Squat pr

[majutsu]

Hit 405x3 today. Wrapped my knees for the first time with borrowed wraps, fun bottom spring. I probably good have gone more but that was my mental comfort zone. These rising numbers are a little spooky when your not used to thinking of numbers this big for these lifts. I guess I need to break the mental chains of fear I squat wide and went down in the hole pretty nice.

 

[Illuminati]

Hit 405x3 today. Wrapped my knees for the first time with borrowed wraps, fun bottom spring. I probably good have gone more but that was my mental comfort zone. These rising numbers are a little spooky when your not used to thinking of numbers this big for these lifts. I guess I need to break the mental chains of fear I squat wide and went down in the hole pretty nice.

you hit it right on the head. its all about breaking mental barriers. notice that is my location that i have had in my profile for a while now. a lot of lifting heavy numbers is all in your head. i read an excellent article written by Mike Miller about the first time that he ever attempted a 1000lb squat. once you start to thinking about lifting a heavy ass number, your mind might think of the possibility of missing the number, and then you will fail. not necessarily because you can't handle the weight, but because in your mind you had a negative picture about lifting the weight. i remember the first time that i ever made an attempt to hit a 315 bench. i remember looking at the weight, and thinking about how much was on there. right then, i should have known not to even think about attempting the lift, because the thought about it being heavy went through my mind. i ended up getting crushed. the next week, when i made the attempt again, i didn't think about the weight on the bar, all i thought about, and pictured in my head, was my form, and completing a lift. this that time, i killed it, and locked it out pretty easily. ever since then, whenever i am going heavy, the only time that i think about the weight is when it is being loaded. as soon as the weight is loaded, and the clips are on the bar, i switch my mind off from the weight, and focus on hitting the lift. i picture in my mind me doing the lift. i dont picture the weight on the bar. in my mind, i just see myself completing the lift. then i take a breath, and set myself up for the lift. i forget about how much is on the bar. being able to do this has helped me to propel my lifts. i remember the first time that i loaded up 475 on the bar to do a 3board press. i didnt even think about the weight as i was setting myself up for the lift. yeah, i felt the tension after it was unracked, my eyes felt like they were gonna pop out of my head, but never once did i think about how much was on the bar. all i could picture was me completing the lift. if i had though about the weight, i would have failed.

 

[Devastation]

glad to hear bro. keep working hard

 

[blut wump]

Congrats on the PR.

Don't worry about targets and numbers and breaking barriers. The only target to think about is that you are doing more than whatever you did before. Think about the actual numbers after the lift for the ego and motivation boost. During the lift, either you make or you don't. Within reason, it's about you not the weight.

 

[wnt2bBeast]

nice work keep em coming

 

[pwrlftrscott]

Hit 405x3 today. Wrapped my knees for the first time with borrowed wraps, fun bottom spring. I probably good have gone more but that was my mental comfort zone. These rising numbers are a little spooky when your not used to thinking of numbers this big for these lifts. I guess I need to break the mental chains of fear I squat wide and went down in the hole pretty nice.

good job on the pr. what helps me get past those mental barriers, is handling that weight a lot, on squats do a few sets of walkouts with your max weight or a little more, on bench, lockouts and high boards, and rack pulls for deads. jsut get used to the feel of the heavier weights, that helps me a lot, when i take a handoff or lift up on the mono and think " shit this is heavy" i usually miss it, but when i take it and am very used to feeling that weight, i concentrate on form and nail it. hope this hepls.

 

[Chambewy20]

Great job on the PR, overcoming weights mentally can be difficult. A couple things I have done in the past have been to use 100 pound plates instead of 45's when I could. For some reason, seeing all of those 45's sometimes has an effect on how heavy the weight looks rather than is. I also have a tendency never to look at the weights, I will load up the bar, get a drink or suit up and never once look at anything but the middle of the bar.

For some reason, bar weight doesn't effect me on squats or deads, just bench. I've been consistently putting 3 plates or more per side on every ME movement and just got to hitting 3 plates on close grips. Consistently seeing the weight and having it in your hand helps tremendously.

