Good mood? Bad Training Session?
This doesn’t even have to go for a someone who just lifts. It can be for anyone who has a perfectionist mentality or “all or nothing” attitude when it comes to training. I found myself last week trying to hit every prescribed top set on my program only to fail and have it roll into the next day and fail again. I didn’t really stop to think that this program is flexible and I don’t HAVE to hit every number perfectly. Actually it’s funny, I was in a really good mood for almost every training session. I felt good therefore I wasn’t really thinking clearly. I let my good mood effect my training such as I would let a bad mood.
For example, even though I was in a good mood, my thoughts were still clouded and I let them take control. I felt like I could hit these bigger numbers without even really feeling the weights. I hit a high bar squat at 230lbs and it was heavy, I was “feeling good” so I went up. I approached the bar like it was 225 and tried to hit 240 and failed. I didn’t really prepare myself for the weight to feel heavier. Hindsight, I should have stuck to 230 for another hard set or approached 240 with a different mindset. I didn’t think things through and I went on my “feel good” emotions and ended up paying a small price.
This is a beginner lifter’s mentality. It’s *like* letting a bad mood take control and ruin your time at the gym. A bad mood can make you lead to making poor training choices and so can a good mood. How you view training can either hinder or progress you in your lifts and or whatever else you are training for. The more I reflect on my training over the past two years, the more I realized I let my mood take control during a session. If I look at my training more objectively and take my emotions out of it the better it will become and I can enjoy training for the sake of getting stronger and not for the ideal numbers I “want“.
The sport of powerlifting can be tricky. It’s not about the numbers in my opinion but you open up instagram (I am guilty of this) and you only see people hitting big PR’s (personal records). So is it all about the numbers or isn’t it? I think if you break it down powerlifting or lifting in general it can teach you a lot about life. Ask anyone who powerlifts or weightlifts and they will tell you what the sports have taught, them not what numbers they can hit. Chasing numbers is sliding down a slippery slope. If you are new to lifting and all you can think about is hitting the next big number…RELAX. Think long game.
Also, if you aren’t hitting what you want, try a new approach like I am trying. Count small wins. So I ask myself questions or make notes along the lines of feeling accomplished post sessions, doing the best I can during the sessions, leaving my emotions and personal life at the door, making small connection with someone while lifting, cheering on my teammates for hitting a PR, making a smart training choices, training through being tired or stress, getting accessory work in or training through a new stimulus. Also, putting things in perspective can really help. Take a step back and look at how far you have come from the first time you touched a barbell.