A year ago, I was unable to perform a handstand pushup with proper form and with full range of motion. 

And at the time, I wasn't sure why - I knew this was a HARD, HARD exercise to do, and I knew that I'd benefit greatly from regular practice at this exercise, and so I better bust my backside working them. And bust my backside I did - but after many, many hours of practice, I was still unable to get a single rep with the full range of motion. OK, I could go down a little from the handstand position - but that was it - and for reps? Forget about it.

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why I couldn't do this exercise correctly. I could do pushups for reps, and pull-ups as well so it obviously wasn't a lack of strength. I practiced daily - so it wasn't lack of practice. And the lack of progress discouraged me so much that I almost quit doing this exercise until a few months ago.

Fast forward a few months to now - and I can now do handstand pushups in full range of motion - for reps, at that. This was something I thought was absolutely impossible for me at the time, despite being strong enough to crack off 250 odd pushups in every workout - along with 40 odd pull-ups and some other things.

So, what was going on back then? WHY wasn't I able to do handstand pushups correctly at that time - more importantly, how am I doing them NOW - with seemingly little practice?

And after a lot of soul searching, I figured it out - the problem wasn't lack of practice, strength or anything physical. The real problem lay in my MIND - and once I sorted that out, I was able to do something that I previously thought was impossible.

Let me elaborate a bit more on this. I always thought of the handstand pushup to be something impossible - something only "elite" athletes and strongmen could do. Now, this doesn't mean I didn't try to do them. I did try, but in the back of my mind there was always that little voice saying "Hey, this is a TOUGH one - don't feel bad if you can't do it".

Anyway, as I said, I got discouraged while doing the exercise - and stoppped practicing it for a while - but I did NOT give up the desire. In other words, I kept on imagining that I could do handstand pushups - and while I didn't do many  I kept reading about them. Kept researching them, and learning what I could find out about them - and most importantly, I kept IMAGINING myself DOING the handstand pushups exactly as I wanted to. Slow, controlled reps in full range of motion - just as I tried to, but couldn't do.

I visualized the sort of upper body strength I'd have after doing the exercise. I thought long and hard about the sort of strength it would build in my triceps, and how much better I'd feel when I could do the exercise correctly.

All thought, and no action, you say?

Well, one fine day, all that imagination led to ACTION - without thinking about it, I tried a few handstand pushups again. Didn't get one in full range of motion right away as expected - but a couple of days later, I was able to go down further than I ever have. And then a week or so later, I was FINALLY able to do ONE FULL handstand pushup - with full range of motion!

And the key to my achieving success in something seemingly impossible was my imagination. OK, effort and common sense played a big part, but still - if I didn't imagine - if I didn't DREAM - I'd never have gotten around to learning more about the exercise, and then finally attempting them again, and nailing them.

Albert Einstein once famously said "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." And he was spot-on - more so than he realized at the time.

And the same theory applies to YOUR fitness as well. Doing a 100 pushups daily may seem an impossibility if your only able to do 5 before collapsing. Running sprints may seem out of the question if you can't jog in place for more than 2 minutes. But guess what - all of this is POSSIBLE - but you have to BELIEVE and IMAGINE it to be so. 

Don't get me wrong - effort and dedication still plays a huge part in your success. But, your mind needs to first KNOW that it CAN do what your trying to do - and believe you me, once you program your mind to believe through the power of your imagination, you'll shortly be doing things you once thought were impossible. And this applies to all areas of your life - not just fitness.

Emblazon this concept in your mind, and you'll be on the road to a better you in no time!

Best regards,

Rahul

PS: Imagination is importance, but you also need to take proper action to achieve your goals. And with regard to your fitness, the first call to action is to get Fast and Furious Fitness HERE.