be super 00:14:31.480 --> 00:14:33.980 beneficial. the learning process too. It gives 00:14:33.980 --> 00:14:36.799 you opportunity to do what you want your body 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:39.539 to do. Right, right. It's reinforcing everything 00:14:39.539 --> 00:14:42.659 you're learning. And it sends the same neurotransmitters, 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:45.179 right, that you get from doing it in person. 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:47.759 So I think when we're thinking about like nerves 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:50.740 for a competition, I do think motivational is 00:14:50.740 --> 00:14:53.139 super beneficial, especially with the aspect 00:14:53.139 --> 00:14:56.299 of like emphasizing the staying in control and 00:14:56.299 --> 00:14:59.240 breathing and stuff in the back room. I think 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:01.379 that can be super beneficial when we're still 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:03.659 learning the lifts and or make it maybe you're 00:15:03.659 --> 00:15:05.980 making technical changes i think mental imagery 00:15:05.980 --> 00:15:08.940 cognitive can be more beneficial there there 00:15:08.940 --> 00:15:11.220 in those instances because it's all about skill 00:15:11.220 --> 00:15:13.659 acquisition and i think it's what's cool is it 00:15:13.659 --> 00:15:16.120 applies to every sport too right it's because 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:19.480 every sport has a has a skill that's that's learned 00:15:19.480 --> 00:15:21.440 right but i think with weightlifting especially 00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:25.000 right such a skill -based sport that cognitive 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:27.879 is true does prove to be very beneficial all 00:15:27.879 --> 00:15:30.600 right in terms of motivational could we talk 00:15:30.730 --> 00:15:33.309 a little bit more about that, how to calm nerves, 00:15:33.470 --> 00:15:36.029 how to feel confident on the platform, going 00:15:36.029 --> 00:15:38.389 to this first lift or going to the third one 00:15:38.389 --> 00:15:41.129 after to miss, you know, just how to feel, how 00:15:41.129 --> 00:15:45.070 to use imagery to support these type of situations. 00:15:45.389 --> 00:15:47.009 Yeah, definitely. So I think, you know, I had 00:15:47.009 --> 00:15:49.610 someone tell me once that as a practitioner, 00:15:49.690 --> 00:15:51.549 that they didn't use mental imagery with their 00:15:51.549 --> 00:15:54.610 clients because it could go negatively in their 00:15:54.610 --> 00:15:57.730 mind, right? And to me, that's avoidance of adversity, 00:15:58.070 --> 00:16:00.409 right? So the reality is... We could do mental 00:16:00.409 --> 00:16:02.850 imagery and still fail, right? There's no doubt 00:16:02.850 --> 00:16:06.610 about that. But if we practice the skill of being 00:16:06.610 --> 00:16:09.549 confident in a situation, when we get into that 00:16:09.549 --> 00:16:11.350 situation, we're going to be more confident, 00:16:11.409 --> 00:16:14.190 right? And so I love using mental imagery because 00:16:14.190 --> 00:16:17.179 I think it reinforces. the positive thing happening, 00:16:17.320 --> 00:16:20.000 right? If you train it right and develop the 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:22.840 skill to fully immerse yourself in that experience, 00:16:23.100 --> 00:16:25.860 I think there's so many benefits to it. So I 00:16:25.860 --> 00:16:29.019 think knowing that like, you know, setting the 00:16:29.019 --> 00:16:31.879 expectation of like, hey, this doesn't guarantee 00:16:31.879 --> 00:16:34.559 anything, but this is what this is going to guarantee 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:36.139 is that you're going to be more confident on 00:16:36.139 --> 00:16:38.019 competition day, right? And you're going to be 00:16:38.019 --> 00:16:40.720 more prepared, right? And the second biggest 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:43.539 predictor to confidence is preparation, right? 