Your mind is your best ally

Those of you with any knowledge of sports psychology will know that in the simplest terms a positive mind is far more likely to help you succeed in your gym lifts than a negative one.

One of my habits when coaching others is to look into what 'hooks them'. I'll listen to conversations we have when not lifting, stories told and even to what is muttered by them when they are lifting big. Such things can be very telling in what makes a person tick and then, as I do, can be used to drive them harder when the time comes. I usually use it in two ways. One is max set / max weight time in training. A little dose, if you will, of a whispered comment and an extra rep is driven out of an exhausted body. The other time is in the psyching up portion pre a competition lift. Knowing what makes others tick, which while useful as a coach, means I also need to know what drives me as do you.

Now positive affirmations, words such as yes, power, success and so on and not at all limited to the usual gym phrases of 'hench dude!' or 'all you' when spotting but even open ended or non-negative comments. If 'you will fail' is full on negative and 'you will succeed' is full on positive then a neutral or open comment could be 'let's see what will happen'. Even a reply to 'how will you do?' such as 'I don't know... let's see' has something because it leaves a metaphorical door open for something successful to occur. Try to leave the BS of the world at the door. The boss, wife or whatever that is down on your ass. Fu*k them. They've never seen this you. Show them.

When talking to some new guys at Gymnation (the other gym I use) recently I said simple acts such as having a pre-written out workout, sets, reps and poundage included, will leave you with more opportunities to do well than an unplanned see how we go approach. It is because during the workout simply becoming knackered from the training will make it that much harder to recall the numbers from the previous workout. Having a simple number to aim for removes doubt and lessens the likelihood of failure. Look at the strongman event called 'the Hercules Hold'. Those that go last almost always do better than the earlier athletes. This is simply because the earlier guy acts as a pace setter and those that follow only have to do one second more. Just one second more. See how that phrase reads and sounds so simple. Unless you risk injury or death it is.

Another way I encourage guys to do their best is 'be in and of the moment'. I probably don't use those exact words (more 'now slag, now!!'). But the message is the same. For some the brutal onslaught to come, the pressure they will be under, can be daunting. They know that they might shake or feel nauseous and this can make them hold back. A reminder of what they are there for 'you want size don't ya!!' (or whatever) and a 'do this now, for this second, for this minute, then rest, grow and succeed'.

Most people hold themselves back from being what they can be. I've written before of the 'train with Arnold or Ronnie' lines people come out with. The usual guys BS thing where some wannabe will say 'if I trained with X' (chosen athlete they admire) 'I'd be all that and I'd train so hard'. I've even had it said about me - very nice but I replied 'why wait?'. Train like that NOW! The is no magic in Ronnie, Arnold and most certainly I have none. Do not wait for some golden moment, the sun, moon and stars in alignment, to train hardcore. Train as though that person is with you now. Perhaps imagine them in the corner giving you a thumbs up.

It has been said that the body does not care what it is asked to do. Sure we have nerves etc to protect ourselves but they all end at the brain. Separate the two and it'd do any old thing. Now add it back in and see what the body will do if you ask it. Don't have the man in the driving seat, your ID, sit there with cruise control or autopilot doing the job, drive that baby. Put the pedal down and see how fast it'll go.

Nuff - go do it.