How does that Fort Minor song go? "This is 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will, 5% pleasure, 50% pain, and 100% reason to remember the name" Well, they were pretty accurate, but lifting is 85% mental for me. (Disclaimer: I know that song isn't about powerlifting. But it relates). One of the biggest things I struggle with is being scared of big weights. When I first started lifting, I never even used 45 plates because they scared me! This is something I am constantly working on. I had an eye-opening experience at one of my meets that really made me realize I had to figure out how to get over mental humps:
This past August, I competed in New Jersey States. It was a USA Powerlifting sanctioned meet. USAPL uses kg plates, so I usually have no idea what weight I'm lifting (I'm used to plates that are in pounds, and I don't bother doing the math from kg to pounds during a meet). I had a coach there with me calling my attempts, so I didn't even know what he was telling the judges to put on the bar. I had planned on going 185-205-215 for deadlifts. I pulled 185 no problem. When I approached the bar for my second attempt, I thought it was 205. Again, I pulled it easy. After I put the bar down, the announcer said it was 215 pounds. I had already PRed my deadlift without even realizing it. My coach didn't tell me what my third attempt was, and I didn't want to know. I approached the bar for my third attempt feeling confident. As I was setting up, the announcer said something like "And here's Christine Giorgetti, this tiny 112lb girl will be pulling 232!" My heart literally sank. I couldn't pull 232! I looked up at my friends in the front row, who knew exactly what I was thinking. I couldn't do it. And I didn't do it. As soon as I knew the weight, forget it. Had I not known, I'm pretty confident I would have pulled it.
The moral of the story is, when I don't know my weights, I usually lift better because I'm able to tell myself it's lighter than it actually is. Physically, I was strong enough to pick up 232. Mentally, I wasn't. After that I knew I had to work on my mental strength just as much as my physical strength. I've tried a few different things. I deadlifted blindfolded once. I had my training partner load up the bar without telling me what was going on it. I approached it blindfolded and lifted it no problem. I think the weight was 215 (first time I had hit it in the gym). For my squat, I walk out a new weight, hold it for about 20 seconds, then rack it. This helps me get a feel for the weight, and when I go to actually attempt it, it usually feels lighter. I do the same for bench, just holding a new weight before actually attempting it. I can't really do that for deadlift, and since I train alone now, blindfolded lifting is out. So I'm still trying to figure out mental training exercises for deadlift.
I also do a lot of self-talk and imagery techniques. I do have to be careful about this, because sometimes I talk it up too much and I end up freaking myself out and missing the weight (lol). I usually just tell myself I can do it and imagine myself doing it before I actually attempt a new weight. I do not listen to music while I lift. I like it to be silent so I can really focus in. When you go to a lot of powerlifting meets, you see people really getting themselves pumped up, blasting music, yelling in each others faces, and I've even seen guys hit each other in the face. Then there's me, usually off in a corner somewhere trying to center myself. I pump myself up only SECONDS before I walk up to the platform. I usually hit ammonia for third attempts, and sometimes seconds. I don't yell, I don't make a lot of noise. And I don't like people screaming at me. I need the yelling when I'm trying to finish my lift-coming back up from a squat, trying to lock out a deadlift. but I don't need it to start. I'd prefer silence but anyone who's ever been to the Ultimate IPA meet in Ithaca knows that's pretty much impossible. So I've learned to adapt and work with it, and tone people out until I really need the encouragement. Everyone has different personal preferences! Figure out what works best for you! Don't let anyone judge you for how you prepare for your lifts.
How do you guys mentally prepare yourselves? Anyone have any good techniques for me to try? I'd love to hear them!
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