What Do You Think About When You Lift? Part 2 of 2

We went over the 8.5 Types Of Thinkers While Weightlifting last week.  What you think about while lifting is critical for your progress.

This week, let’s talk about what you should be thinking about!

What Type of Thinker SHOULD You Be?

So now you probably have a little more insight into the type of thinker you naturally are.  But I’m here to tell you that you need to become more focused in your thinking and become part of the Elite.  Even if you are already super focused, you can get moreso.

All success, in every endeavor, starts in the mind first. Every success guru from Napoleon Hill to Stephen Covey to Tony Robbins, etc. talks about how your frame of mind and the thoughts you intentionally put there impacts whether you succeed or fail.

The same holds true for lifting.

During your workout, you need to monofixate one thing – performance.

• Before your workout starts, look at your training log from the previous workout.  Quickly imagine yourself doing today’s exercises.  Set goals for a few of the exercises.  (I’d say set goals for every set, but I admit that might be asking too much.)  Repeat any mantra you need to repeat to get yourself in the zone.  This step is really important because it sets your mental frame.  And, if you are doing supersets or triplesets, you will have very little resting time and so resetting your mental tone will be harder.  Do it now.
• During your warm up, do a body inventory to make sure every muscle you’ll be using today is ready.
• During every set, as you are lifting, tell yourself

-         “This is the only set that matters so I have to give it my all”

-         “Think about your form and getting full range”

-         “Mentally imagine the muscle areas you are you doing are getting bigger/more defined/less flabby/whatever your physique goal is”

(more…)

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Continue reading about What Do You Think About When You Lift? Part 2 of 2

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 (more…)

Continue reading about What Do You Think About When You Lift? Part 1 of 2

Two days ago my workout called for me to do front squats.  However, I wasn’t really focused that morning, and instead, I loaded up the weight I use for BACK squats.

For those of you who do both, you know that most of us can do a lot more weight in back than we can in front.

I did my warm up set, no problem.

I did my first working set, and was struggling, but finished.

I then did my second set and failed miserably.  Thankfully I was in my squat rack, because mentally I was thinking I was going to do 6 reps.  I ended up doing 1 and failing on the second.

Here’s the funy part – I still didn’t realize my mistake.

I asked myself, “why am I so weak today?”  I really wondered if I was getting sick, or what the heck was going on.

I was so freaked out, I did something I haven’t done in months – I actually lowered the weight.  (Of course, since I was doing the “wrong” exercise, I forgive myself that lapse.)

But the bigger lesson here is that I wasn’t paying attention.

And if I were in a situation without a rack or without a spotter, I could have really hurt myself.

Other Weight Training Attention Failures

This isn’t the first stupid thing I’ve done.  And I’m sure you can relate with your own stupid stories.

One thing I see a lot is guys paying attention to the WRONG stuff.

Take mirrors.  Mirrors are great for making sure you are using proper form.

But do you really need to turn your head for every set on every exercise to watch yourself in the mirror?  Probably not.

I’ve definitely seen guys paying too much attention to the mirror that they actually lose balance.

And then there’s the guys are are gawking at women in the gym.  Not only is that a little disrespectful to the women, it also distracts you from your workout.  Lifting heavy stuff and distraction don’t mix.  Stay focused.

Mental Focus and Workouts

At the most basic level though, paying attention means focusing your thoughts on your workout.  I’ll be sharing some ideas about what to think about while working out on Monday.

In the mean time, are you willing to share your stupid-lack-of-attention stories?

Continue reading about Paying Attention – Weight Lifting Tips