00:16:44.330 --> 00:16:45.970 The more you prepare, the more confident you're 00:16:45.970 --> 00:16:48.529 going to be. Right. And so I think right there, 00:16:48.549 --> 00:16:50.889 that tells me how valuable mental imagery is, 00:16:50.990 --> 00:16:53.049 especially from a motivational aspect. Right. 00:16:53.110 --> 00:16:55.409 In terms of, you know, the details of what we 00:16:55.409 --> 00:16:57.970 include in motivational mental imagery, I've 00:16:57.970 --> 00:17:01.049 had athletes where it's more focused on staying 00:17:01.049 --> 00:17:04.130 emotionally in control. Right. After a miss. 00:17:04.289 --> 00:17:06.990 So I actually have had athletes that aren't trying 00:17:06.990 --> 00:17:09.839 to avoid thinking about missing. Right. It's 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:12.519 more about, oh, I just missed. Now what? Right. 00:17:12.619 --> 00:17:15.099 How am I going to respond? So, you know, to the 00:17:15.099 --> 00:17:17.059 practitioners, they get worried about maybe their 00:17:17.059 --> 00:17:19.440 clients or, you know, their athletes going south 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:21.799 and then thinking about missing. Yeah, that's 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:24.819 possible. But you also need to allow space for 00:17:24.819 --> 00:17:27.779 adversity to exist. Right. We can't live in a 00:17:27.779 --> 00:17:30.900 make believe land of things always going right. 00:17:31.019 --> 00:17:35.180 So allowing the emotions to be felt of, hey, 00:17:35.299 --> 00:17:38.200 I just missed. OK, what's my plan now? And then 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:40.950 using. mental imagery to kind of curate your 00:17:40.950 --> 00:17:43.670 response to how you deal with missing a snatch 00:17:43.670 --> 00:17:46.269 or a clean and jerk, how you walk up to the stage 00:17:46.269 --> 00:17:48.470 on that third attempt, even if you just missed 00:17:48.470 --> 00:17:50.970 your first two, right? I think those are super 00:17:50.970 --> 00:17:53.730 special situations that mental imagery is actually 00:17:53.730 --> 00:17:56.109 super beneficial for. And I mean, like, listen, 00:17:56.190 --> 00:17:59.309 I think, you know, another thing about self -doubt 00:17:59.309 --> 00:18:03.970 and maybe mental imagery going wrong is we don't 00:18:03.970 --> 00:18:06.170 want to suppress that, right? The more we suppress 00:18:06.170 --> 00:18:07.769 that, the more we're going to think about it. 00:18:07.789 --> 00:18:10.130 it. Right. If I told somebody to not think of 00:18:10.130 --> 00:18:11.990 missing a snatch, what are they going to do? 00:18:12.069 --> 00:18:13.930 They're going to think of missing a snatch immediately 00:18:13.930 --> 00:18:15.569 because that's what's going to pop into their 00:18:15.569 --> 00:18:18.430 head. And so the more we suppress maybe failure 00:18:18.430 --> 00:18:21.569 or making mistakes, the more we're going to worry 00:18:21.569 --> 00:18:23.549 about it and think about it. Right. And so I 00:18:23.549 --> 00:18:26.589 like to use the analogy of of you're a bus driver. 00:18:26.670 --> 00:18:29.230 Right. And all these thoughts that you're having 00:18:29.230 --> 00:18:32.519 are on the bus with you. Right. And some of them 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:35.180 are great thoughts of achieving success. And 00:18:35.180 --> 00:18:37.500 some of them are saying, hey, you're going to 00:18:37.500 --> 00:18:40.240 miss your first three attempts. Right. Neither 00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:43.180 are going to, you know, obviously the good ones 00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:44.519 are going to benefit you more if you give more 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:47.400 energy to them. And, you know, the self -defeating 00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:49.559 ones like the missing snatches are going to probably 00:18:49.559 --> 00:18:51.779 drag you down. But you've made space for them 00:18:51.779 --> 00:18:53.960 on your bus and the passenger seats. But you're 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:56.339 