training the mind?

[wnt2bBeast]

This is my observation oviously based on myself since i cant get into the mind of others..How many realize that you need to train your mind? i notice this mostly with the 3 big lifts and moreso with squats and deads..if your taking a relatively heavy weight (relative to yourself doesn mean it has to be 600 lbs) your mind seems to want to quit before your body does..getting past this mental block can lead to quite a few xtra reps.that is where your growth/strength gains will come from..i try to picture myself before a lift actually doing it..dont let your mind reach failure before your body does!!!

 

[eat big]

i think about it throughout the day untill then, i do picture myself doing it, but once im at the gym trying to do it, i just do it. if you for one second think its gonna be hard, your screwed in my opinion.

 

[cwick0]

Never really picture myself doing the weight, i just try to get focused and into "the zone."

However, past couple of weeks have been a nightmare...cant lift...tore up an ankle and then my hand. however, the stitches come out of my hand this monday.

 

[ashley2212]

Never really picture myself doing the weight, i just try to get focused and into "the zone."

Agreed. It doesn't matter how much I'm lifting, I always find my focus before I lift it. I believe it's more important to squeeze the muscle effectively than to lift as much weight as you possibly can. I've seen that the more I focus on the muscle I'm working, the faster I grow and the quicker I increase my strength.

 

[wnt2bBeast]

Agreed. It doesn't matter how much I'm lifting, I always find my focus before I lift it. I believe it's more important to squeeze the muscle effectively than to lift as much weight as you possibly can. I've seen that the more I focus on the muscle I'm working, the faster I grow and the quicker I increase my strength.

different goals..obviously doing a set of 10 vs doing a set of 3 will matter at least in my mind..when focusing on strength i try to lift the most weight possible with correct form..

i guess im the odd one out lol..maybe i should have clarified my original post..i was speaking when attempting low rep max sets..do i dig down deep for every set of every exercise i perform, no..otherwise psyching oneself up will become ineffective when you really need it..

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

I almost always do singles in squats, and I like low reps in the barbell bench too. I don't psyche myself up for either. Usually I tell myself I can do it piece of cake and that I'm fuckin superman, but I don't get pumped or hyped, just calm and focused in a resolute sort of way. I know I'm gonna do it, and so I do it. I concentrate on solid form while lifting and don't really think about the muscles I'm supposedly training. Like with squats. I think of it as a total body power and strength building exercise more than a quad builder, same for bench, I think of that as an upper body power and strength builder, not a chest builder. Leg presses and dumbell benches I think of as muscle builders for those particular muscles, but that's just the way I think.

When training for muscular growth and size, when specifically focusing on a particular muscle, well then I concentrate on the muscle I'm working and do my best to make it lift the weight, to contract and get a burn and pump in that muscle etc.

 

[bigdho]

I just think.................nuttin but a peanut...........wait I think Ive heard that somewhere else....................

 

[anthrax]

Arnold was famous for his visualization

 

[bignate73]

i can tell when im going to fail and when im not. its like a switch. try it sometime. set up in a rack (for safety) and convince yourself that you can take a weight. if you know for sure you can, being its a calculated risk, you wont hesitate and you'll get it. now from past experiences, remember back to when you were sure you could get a weight and at that moment when you were pushing when you realized you werent getting it. did you notice the switch go off? its a feeling you get when you give up. i sometimes feel it before i do a single, but i can control it, and turn it off. that way i can approach a lift assuming its done before i started. the movement is just the formality.

scot mendelson said at a seminar i heard him speak, "when i am on the bench, ive already told myself that its a done deal." its the mindset you need to ensure your mind is as 100% as your body.

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

Definitely agree with you on that. Today is squat day and I "KNOW" I'll make all my reps solidly.

Kaz said it best, Conceive, Believe, Achieve baby!

 

[wnt2bBeast]

I just think.................nuttin but a peanut...........wait I think Ive heard that somewhere else....................

 

[WalkingBeast]

This is my observation oviously based on myself since i cant get into the mind of others..How many realize that you need to train your mind? i notice this mostly with the 3 big lifts and moreso with squats and deads..if your taking a relatively heavy weight (relative to yourself doesn mean it has to be 600 lbs) your mind seems to want to quit before your body does..getting past this mental block can lead to quite a few xtra reps.that is where your growth/strength gains will come from..i try to picture myself before a lift actually doing it..dont let your mind reach failure before your body does!!!

You make a great point brother!! I agree completely. Ive found that I have to train my mind a great deal to be able to push myself to the limits. Im so obsessive as is that lifting is ALL I think about night and day. I fantasize for hours upon hours each day of lifts I will hit and routines I will do etc. The obsession is 24/7. Ive also had to learn how to block out surroundings and enter another realm with the weights. During a heavy lift I basically black out and sometimes even lose count. Deadlifts were the biggest example of mental strength. I really needed it to push myself on those. Days I felt like shit Id still pull up PR's. Id train for 6-8 hours on back days. My mind is much stronger then my body and if Im not careful Ill tear myself to the point of paralysis. Its not in me to back down from anything. I think sometimes the mind can be dangerously strong. Ill continue to drive and push through the worst points of my life and train even when Im devastated to the point of tears. I used to bike 14 miles total to get to the gym and back, for years, and even when I moved furniture all day, Id come home and bike to the gym. Through rainstorms and even hurricanes. For me its TRAIN OR FUCKIN DIE literally. The mind definately needs to be strengthened.