How do you harness the beast within?

W

Wildman

New Member
Just curious to see what you guys do to psych-up for a big lift or any lift in general.

I have used visualization of the lift for years now with good success. I run through the movement and technique in my mind a few times before I address the weight.

Once I address a weight that I know will be a challenge I shift my mind set to the business at hand. I like to consider the weight as an enemy. I take a few good deep breaths to supply myself with the oxygen I am going to need for the upcoming battle. I dont just grip the bar in preparation, I grab the bar and wrench my grip in deep. I aint letting go until I am done and not before!

I know the weight is looking to defeat my best efforts. I know the weight is going to try to crush me. I know that I am not going to let that happen.

What do you guys do to get in the groove?
 
This is an interesting topic , I may be unusual but for me when I stand over a bar about to dip down and set my grip I will breathe slowly and deeply and become very calm , it's probably the closest I get in MY life to some form of meditation. When I feel "centered" I'll bend down and set up my grip very carefully then two quick dips and PULL! I may let out a "power yell" if the effort warrants it but in general my mind is clear of any emotional content .

              I've done the getting angry at the bar thing ect. and it didn't work as well FOR ME. With rep work I find emotional anger/venting and loud metal music works well but for max attempts I will often have no music at all just pure , relaxed focus.
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I'm told by my wife , lifting partners etc. that I appear very intense but it's a calm cold intense not an emotionally charged "slap me in the face and call me a weak little bitch" right before I lift type intense...
 
I have been known to slap myself. I'm usually in a gym with other people so I'm too embarrassed to do it but if nobody's watching me, I'll slap myself in the face. I can kind of feel the blood going to my face and it psyches me up. Ideally, if I'm shirtless, I'll slap my chest.

I also do what Wildman and Russ do and really grab the bar tight and take deep breaths. If the right rock song comes on, it helps me as well. I'm really fond of 'Becoming the Bull'.

There's one big powerlifter guy that comes to my gym a lot. He is constantly blowing his nose (mostly in his shirt - it's kind of gross). I have heard this same guy let out a roar why preparing to lift. The roar could be heard in the entire gym. In his defense, he was benching about 320lbs.
 
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(RUSS @ Jul. 16 2009,1:32)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">This is an interesting topic , I may be unusual but for me when I stand over a bar about to dip down and set my grip I will breathe slowly and deeply and become very calm , it's probably the closest I get in MY life to some form of meditation. When I feel &quot;centered&quot; I'll bend down and set up my grip very carefully then two quick dips and PULL! I may let out a &quot;power yell&quot; if the effort warrants it but in general my mind is clear of any emotional content .

              I've done the getting angry at the bar thing ect. and it didn't work as well FOR ME. With rep work I find emotional anger/venting and loud metal music works well but for max attempts I will often have no music at all just pure , relaxed focus.
smile.gif


              I'm told by my wife , lifting partners etc. that I appear very intense but it's a calm cold intense not an emotionally charged &quot;slap me in the face and call me a weak little bitch&quot; right before I lift type intense...</div>
Damn Russ, I nearly choked laughing over that line...

&quot;I'm told by my wife , lifting partners etc. that I appear very intense but it's a calm cold intense not an emotionally charged &quot;slap me in the face and call me a weak little bitch&quot; right before I lift type intense...&quot;

That's funny stuff right there.

I listen to heavy metal or techno when I lift. My partner hates the techno but he cant deny the energy stored in them beats.
 
For weight lifting I just take a few deep breaths and imagine the lift.

When I competed in the ring I would go through this ritual imagining the other guy killing my dog and a few other unmentionable atrocities then I would beat him senseless.
 
I use trains, planes and tall buildings. No, not the Superman complex either.
I crank up my Heavy Metal on the headset first.
I stare at the bar, but it's not a bar anymore.
For deads, I'm about to pull up a railroad track.
For squats, I'm about to lift a building.
For bench, I'm under a 747 and pressing that.
Think BIG stuff. The weight seems less.

I also work a bit with Chi but don't really know what I'm doing; I just know it helps.
 
I use caffeine, often in the form of pre-workout &quot;nitric oxide&quot; style supplements.  My favorite is NO Shotgun since it is zero carb and still gives me a great pump, although nowhere near the rush of SuperPump 250.

I never recommend these supplements to anyone on a budget (protein, creatine, fish oil, and vitamins are all more important), but nothing beats 200mg caffeine + arginine + aminos + creatine before getting in the gym  
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I also listen to death metal and various other insane and/or angry music. Today it was a (hed) pe day, which was fun.

I REALLY like the idea of trains, planes, and railroads... gonna try that.
 
I usually like peace and quiet so I can focus on the job in hand but that does have its drawbacks. Sometimes I'll crank up some heavy stuff with a groove rather than proggy stuff, which is more my penchant. My problem with music is that I find it hard not to be drawn into the tunes rather than focussing on the lift, which is generally distracting. Maybe other guitar players out there have a similar problem?