the bus driver of your of your mind. Right. And 00:18:56.339 --> 00:18:58.960 your emotional control. And so it's defining 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:01.259 what your values are. who you want to show up 00:19:01.259 --> 00:19:04.480 as, as an athlete. And as outcome aside, who 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:06.279 do you want to show up as an athlete? And then 00:19:06.279 --> 00:19:08.799 deciding to drive towards those values and not 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:11.019 letting those passengers thoughts, right? Say, 00:19:11.140 --> 00:19:13.640 hey, stop here, pull over here, right? Because 00:19:13.640 --> 00:19:15.559 that's what those self -doubt thoughts are trying 00:19:15.559 --> 00:19:17.519 to do. They're trying to get you to stop the 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:19.460 bus here, stop the bus here, right? But you're 00:19:19.460 --> 00:19:21.200 driving towards your values. And that's what 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:23.680 mental imagery is, is re -imagining experiences, 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:28.019 right? That are values -based and in line with 00:19:28.019 --> 00:19:31.289 who you want to show up at. So as long as we're 00:19:31.289 --> 00:19:34.009 making those experiences, especially the motivational 00:19:34.009 --> 00:19:36.650 aspect, right, in line with our values of what 00:19:36.650 --> 00:19:39.410 we want to achieve and what our goals are and 00:19:39.410 --> 00:19:41.450 who we want to show up as, your mental imagery 00:19:41.450 --> 00:19:43.230 isn't going to go south. I have two comments 00:19:43.230 --> 00:19:47.069 on it. One is that sounds like a focus on process 00:19:47.069 --> 00:19:50.430 and practicing who you want to be as a person 00:19:50.430 --> 00:19:52.849 in general, but specifically in relation to how 00:19:52.849 --> 00:19:54.950 you want to show up as an athlete. And the second 00:19:54.950 --> 00:19:59.150 thought is what a cheat code for... getting good 00:19:59.150 --> 00:20:02.289 reps in, doing the best you can, performing the 00:20:02.289 --> 00:20:05.049 best you can. You can just repeat it again and 00:20:05.049 --> 00:20:07.029 again. Right, right. There's no, right? It's 00:20:07.029 --> 00:20:09.549 not going to fatigue your body, right? So it's 00:20:09.549 --> 00:20:11.890 like, why wouldn't we use this, right? You're 00:20:11.890 --> 00:20:14.450 right. It's exactly what you say it is. It's 00:20:14.450 --> 00:20:16.849 a cheat code, right? And a lot of stuff with 00:20:16.849 --> 00:20:19.690 mindset and mental performance is a cheat code, 00:20:19.849 --> 00:20:21.950 right? Because that's the aspect of things that 00:20:21.950 --> 00:20:24.930 people aren't usually training diligently, right? 00:20:25.069 --> 00:20:27.349 We'll train our explosiveness and our strength 00:20:27.349 --> 00:20:29.900 and our... our technique and our mobility, right? 00:20:30.059 --> 00:20:32.640 Everybody will do extra body work, right? But 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:36.039 like how many are really doing serious, diligent, 00:20:36.059 --> 00:20:38.119 tracked mental work, right? Like, so like when 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:40.460 I work with a client, it's all documented. It's 00:20:40.460 --> 00:20:43.079 all, there's a plan to things. It's not just, 00:20:43.180 --> 00:20:44.940 hey, we're going to meet once a week. Like it's, 00:20:44.940 --> 00:20:46.539 hey, you're going to go home with stuff. You're 00:20:46.539 --> 00:20:48.339 going to work on this, right? And I think, like 00:20:48.339 --> 00:20:50.740 you said, it's a cheat code to unlocking a new 00:20:50.740 --> 00:20:54.079 level to yourself. And so to me, it's a no -brainer, 00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:57.299 right? But yeah, I think it really depends. Depends 00:20:57.299 --> 00:20:59.299 on the person what you're going to put into the 00:20:59.299 --> 00:21:01.960 script. Right. And, you know, I think you want 00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:04.259 it to be substantial enough where they're spending 00:21:04.259 --> 00:21:07.640 time really like if it's too short, it's very 00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:11.640 hard to get into a flow state in mental imagery. 