A few weeks ago we had fun talking about what we think about when we run. I figured it would be cool to do the same think with lifting. But I’ve got a serious message at the end of this, so be sure to read all the way through.
Unlike jogging, where you are doing the same physical motion for long periods, weight lifting is more staggered. You have the lifts themselves of course. But you have rest periods. You have between-set activities like changing the weights. [Aside - interval training is somewhat similar, especially if you are doing my "inverted Tabata" routine.]
You may also have a lifting partner who influences what you think about.
And then, in commercial gyms, there’s that dreaded background music. I absolutely hate that. Not because I don’t like the particular music (sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t). I hate it because it’s something I can’t control and it distracts me from my lifting.
But what do you think about during your body building workout? (And I’m using “body building” here generically – as two words – meaning that if you are lifting weights, you are building your body in some form.)
If you unplug your ipod, and tune out the commercial gym music, I’m betting you fall into one of these camps…
The 8.5 Thinking Body Builder Types
1. The gabber – You actually aren’t spending much time thinking – you’re talking, chatting about the weather, and talking up the nearest person. Congratulations on your social skills, but you’d do yourself (and other gym goers) a favor by talking less and lifting more.
2. The paranoid – You are worried what other people are thinking about you. Maybe you’re skinny. Or maybe you’re fat. Or maybe you are just out of shape and weak, worried about other guys laughing. Don’t worry. Stick to your program, get those thoughts out of your head, and soon none of those things will be an issue because you’ll have an awesome physique. But don’t become the next guy…
3. Narcissus - Opposite of the paranoid, your thoughts center around how everyone is looking at you with admiration. You MUST be the most blessed person in the gym (man or woman) and the gym should plaster your picture everywhere so that the mere mortals have something to be inspired by. Look – you might actually have a greek god physique, but we hate you. Not because you have a great physique – but because your egotistical thoughts are obvious. If you look that good, congratulations. Seriously. But don’t strut around the gym like a peacock. Get your head into your lifting routine.
4. The self-defeatist – This is one of the worst thinking types to be – you are already telling yourself that you can’t lift what you need to lift. “Oh, I’ve got to move up 10 lbs on my bench today. There’s no way I’ll ever be able to do that…” You undermine your lift even before you start it.
5. The optimist – This is a great place to be in. You are telling yourself that you CAN get that extra rep or lift some extra weight. Your thoughts are centered around excelling.
6. The programmer – If you are thinking about changing your workout, while in the middle of your current workout, you are the programmer. It’s great to reflect on what you can do to modify and maximize your next workout, but wait until after this workout. Stay focused on your next set. Period.
7. The high overachiever – You focus, as you should, on the set you are about to do (or the set you are in the middle of). You get into that zone and perform better because of it. You might even repeat to yourself “7 reps, 7 reps, 7 reps” if your last set you only got out 6.
8. The workaholic – Thinking about your job should be banished from the gym. With one exception – sometimes creative ideas spontaneously pop into your head while working out. For these cases, I always carry a mini voice recorder with me, but you can use a plain old pencil and paper (you have a pencil and paper anyway right, because you ARE using a training log, right????). The key is to capture the creative idea, and then get back into your work out. Capture, but don’t flesh it out. Move on.
8.5 Clueless – We all start here. We are in the gym, walking around unsure what to do, feeling a little bit like we are at the playground, but not really sure what to think. We can’t think about changing our program, because we don’t even follow a program. We are just starting, so we think about random stuff like “should I use the collars or not?” “Why does that guy use a weight belt but the other guy doesn’t?” “What is the square root of pi?”. The good news is that you will outgrow this phase (most likely).
What Type of Thinker SHOULD You Be?
Most of you probably vary across several of the above types. But what type of thinking should you be?
I’ll save that for the next post. Till then, I’m interested:
Do any of these resonate with you?
Share this, Digg it, and make a comment!
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Related posts:
- What Do You Think About When You Lift? Part 2 of 2
- 8.5 Reasons Runners Need To Lift Heavy Stuff
- I’m Still Sore – Should I Lift Today?
Tags: motivation, thinking
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June 29th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Hey Darrin,
Firstly, I really appreciate all the work you put into the information you provide for all of us. I have picked up a couple of your e-books and find them to be greatly valuable resources for training. Your direct and concise approach is spot-on.
I do have one concern though, and that is in the “training until failure” approach. Various sources suggest this method to be harmful to the tendons and joints, with some being greatly opposed to it. I understand the reasons behind full-on training but am a little hesitant in stressing my body to the point of failure.
Cheers mate,
Paul.
June 29th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
You focus, as you should, on the set you are about to do
If that’s overachieving… then … whatever.
BEFORE the set I mentally convince myself how to do the reps and how I will succeed. I also focus on my setup. Hands, feet, setup, shoulders, …
IN the set I focus on reps and the set (and try to improve on my previous best without hurting myself)
AFTER the set my mind wonders off
June 29th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
I usually think, “Man! I’ve got to get some bigger weights!”