Whatever one does to get in the zone, I think it's important to be able to recreate that each time. It's a sort of Pavlov's dog scenario. So I have a sort of ritual: a bit of pacing whilst thinking about what I have to do and telling myself I can do it, chalking up, a bit more pacing and some deep breathing, addressing the bar and then getting on with the job. It's all about where I am in my head.

What I really hate is when some @$$ starts talking to me in the middle of a set. It's like they have no concept of what it means to try hard at something or, if it's a brutal PR attempt, the kind of hell I am going through. I used to try to be polite and give a response but my focus would be ruined. Now I say nothing. Maybe I should just wear headphones without any music playing so it looks like I won't be able to hear anything that's said. That's the drawback to peace and quiet.
 
I find useful using some Pavel Tsatsouline tricks.

1) grip the bar as strong you can
2) for example in bicep curl, contract abs, gluteus and quadriceps; try to &quot;enter the floor with the feet fingers&quot;...
3) in exercises like seated dumbell presses or bench press, use leg drive (similar to powerlifters) (press the floor with the legs)

it is quite strange, but the weight seems less
It's not psych-up but it works...
 
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(Lol @ Jul. 23 2009,10:35)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I usually like peace and quiet so I can focus on the job in hand but that does have its drawbacks. Sometimes I'll crank up some heavy stuff with a groove rather than proggy stuff, which is more my penchant. My problem with music is that I find it hard not to be drawn into the tunes rather than focussing on the lift, which is generally distracting. Maybe other guitar players out there have a similar problem?


What I really hate is when some @$$ starts talking to me in the middle of a set. It's like they have no concept of what it means to try hard at something or, if it's a brutal PR attempt, the kind of hell I am going through. I used to try to be polite and give a response but my focus would be ruined. Now I say nothing. Maybe I should just wear headphones without any music playing so it looks like I won't be able to hear anything that's said. That's the drawback to peace and quiet.</div>
Well, I'm 'sort of' a guitar player... very much a wannabe rather than an 'am' (?) but I love music - especially the guitar of Brian Setzer!
And music does distract me too.

I was always brought up on my training by concentrating in silence. 'Feel' the muscle, and all that...

I used to train in a private (work) gym that was always empty, so never had any music to distract me, but now I have to use Fitness First, and they blare out any old crap full volume constantly - intermingled with their own adverts...

They also have very distracting videos playing on big screens everywhere.
Its so difficult to push out some hard heavy sets when Beyonce is shaking herself right infront of me...

But hey...

And luckily, I look a bit mean and moody when I'm concentrating, and growl alot, so people dont tend to talk to me when I'm training!
(or at other times, now I come to think about it... maybe I should lighten up?)

Oh yeah, and I really like the planes, buildings, railroad thing too... maybe just might give that a try too..

Brix
 
On the benchpress I took one of Rip's advice and really like the result. I take a mental picture of the bar and the ceiling when I am in the looked out position and when I am raising the bar I picture it returning to that position. Strangely it makes the weight seem lighter and also helps with the form.
 
Some good ones in here. I too like the trains, buildings and railroads approach.

I am going to try the visualization that electric mentiond on Friday with my dumbell presses. Trying for a new PR, maybe it will do the trick.
 
another trick i use is to count reps backwards...

say 10 reps...instead of counting 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

count backwards: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-0...

in some cases you can get more reps ...
 
well now and again with dead lifts i tend to get aggressive with the bar, grunting and pullin at the bar before i lft. generally i dont bother, i just look at myself in the mirror and just pick the weights up and go.
did a cut down to 8% bf this year so dont like to go too heavy just incase i pull owt.so its more of a whimper than a growl lol, looked awesome though
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I may give a grrr on a max rep approach, sort of talking to myself, but I quit any 'roaring' some years back save for that very maximal effort - upon which I feel that I deserve it and allow myself the focus of it. I can't say as it does anything, but it makes me feel like I'm putting out my all. I don't really think about it; it just happens sometimes.
Talking to people between sets is part of my gym day. When it's time to lift, I excuse myself from the convo and sit on a bench for a minnit and get focused.
If others want to stay in their game, I understand and leave them alone, save for spotting.
&quot;Hey man, you praying over there?&quot;
&quot;Yeah, I'm praying this thing comes UP!&quot;
 
I was just joking about the Fedor thing. Actually I run around flinging my own poo while listening to megadeath at volume level 97.
 
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(stevejones @ Jul. 26 2009,1:08)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"> Actually I run around flinging my own poo while listening to megadeath at volume level 97.</div>
Hmmm... yeah....

there's a few guys - and girls - that seem to do that in my gym too...

'Megadeath'.... Beyonce.... whatever...
 
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