00:21:11.819 --> 00:21:14.799 Right. And get into a state of really being able 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:17.500 to identify your senses. So I think there has 00:21:17.500 --> 00:21:19.799 to be some some length to it, too, like at least 00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:21.839 a couple of paragraphs. Right. And the details 00:21:21.839 --> 00:21:24.740 matter. All right. Would you have any pointers 00:21:24.740 --> 00:21:28.400 on what to avoid? when we create imagery script. 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:32.720 Yeah, I think the main thing is one, keep the 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:34.680 main thing the main thing, right? So don't try 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:37.420 to add things that are not relevant, right? So 00:21:37.420 --> 00:21:41.720 if your challenge you're facing is feeling too 00:21:41.720 --> 00:21:44.220 anxious for clean and jerks after snatches, like 00:21:44.220 --> 00:21:47.400 probably don't start in warmups, right? You could 00:21:47.400 --> 00:21:50.019 probably start after your last snatch or like, 00:21:50.059 --> 00:21:52.900 you know, so don't make it so long that like 00:21:52.900 --> 00:21:55.460 you're losing the idea of what you're actually 00:21:55.460 --> 00:21:57.049 doing. you trying to work on? Right. So that's 00:21:57.049 --> 00:21:59.569 where that first step of like identifying the 00:21:59.569 --> 00:22:01.730 challenge you're working on is really crucial. 00:22:01.950 --> 00:22:04.109 And then I would say the second the second piece 00:22:04.109 --> 00:22:06.150 of advice would be keep a sensory checklist near 00:22:06.150 --> 00:22:08.450 you as you're writing. All right. Do we cover 00:22:08.450 --> 00:22:10.829 all the things we should be avoiding? I think 00:22:10.829 --> 00:22:13.990 so. I think so. I would say something you should 00:22:13.990 --> 00:22:15.970 do would be like make sure you're practicing 00:22:15.970 --> 00:22:18.529 it. Right. So don't just write the script and 00:22:18.529 --> 00:22:21.029 then expect to be able to like immerse yourself 00:22:21.029 --> 00:22:23.190 in it like the day of competition. Right. Because 00:22:23.190 --> 00:22:25.029 you want to use it before competition. and to 00:22:25.029 --> 00:22:26.670 be able to, you know, maybe the night before, 00:22:26.829 --> 00:22:29.529 the morning of, whatever it may be, at weigh 00:22:29.529 --> 00:22:31.210 -ins, right? You have this at your disposal, 00:22:31.450 --> 00:22:33.170 but don't expect yourself to be able to get into 00:22:33.170 --> 00:22:35.250 that if you haven't practiced it, right? It's 00:22:35.250 --> 00:22:37.470 like expecting yourself to go hit a PR clean 00:22:37.470 --> 00:22:38.910 and jerk when you haven't been training hard. 00:22:39.069 --> 00:22:41.069 So we have to reinforce these skills. So what 00:22:41.069 --> 00:22:42.690 I have my clients do is, hey, we're going to 00:22:42.690 --> 00:22:44.589 do a mental imagery script about training on 00:22:44.589 --> 00:22:47.009 Friday, your big Friday. And we're going to start 00:22:47.009 --> 00:22:49.589 preparing, like let's apply it in training first 00:22:49.589 --> 00:22:51.730 so that when you get to competition, you're not 00:22:51.730 --> 00:22:54.980 lost. Right. All right. So. Let's bring it all 00:22:54.980 --> 00:22:59.380 together now and let's build three main points 00:22:59.380 --> 00:23:02.299 about imagery for Olympic weightlifters. Yeah. 00:23:02.380 --> 00:23:04.480 So I think the first main point that I would 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:07.660 say is identifying what goal or challenge that 00:23:07.660 --> 00:23:10.539 you're trying to achieve or obstacle you're trying 00:23:10.539 --> 00:23:13.180 to get past. Right. Or bounce back from. Right. 