C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Lessons in Mind Power from Bill Pearl and Others      In one of Bill Pearl’s books, “Getting Stronger,” he has a chapter entitled “The Power of Positive Thinking” (which I have unabashedly stolen for the title of this essay).  He opens that chapter with a story from Charles Garfield, a sports doctor in the ‘70s, who had visited Russia in ‘79, when it was still the Soviet Union.  A group of Soviet sports psychologists and physiologists met with Garfield and told him of the wondrous powers and the fabulous effects of intense mental concentration on the performance of their lifters and athletes.  Garfield spent days with the Russian researchers, and apparently had enough “theory.”  He wanted to see results .  Here’s how Pearl tells the tale:      “At a gym, the Soviets quizzed Garfield. ‘How long since you’ve done any serious training?’ they asked.  ‘Eight years.’ ‘What was your maximum bench press in your prim...