Feb 20, 20182 min
Has this every been you??
You step up to the bar, wrap your hands around the kneeling and duck under to set your back to the bar. You stand up with the weight on your back and your first thought is “Oh, Shit! This is heavy.” You spiral down from there, telling yourself you can’t do it and rack the bar.
You just got mind F***ed.
How do you prevent it and how do you work through it once you start that downward spiral?
Well, the simple answer is (wo)man up and do it.
It’s not that simple though. I’m here to tell you life sucks and the weight is going to be heavy, these are the facts. But you have a choice; try and fail or try again and succeed.
Great things come out of squatting; it’s going to teach about life. 200 pounds will always be 200 pounds. It’s what you do while under those 200 pounds that will either make you better or make you quit.
It’s ok to have a moment. Gather yourself. Dig deep. Put some loud music on. Come back to it and try again.
But how do I prevent this from happening and get through it? That’s a great question.
A few steps I take to help me are:
1) Visualize the movement. In other words, make a plan. Lay it all out there, the set up, the un-rack, feeling the weight on your shoulders, inhaling, bracing the core, lowering into the squat, pushing through the floor, squeezing the glutes, maintaining the tension, and finally racking the weight. This is the plan. It may be necessary to take a step back. Take a few breaths, or walk around the room to get away from whatever it is, we call it “negative energy.” But come back and stick to the plan.
2) Say, “I CAN.” The moment you let doubt creep in and tell yourself you can’t, is the moment you already failed. If you have someone to talk to you, ask them if you’re just being crazy or is the weight really that heavy. An outside source can give you an unbiased opinion and can help you see pass the obstacle you are focusing on.
3) Nike said it best, “Just Do It.” Once you have that plan, you see it and you know you can, then just do it. You must take action in order for you to grow. The worst thing that can happen is you failing. But that does not mean you’re done. It means you have another shot to get it right. Repeat steps 1-3 until you conquer your goal.
At the end of the day we are human and we will fail. We will get into our heads and it’s going interfere with our goals, that’s ok. What’s not ok, is quitting, just take a deep breath, step up, handle that weight, and conquer it!