[quote]kimbakimba wrote:
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
Damn, this is a tough room. Your training is looking good, Counselor. [/quote]
Thanks. It is indeed a tough crowd in here. Not much tolerance for wimping out.
What is your mental process for squatting those big weights?[/quote]
I haven’t been lifting seriously for that long, but I try and apply mental strategies that I learned when I was younger and competing in other sports. I like to try and take the head out of the equation as much as possible. I believe that through repetative training a person’s body learns what it needs to do and that you need to trust it. On the other hand, a person’s conscious, reflective mind can create unnecessary distractions (like moments of doubt) that can impede performance. So I try and operate as much as I can in a pre-reflective state and trust that my body knows what it is doing. I use a routine with a start-trigger and try and put my body on auto-pilot.
After I get past the point of warm-up sets where the weight gets heavy enough to use a belt, I will add the weight for the next set and then walk certain paths around the gym, depending on amount of rest I want to take. When I hit a certain spot, its time to set the lever on my belt and walk to the bar. Then, I grab the bar, look down, and take as many slow, deep breaths (using my diaphram) as I am going to do reps (5 reps = 5 breaths) and try and clear my head. If I am going to do a single or a double, I will still take three breaths, because that is the minimum I need to clear my heads and get ready. The last breath I take is my start trigger, then its go time, and all focus shifts to the lift. (I have a different routine for deadlift and bench).
I always take my right leg out first, then my left, then set, then a deep breath and go. During the squat–or any other big lift–I try and think of one, and only one, key thought, i.e.,“stay tight,” “controlled descent,” “elbows up,” or whatever key thought I am working on. I do not believe that you can effectively use more than one key thought at a time.
By using a routine and one key thought, I can think about whatever between sets and my body just goes about its business, kind of like drving the same route home everyday. I can think about the lift, my job, the weather, or whatever, until I hit the trigger point. Then the trigger helps shift all my focus to my lift. When the trigger hits, my body knows that there is no time left for doubt or distractions and that it is time to perform.
As a final point, the actual routine doesn’t matter, as long as it is consistent and has a start trigger just before the start of the actual lift. I think that without a routine and a trigger, I would have a much harder time being consistent on the heavy-for-me lifts.
Perhaps others have a different or better way to do it, but this is what i do. I hope this helps,
Jack