00:23:13.240 --> 00:23:15.980 What are you trying to use mental imagery for? 00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:18.720 Right. Identify the moment. Identify the challenge. 00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:21.740 Then the second aspect would be obviously identifying 00:23:21.740 --> 00:23:24.539 what aspects. of the subtypes of mental imagery 00:23:24.539 --> 00:23:26.279 that you're going to incorporate. Is it more 00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:28.779 cognitive? Is it more motivational? Is it a mix 00:23:28.779 --> 00:23:31.019 of both, right? And then writing your script, 00:23:31.180 --> 00:23:34.700 revising it, and really using that checklist 00:23:34.700 --> 00:23:37.140 of, oh, I need more hearing. I need more auditory. 00:23:37.180 --> 00:23:39.420 I need more kinesthetic. So those are the steps, 00:23:39.500 --> 00:23:41.660 right? And then the second aspect would be don't 00:23:41.660 --> 00:23:43.599 get frustrated if your mind wanders while you're 00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:46.299 doing it, right? So a lot of times athletes will 00:23:46.299 --> 00:23:49.460 try to listen to the script, but their mind will 00:23:49.460 --> 00:23:51.740 wander and they're like, oh, I didn't get fully 00:23:51.740 --> 00:23:54.799 immersed. OK, take note. Right. Mind wandered 00:23:54.799 --> 00:23:57.180 at three minutes and 37 seconds. What were you 00:23:57.180 --> 00:23:59.079 thinking about? What was going on? Right. And 00:23:59.079 --> 00:24:01.279 then the next day you try again. Right. And over 00:24:01.279 --> 00:24:03.400 time, you're able to start focusing more. Today 00:24:03.400 --> 00:24:05.859 in society, we have extremely short attention 00:24:05.859 --> 00:24:08.000 spans. Right. And that's just the reality of 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:09.740 it, because everything's at our fingertips. Right. 00:24:09.819 --> 00:24:12.660 And everything is a lot of there's a lot of instant 00:24:12.660 --> 00:24:15.380 gratification. So naturally, our mind is going 00:24:15.380 --> 00:24:18.519 to wander more and the younger athletes, their 00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:20.980 mind wanders more. Right. So learning to stay 00:24:20.980 --> 00:24:23.490 this. not only does mental injury reinforce an 00:24:23.490 --> 00:24:26.490 experience of competition or training or whatever 00:24:26.490 --> 00:24:29.109 obstacle they're facing and getting past that, 00:24:29.170 --> 00:24:31.990 but they also are practicing focus, right? And 00:24:31.990 --> 00:24:34.769 focus on a moment. So there's multiple benefits. 00:24:34.869 --> 00:24:36.970 But yeah, don't get frustrated. You know, I think 00:24:36.970 --> 00:24:40.250 that's, I've seen that happen is, and also don't 00:24:40.250 --> 00:24:43.190 get frustrated if you do mental injury and then 00:24:43.190 --> 00:24:46.089 you don't have the success you want in competition, 00:24:46.170 --> 00:24:48.589 right? Like there's not a direct, necessarily 00:24:48.589 --> 00:24:50.910 like a direct correlation between if you, do 00:24:50.910 --> 00:24:53.730 this, you're guaranteed to PR or you're guaranteed 00:24:53.730 --> 00:24:55.569 to have success, right? This is just another 00:24:55.569 --> 00:24:57.670 tool in the toolbox that is obviously beneficial 00:24:57.670 --> 00:25:01.230 and to me is a cheat code to improving performance. 00:25:01.630 --> 00:25:04.430 But I don't want people to take this as like, 00:25:04.450 --> 00:25:07.329 hey, I did my mental imagery every night and 00:25:07.329 --> 00:25:10.250 I didn't PR, right? And that doesn't mean to 00:25:10.250 --> 00:25:12.630 not to stop doing it after that happens, right? 00:25:12.730 --> 00:25:14.630 That just gives me more of a reason to do it. 00:25:14.690 --> 00:25:17.009 Oh, I still didn't get the hang. I did my mental 00:25:17.009 --> 00:25:19.390 imagery and I didn't have success that I wanted. 00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:21.839 But I'm going to keep at it because if you keep 00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:23.740 at it, you're going to have success. And also, 00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:27.319 if you've done the work right, something's changed 00:25:27.319 --> 00:25:30.160 within you. So you are a different person, whatever 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:34.339 the outcome is. So totally. Yes, 100 percent. 