What you should be feeling before every set...

[Massive G]

We were on the verge of hijacking another thread with the topic of weight selection (and you know how much I hate to hijack threads..LOL) so I decided to put a few thoughts up in this new one....Along the same lines...


Without going any further I've got to reiterate that obviously good form is mandatory here...that goes without saying....

What I want to talk about is this:

How do you know if you have the right weight on the bar/machine?
I know the goal is to always beat the logbook that's a given,and I want to encourage everyone to challenge themselves with their blasting weights everytime.....Remember you're only gonna have 3 cracks at the same exercise per blast (that's if you blast for the full 8 weeks....a lot of us do less time...I average 7weeks..InHuman 4 weeks) so you don't want to waste any time getting the weights on the bar and challenging your limits.

Here's how I KNOW if I'm in the right ballpark, legs is always a good example for me..... When I look at that leg press, or hack squat or squat rack all loaded up before my heavy set I want feel fear....I want to look at that bar and really get that nervous feeling in my stomach...kind of like you feel when the bars just locked you into your seat on the rollercoaster.....

I'll tell you what...sometimes what I feel is "I do not want to do this..."..honestly sometimes that goes through my head...and that's OK....I'm a sicko no doubt about it but I still to this day get that apprehension preset often. I don't take this as me being unmotivated but more as me knowing just how bad I'm gonna be feeling and EXACTLY where I'm gonna have to take myself to accomplish the task at hand.

At that point it's whatever it's gonna take to get your mind to where it needs to be....music, meditation, self-talk, ammonia capsules..etc....I use them all at one time or another

It's all worth it in the end cos you all know how great it feels when you don't punk out, cut those reps high,stop short of failure or any of the myriad of ways that we shortchange ourselves with our lifting.

I guess a healthy fear is something to aspire to....I think it lets you know that you're heading in the right direction.IMO that is

[JnJ23]

great post! I somtimes get that nervous feeling in my stomach too, butterflies/adrenaline rush!

[USMuscle9403]

I think I am the total opposite of you. When I know what weight I have written down to plan on doing that day, I just warm up, slap on the amount of plates to get to that weight, and I DO NOT look at the weights anymore. Well, I may glance at them, but I don't take a good look at them because I feel as though they may intimidate me and get me out of my mindset. Then, I may grab the bar and give it a little shake, just to make sure that *I* am controlling the weight and it won't control ME. I sometimes call it names under my breath (never aloud, lol) and say that I just ass-raped it's only slightly lighter sister last rotation, so I'll be damned if some pussy of a weight that's only a couple pounds lighter is going to beat me.

I honestly can not say that 'fear' is an emotion that I feel by looking at the weight. If I look at something and fear it, that means that there is a chance that I am not confident enough to overcome it. That mindset may stick with me and make me fail. Therefore, I just convince myself that there's no way that I can fail on this...so needless to say, I DONT fear it..

[jimpaul]

I sometimes get a dread feeling which I turn into anger at times.



good post FH
even though you should've hijacked one

[Massive G]

OK....I hear what you're saying Allen...I agree somewhat...By the time I get under the bar I want my thought process to be ...DOMINATION......VICTORY...DESTROY...CRUSH....LO L
But to get to that point it's a ritual/a process for me....I couldn't just walk into the gym do a few warm up sets and perform at my top level right there...I have to get my mind to where it needs to be first.

[jediclampet]

Especially on certain excercises, like squats and deadlifts, I get the "fear/I do not want to do this" feeling FH mentioned. But when I start the set, the adrenaline gets going and I get such a rush. Sometimes I stay wired for hours and I can not go to sleep (I workout at night).


I think the whole emotional process is similar to what a sky diver goes through. They might be scared shitless when they are standing there looking out the airplane getting ready to jump but when they do they get that incredible rush.

[rowtogrow]

good post FH and as always good follow by allen. I have to agree, the slight anxiety before heavy lifts like Deads with turns to a "no failure rush of energy"

[Kidrok (Hop)]

FEAR is a powerful motivator.

[Massive G]

good post FH and as always good follow by allen. I have to agree, the slight anxiety before heavy lifts like Deads with turns to a "no failure rush of energy"

you hit the nail on the head me right there....key word is anxiety for me.

