In general, you probably belong to one of two camps with regards to mental preparation for performances. These two camps are comprised of those that benefit from energizing the experience and conversely those that perform best with a calming of the fire. Neither is better or worse than the other, the key, however, is having self-awareness about your practices. As a blanket observation, most people aren’t lacking in the area of energy, nerves, and otherwise.
This was one of the first things we, as hitters, had to recognize playing baseball in college. The question we had to answer was if we needed to “get up” for at bats, or if we needed to “calm down.” From there we would adapt our approach on deck and otherwise to fit our needs.
This photo makes zero sense to 99.9999% of the population.
So, let’s extend this exercise to our fitness school. Imagine yourself stepping up to a bar loaded with your current one rep max. Are you anxious and energized in a way that interrupts fine motor control and execution? Or, are you the type of lifter that looks like a kitten in the lions den?
Clearly, each type of individual will benefit from some strategy built around their behavior. For emotional, hyped up athletes, there should be a great deal of self talk and mental preparation around calming “the beast” for the big lift. The other type of athlete, however, may be cutting their gains and performances short without adding that powerful rage and intensity. They may need to channel some anger and aggressive in their approach to the bar, for example.
Which athlete are you? Most importantly, what types of tactics can you practice to maximize your chances of success?
Logan Gelbrich
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Wednesday’s Workout:
Complete the following for time:
21-15-9
Hang Cleans (135/95)
V-Ups