Try These 7 Mind Hacks to Rule
From experts to gym addicts, all talk about training methods, techniques, periodization, healthy eating, calorie counting, and many other things. But hardly anyone likes to talk about the mindset needed for dominating your workout.
Without a doubt, physicality can speak volumes, but your mental capacity is the main engine for giving the best performance. It’s the most determinant factor how much work you’ll put in – despite a well-built physique.
Before We Delve Further
When I look into the winning mindsets regarding the subject of resistance training, it quite astounds me so little to none time is spent discussing it. In my view, few possibilities towards the absence of this type of information can be due to:
- A belief system that such skills aren’t that important.
- These skillsets are self-taught. You have it, or you don’t – it’s something that can’t be taught.
- Have understanding regarding the importance of mindset needed for successful lifting, but feel under-qualified or not capable enough to teach these skill sets to others.
I believe the last explanation holds the most truth. Somehow, we’re trained to believe since childhood that only trained professionals with lots of letters and honors behind their names are someone we should listen to and not otherwise.
Psychological skillsets are needed. If it’s well developed, strategic psychology can become one of the greatest weapons in your arsenal. As said earlier, physicality can be likened, but your mindset is the key factor to keep you running for the long haul – a determinant factor how much work you put into it, how much you’re willing to put it further and how long you’re ready to keep going.
Here Are the 7 Tips to Keep Yourself Pushing
That said, below are the seven different suggestions for getting the best lifts in the gym:
- Be Specific Whether You Want To Or Not
- Weakest Person In The Room.
- Boost Your Surrounding
- Keep Your Focus On Efforts More Than Your Results.
- Be Strategic When You Compare Yourself With Others.
- All Or None – Not Always The Best Policy.
- Bad Days – Make The Best Out Of It.
Be Specific Whether You Want to or Not
Everyone has a time when they’re not sure whether to lift that heavyweight or not – I’m no different. There’s been a time where a big part of me had nothing to do with that. Even aware that it’ll require an immense amount of effort to execute it properly without losing any focus. Worst case scenario, I was even aware that weight will do more harm than good to my body.
I assume, for most, it might be the same, whether it’s you or someone else. There are always two parts – one says yes, and another says no whenever you want to do something difficult, especially something which has the potential to harm you. It’s given that most of the time, you’ve nothing to do with that. That being said, the question arises, is there a part of you who wants to do it, and is it bigger than the first one, which is NO?
If it’s making sense to you, then move forward. The only remaining issue to figure out for you will be: how to do it. Personally, for me, it’s more to reconnect with my goal and visualizing how I’ll feel once I complete this challenge. For you, it could be something else. But the key is you’ve to figure out on your own whether you want to go with that big weight or not – putting ego aside.
Weakest Person in the Room
Yes, you read it right. It’s applied in every area of your life. You might have heard that successful people are more in discussing ideas, and an average discusses people. The same is here. If you put a group of strong people in the room, each will find a way to make each other stronger, on the other hand, put a group of weak people they’ll be talking more about their daily life and how it’s not going well.
The lesson to learn is that you’ve got to surround yourself with the people who are better than you – doesn’t mean you’ve to become YES man with them. If you do this, you’ll strive to drag yourself up toward their level. On the other hand, if you’re the strongest one or the only strongest person in the room, the opposite will happen. You’ll get overconfident, and you’ll start dragging yourself down.
Boost Your Surrounding
For great lifters, it comes naturally to adapt and thrive in any given environment. It’s one of the important points to embrace. But, once you achieve that level of understanding, you’ve to turn your sighting into finding or else creating an optimal environment that helps you to enhance your performance.
Though, the optimal environment can mean many things: people, temperature, lighting, music, equipment, and a whole lot of other things that can help enhance or don’t detract you from your lifting performance. Quite similar to animals, once a lifter finds a place that meets his basic needs, he’s more likely to be there unless any circumstances arise which provokes to change. Though, you should equally keep your eyes open for better gyms, coaches, partners, equipment. It’s always good to find a place where you can truly thrive and reach your potentials, which you can.
Keep Your Focus on Efforts More Than Your Results
You might have heard the most enjoyable part is the process instead of reaching the goals you’ve set. The same applies here. You should learn to keep your focus on the efforts you make to reach your goals instead of solely focusing on the results.
Everything takes time. You don’t see results overnight. The main part is that you learn to stick to it instead of being a wandering mind. In a week or month, you won’t find any desired results. It doesn’t’ mean that you give up. Many times it happens that people set unrealistic expectations and start doing it simply to leave it later on. The thing is that results come gradually. If you’re not focused on the efforts you put into bringing into reality, it’s going to fall off. So, you should put your energy and focus on what you’re doing, because if you take care of the present situation, the results will be taken care of it on its own.
Be Strategic When You Compare Yourself With Others
It’s quite natural though many might not accept it openly, somewhere we make comparisons. And, it even helps in assessing status among lifters. But, if we don’t get hold of it, it can become a psychological trap. Personally, if I want to satisfy my ego, I can compliment myself thinking, I’m stronger than 90% of my peers of the same age, body weight, and body composition. But this type of comparison is not going to take me anywhere, nor will it be helpful. So I keep it only for the days when I’m feeling discouraged.
A productive comparison is to look at how poor my lifting prowess as compared to the great ones of my chosen sport. For instance, many can deadlift my 1 RM for 20 to 30 reps, and then there’s who can clean and jerk my best squats. These are the types of comparisons that should be done – the one which can jolt you out of your smugness. The point is if you make comparison try to compare with those who inspires and provokes you constructively while sparing the ones who promote satisfaction and hinder your potential to move forward.
All or None – Not Always the Best Policy
That said by French writer Voltaire that “perfect is the enemy of good,” and it’s true at least for me. Everyone must restructure their workout routines as there comes a time when you hit a plateau. Though unrealistic expectations won’t get you anywhere, if you think from a perspective of long-term results, then you must be open to challenges and hiccups that come your way. And, you must also learn how to regroup it and move forward.
Bad Days – Make the Best Out of It
In the gym, all have good days and probably some of the best days, especially when we break our records. But what counts more is our “bad” day. Many like to measure themselves how well they did on their best days, but the great lifters are the ones who like to make the best out of “bad” days. Everyone has that moment, didn’t sleep enough, stress at work or home, not feeling well. How well you adapt to those situations that count the most.
Closing Thoughts
Having the right mindset for training is equally important with your workout regimes. If you’re not mentally prepared to put in the work needed to achieve your desired result, you definitely won’t be able to. I hope I’ve pointed out some convincing points on the importance of well-trained psychological skills that can make a difference in the weight room. If you’ve got something to add to this subject, I’m all ears. Simply let me know in the comments section below!