00:25:34.380 --> 00:25:35.720 I'm glad you said that because I actually had 00:25:35.720 --> 00:25:38.180 someone ask me, you know, I have a lot of athletes 00:25:38.180 --> 00:25:40.720 where, you know, necessarily they set a very 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:43.720 large goal and I'm all for it. And maybe they 00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:46.660 don't reach that large goal along the journey. 00:25:46.680 --> 00:25:49.000 But then that doesn't mean that journey was all 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:50.920 for. nothing. I mean, look at all the amazing 00:25:50.920 --> 00:25:52.599 things. I always say like, look at all the amazing 00:25:52.599 --> 00:25:54.980 things you accomplished along the way and look 00:25:54.980 --> 00:25:57.019 at who you became because of that goal you were 00:25:57.019 --> 00:25:58.920 chasing. Right. So it doesn't mean necessarily 00:25:58.920 --> 00:26:01.400 that it was all for nothing. I think athletes 00:26:01.400 --> 00:26:03.619 tend to get in that all or nothing mindset. Like 00:26:03.619 --> 00:26:05.960 I put in all this work and, you know, I didn't 00:26:05.960 --> 00:26:08.380 get what I what I was trying for out of it. So 00:26:08.380 --> 00:26:10.200 it wasn't worth it. And that couldn't be further 00:26:10.200 --> 00:26:11.900 from the truth. Two short questions to finish. 00:26:11.960 --> 00:26:15.559 The first one is from your expertise, what would 00:26:15.559 --> 00:26:18.809 be the one mental skill you could give? to all 00:26:18.809 --> 00:26:21.170 weightlifters if you could? That's a great question. 00:26:21.309 --> 00:26:25.670 I do think, I think the ability, I think mindfulness 00:26:25.670 --> 00:26:28.690 would probably be my first. The ability to accept 00:26:28.690 --> 00:26:31.750 thoughts as thoughts and be able to diffuse them 00:26:31.750 --> 00:26:35.710 while in training or in competition and be able 00:26:35.710 --> 00:26:39.009 to control that arousal and emotional. emotional 00:26:39.009 --> 00:26:41.009 regulation i think that would be my first one 00:26:41.009 --> 00:26:43.190 because it's super applicable and then i think 00:26:43.190 --> 00:26:45.150 the second one would be 1a and then 1b would 00:26:45.150 --> 00:26:48.009 be mental imagery all right i'll give so i would 00:26:48.009 --> 00:26:50.029 say like that you know the first one's more is 00:26:50.029 --> 00:26:52.329 very applicable to in the moment. And then the 00:26:52.329 --> 00:26:54.009 second one is outside of the moment, something 00:26:54.009 --> 00:26:56.670 to practice. Awesome. We cover all the aspects. 00:26:56.710 --> 00:26:58.890 Yeah, all the spectrums. All right. Well, people 00:26:58.890 --> 00:27:01.650 can find you. Are you open for consultations? 00:27:01.690 --> 00:27:05.009 Can weightlifters reach out for your help? Yeah, 00:27:05.089 --> 00:27:07.450 absolutely. More than welcome to. You can find 00:27:07.450 --> 00:27:12.089 me on Instagram at S2SFOF. And then my website 00:27:12.089 --> 00:27:16.250 is www .struggleintostrength .com. Yeah, so absolutely. 00:27:16.609 --> 00:27:19.069 Always happy to. My DMs are always open. Happy 00:27:19.069 --> 00:27:20.990 to. answer questions. As you can see, I mean, 00:27:21.009 --> 00:27:23.769 I just talked about this for 50 minutes. So I'm 00:27:23.769 --> 00:27:26.289 a nerd for this stuff. I love this stuff so much. 00:27:26.309 --> 00:27:29.289 And I just really love helping athletes become 00:27:29.289 --> 00:27:31.210 better versions of themselves that they didn't 00:27:31.210 --> 00:27:33.130 really necessarily think they could become. So 00:27:33.130 --> 00:27:35.930 that's really why I got into my work at the end 00:27:35.930 --> 00:27:37.710 of the day. Awesome, Tom. Thank you so much for 00:27:37.710 --> 00:27:39.569 today. Yeah. Thank you so much for having me 00:27:39.569 --> 00:27:39.730 again.