Failure isn't an option and I only get one crack at that set....so mentally picturing the workout and lifts in my head many times before it occurs helps also.
I have to SEE the weights and visualize my self doing it in slow motion...in success many times before I do the actual set.

I think it's interesting to see how people react differently to how they get ready for a set.

[rowtogrow]

you hit the nail on the head me right there....key word is anxiety for me.

Failure isn't an option and I only get one crack at that set....so mentally picturing the workout and lifts in my head many times before it occurs helps also.
I have to SEE the weights and visualize my self doing it in slow motion...in success many times before I do the actual set.

I think it's interesting to see how people react differently to how they get ready for a set.

I also have to use a lot of visualization before a set MG. See first with your mind then you body :showoff:

[In-Human]

As G said, anexity is the word here to for me, its like I am going to a fight or something, the weight will go up everytime til there ain't no more room on the bar and no more DBs can be chained to the stack, it has to get done, no ifs ands or buts, the weight is going to move, everything must tie in here, diet, rest, pre workout meal, supps everything will be key and of course form is #1...

[nikko]

I have to SEE the weights and visualize my self doing it in slow motion...in success many times before I do the actual set.

That mental trick does not work on me. Whenever I would visualize the set in my mind and I am not talking just visualizing it from a 3rd person POV--I mean, I would try to pre-live it--I would get mentally tired and would always fail earlier then expected. For me the key is not to think about the weight but feel it (shake the bar or something--I always do that--like USM said) and venture into the unknown. That way, the workout is more interesting as well. I do not like the feeling of anxiety but I cannot avoid it especially on deads and rack deads where my weights are up there.

[rugbythug]

I used to let myself spiral down and think about failure in certain exercises. Other exercises I was so confidant I knew I would beat the book it didn't matter how much weight I used. But those exercises I was not good at I would get anxious and think about what if I couldn't do it. Now I do a lot of self visualation and positive reinforcement-THink Rocky- Before I even go to the gym-while I am driving the 30 miles I am thinking about the exercise that will make or break my day. I make it in my mind that by the time I get there it is a foregone conclusion. I also try and distract myself from thinking about the actuall #. I just think about what set it is and how it is 10lbs more than last time. Not that is 300lbs or whatever it actually is.

[The Munster]

Like everyone else here, I sure enjoy reading about everyones mental set prep.

I'm a little bit different and I think it has something to do with the work that I have been doing for the last 8+ years. The industry I work in is a VERY VERY deadline driven business where what we are doing for our clients has to be done NOW, RIGHT NOW and YESTERDAY! It's not uncommon to hear out of one of our clients mouths "if we don't get this filed by xx:xx, the deal will fall through and I'll lose my job."
Anyway, for 8 years I've worked with a group of people accomplishing what seems utterly and totally impossible to do in stupid short amounts of time. Somehow, someway, it always gets done and it always works out. Because it has too.

That's how I approach my sets. It has to be done because...it just has too. It has to be accomplished because...its just supposed to happen.
Every workout day starts out with writing out the day's workout in my logbook, deciding what weights are going to be used and/or what weight/reps need to be beaten and...not much more thought goes into it. It just has to be done.

Now, I say all this with the knowledge that I'm not yet pushing the massive weights that a lot of you much bigger/stronger guys are. I wonder if down the road my mental set prep is going to change and some of the fear/anxiety you've talked about will be apart of it.

[asim]

Ever since I can remember actually going heavy an as instense as i possiblly could i've had that fear of certain exercises.

Squatting, deadlifting, benching. Many more. Its the ones that i feel could leave me in a pool of my own blood that i fear. When i step up the weight looks heavy, i can feel it on me before i even touch the bar.

So after fearing the weight for a while i have to get ready to lift it. I say to God, please protect me. Then i visualise how easy it is, its lightweight. Theres nothing on the bar, its lightweight, its easy weight. Jus do it. Take some deep breaths to get my adrenalin going and lift.

With deadlifts i visualise the word power, and i think of roaring like a lion or tiger. I need the power of an animal to lift this.