I only have some rather light weight dumbbells (I’m too ashamed to tell you HOW light). So, I’m probably NOT building muscle very fast. That is a little discouraging.
At the same time, I have been and continue to lose fat, and even the exercises I am doing helps me maintain such muscle mass as I do have. That makes me very happy!
I’ve also started doing some chin ups (negatives, in my case) when no one is around to laugh. It is helping!
Thanks, Darrin.
PS I tell my wife, “Darrin told me to do this.”
She says, “I wonder if Darrin would tell you to take out the trash?”
June 30th, 2009 at 7:35 am
@ wazzup – yeah, “overachiever” is probably the wrong term. Maybe “superachiever” would be better? Any ideas?
@ gene – too funny! Congrats on doing the (negative) chin ups. Oh, and by the way, you really should take out the trash…
@ paul – thanks so much for the compliment! Yeah, the whole “training to failure” thing is a complicated topic that deserves its own post (so I’ve put that in the queue). I think your concern is well-founded but the problem is that there are different interpretations of “train to failure”. Briefly, here are some thoughts:
- as I mentioned last week (http://worldfitnessnetwork.com.....rt-2-of-2/) I don’t recommend “training to failure” for beginners
- when I use the phrase “train to failure” I mean “to the point where you literally have to stop mid-rep because if you pushed it any further you could hurt yourself”; so, you fail to get that last rep; spotters or racks are critical
- it does NOT mean “squeezing out that last rep no matter how ugly and bad your form gets”; that would be dangerous and I never suggest that you get sloppy just to get another rep (I’m not a fan of so-called “cheating” movements)
- here’s how it might look: I’m doing squats; I get 5 reps done with just barely getting out #5 and I’m pretty sure I can’t get #6; I start #6, keeping really good form; I lower my body; I start to stand – still keeping good form – and I realize I can’t get that last rep; so I lower down and let the barbell down on the spot bars on the rack; so I failed but I was safe; get it?
- every set other than warm-ups has to be hard but if you are not training to failure, the idea is to train so hard that your last rep is the last one you could do without failing (sometimes that’s hard to know ahead of time, but you start knowing your body the more you lift and can usually tell; so in the example above, since #5 was still hard, but I knew #6 was unlikely, so I’d stop at #5 if I wasn’t training to failure)
- even for more advanced lifters, I do not recommend every program all year long have a “train to failure” component; for example, my upcoming 6×6x6 routine which you’ll hear about has you go to fail on the last two sets of each exercise but my Full Body Attack routine (http://worldfitnessnetwork.com.....ttack.html) does not have any train to failure component
June 30th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
I guess I would be categorized as the overachiever. However, I would probably call it the focused.
1) Before I start an exercise I think about what weight I’m going to do and mentally go over the form.
2) When I start a set I do a mental checklist that I am doing the exercise correctly and I count the amount of reps I’ve performed.
3) Between sets I think about the weight I need to put on the bar and I’m also counting seconds. Generally I do my sets between 30-60 seconds.
4) When I finish an exercise I think about what exercise is next.
July 1st, 2009 at 1:40 pm
I think about breasts and how awesome they are
July 2nd, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Hi Darrin,
thanks for another great article. Though I can’t remember the details, I remember reading about a study a couple of years ago which found that mentally picturing yourself performing the upcoming set with good form and rhythm reduced the chance of failure in that set by something like 3-5%. Not sure of their sample size etc. but I’ve personally found that to be a very effective technique. Several world class athlete’s do much the same, the example which springs to mind is David Beckham who visualizes exactly where he wants to place a penalty kick before he takes it.
There are a couple of theories, not mutually exclusive, as to why this works. Firstly, the parts of the brain controlling the actual movements involved are activated by just picturing the movements; its like a mental warm up set. Secondly, in your mind you have already completed the set so you are much less likely to start doubting yourself when you do it for real.
July 3rd, 2009 at 8:27 am
@Dave – yes, many studies across many disciplines (not just athletics) have shown that visualization improves results. I think the most famous study involves basketball free throws, reported by Dr. Blaslotto at University of Chicago. Three groups were formed and all did free throws and their % success was recorded. Then, for the next month, one group practices, one group did nothing, and one group just visualized (no practice). Well, a month later the group that practiced improved about 24%, the group that did nothing didn’t improve, and the group that visualized without practicing improved 23%.
That’s pretty startling. Other research has shown similar results, though I don’t know of any that were that close between the “practicers” and the “visualizers who didn’t practice”.
There are many theories, some of which you mention, but for most of us, I would say who cares about why it works – it just does. The lesson here is that on the bus or while waiting in line or before falling asleep – imagine yourself using proper form and lifting more weight and completing your reps and running farther and… etc.
And you will see improvements!