Another thing that helps me a lot is always pinching my traps together. When squatting, it creates a shelf and you have a natural groove in which the bar can ride. When benching, it helps the weight feel less heavy, back in the day with a lot of weight, it would feel like the bar was shoving my upper body through the bench.

It's been a challenge and I feel your pain, just get up there and get after it.

 

[majutsu]

Great points, guys! My spotter wanted me to go higher - and he said "You had it easy". But I was happy with that. I figure next time I'll go 455, then 495, like that, with the 25s and 45s until I reach my true max in a couple of weeks. I figure there's no rush, and I'll be getting comfortable with the numbers and reaching reasonable goals easily. That should help make it a habit to hit my goals, so when I truly reach my strain point, I'll be able to pull out everything I have without expecting failure. I'd much rather come home with an easy pr than a miss.

Now I'm just trying to find a meet a few months out to set my sights on.

 

[wnt2bBeast]

try some walkouts with those weights
itll make you feel a lot more comfortable when you do decide to hit those numbers..

i can pretty much tell if im going to make on the walkout..
squat racks suck though i need a mono to get wide enough to where im happy lol

 

[wend]

you hit it right on the head. its all about breaking mental barriers. notice that is my location that i have had in my profile for a while now. a lot of lifting heavy numbers is all in your head. i read an excellent article written by Mike Miller about the first time that he ever attempted a 1000lb squat. once you start to thinking about lifting a heavy ass number, your mind might think of the possibility of missing the number, and then you will fail. not necessarily because you can't handle the weight, but because in your mind you had a negative picture about lifting the weight. i remember the first time that i ever made an attempt to hit a 315 bench. i remember looking at the weight, and thinking about how much was on there. right then, i should have known not to even think about attempting the lift, because the thought about it being heavy went through my mind. i ended up getting crushed. the next week, when i made the attempt again, i didn't think about the weight on the bar, all i thought about, and pictured in my head, was my form, and completing a lift. this that time, i killed it, and locked it out pretty easily. ever since then, whenever i am going heavy, the only time that i think about the weight is when it is being loaded. as soon as the weight is loaded, and the clips are on the bar, i switch my mind off from the weight, and focus on hitting the lift. i picture in my mind me doing the lift. i dont picture the weight on the bar. in my mind, i just see myself completing the lift. then i take a breath, and set myself up for the lift. i forget about how much is on the bar. being able to do this has helped me to propel my lifts. i remember the first time that i loaded up 475 on the bar to do a 3board press. i didnt even think about the weight as i was setting myself up for the lift. yeah, i felt the tension after it was unracked, my eyes felt like they were gonna pop out of my head, but never once did i think about how much was on the bar. all i could picture was me completing the lift. if i had though about the weight, i would have failed.

This is all very Zen, you know. They have an old adage about the hand shaking while shooting an arrow when the prize is a golden apple, though it's steady if it's just for a piece of fruit. The mind sure can play tricks on us, eh?

 

[Parabellum]

Congrat's..... Don't be afraid, think about it.

 

[araiber]

A couple things I have done in the past have been to use 100 pound plates instead of 45's when I could. For some reason, seeing all of those 45's sometimes has an effect on how heavy the weight looks rather than is.

I think that might be mental, but it also might do with the fact that the center of gravity is wider. Like, i can easily do 45's and 25' on the sides, but that would be.. 7 10's on each side, i find it alot harder. Im not sure though.

 

[Gambino]

Hit 405x3 today. Wrapped my knees for the first time with borrowed wraps, fun bottom spring. I probably good have gone more but that was my mental comfort zone. These rising numbers are a little spooky when your not used to thinking of numbers this big for these lifts. I guess I need to break the mental chains of fear I squat wide and went down in the hole pretty nice.

doode you are so right about the mental thing. 4 plates is kinda scary at first but you get used to it fast. After you use wraps you never go back. the comfort and support they provide is essential.