Another fitness legend lends her thoughts to Jorie’s journey.
Nita Marquez is a world accomplished fitness competitor, business owner, motivational speaker, author, and mother. An IFBB Pro who has conquered the fitness landscape, Nita wanted to share with Jorie a little about what got her to where she is.
*You can buy Nita’s book, Fit For Combat, on Fittron and learn how to train like a Marine. Nita is also available for speaking and sponsorship events, so contact her through her profile if you need a professional and accomplished fitness representative.*
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Being on the journey into figure greatness is a path more highly tread now than ever before, as there are many more opportunities to compete with increasing show (figure competitions) availability nationwide. However, the road many choose to travel is not always traveled with efficiency and much less, with effectiveness.
Training with the best helps, and even being the best on paper is a wonderful thing, but mentally, there is a place commonly referred to by all athletes as “the zone” wherein its space a competitor must live full-time in order to feel their best while being in the race to show up the best. It has been spelled out countless times over the past century since the first pioneers of the “positive thinking movement” coined the phrase, “YOUR ATTITUDE DETERMINES YOUR ALTITUDE IN LIFE.” None but those who have accomplished true greatness will tell you that the tools to keeping your mind focused in training for any prize come from keeping your mind clean. This means to remove the unnecessary distractions from your thoughts and rid your daily activities of useless makings while also practicing activities of mental building to the point of making those things habitual.
A few tools I have learned in the history of my career to winning the Overall National Title in my sport have been tools I learned from people like Napoleon Hill, Norman Vincent Peale, and James Allen, along with numerous sports psychologists who have guided the greatest Olympic, PGA Golf and NBA Athletes. I went from being the short chubby girl with no self-esteem in school to becoming one of the world’s top 10 greatest athletes in my field, and being able to accomplish a National Title was beyond dreaming for me. How did I do it? What turn of events took place that “made” me into a champion? The only answer is that I changed my thoughts and my actions.
The question now becomes, “How does one change their thoughts and actions such to the point that it makes them the champion?” Tremendous efforts under the guise and wisdom taught in many books are helpful. For myself, from such works, I have learned the habits that made the champions. As a result of many years of such research, experimentation, and practice, I have a list of things that became habits for me in training. As such things became habitual, the thoughts those habits produced became my modus operandi, which led me to the championship I eventually procured for myself. Here is the list:
1) Have a clear vision of the goal
-What does the environment look like? How do you look? How does the audience appear at the time you win the goal?
2) Daily, upon waking, take 10 minutes to meditate & visualize as you “feel” the goal.
-Sense the emotions that will come from experiencing the reality of that vision.
-Note the senses that come from that reality: How it smells in the room, what your mouth feels like, what you hear, and how your muscles feels throughout your entire body (from your smile to your toes!).
3) Make time twice daily to sit quietly and undistracted as you visualize & experience the goal’s sensory results.
4) Take 10-30 minutes daily (preferably at waking moments) to repetitiously write affirmations of the goal.
-”I, ____(your full name) , have won the (your goal’s title) .”
-”I, (your full name) , have (your bodyfat/measurements).”
-”I, …”come up with one to 5 affirmations that you can write repeatedly every day that you have these sessions.
5) READ BOOKS/ARTICLES that reiterate your championship mindset habits and ideas to continue to grow in the “championship mindset.” Listen to audio books as you drive or as you are at home or even as you are working out or during stretching. Program your muscle memory to operate within these thoughts.
6) Avoid drama by being PROACTIVE rather that reactive to life’s challenging moments. Always remember what matters is your goal; and in your proactive moments, visualize and feel the goal.
7) Have a motto. My motto has always been: “Persistence Always Prevails.”
8 ) Persist
9) Tune into your goal experience thought processes in order to stay tuned out to negative situations, discussions, or people.
10) Train with your core purpose as the “soul” of the training. Accomplish the goal because of why it matters to you and stay passionate. Many people get out into the forest and they miss the trees. Always remember why you first fell into love with your sport, and why it matters to you to be a part of that sport.
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