Thread: is maxing out..

Originally Posted by kenwood

is maxing out on bench or anything else mental or anything to u guys? i mean like u just starte at all the plates on the bar and like then its just a fucking total mental barrier!!...bc i just did 235 easy and i was goin to do 245 and i had 4plates on each side(45-25-25-5) and just that many plates just like messes w/me mentally....but i tried it and i was like fuck and the bar just dropped on the safety things......do u think its a mental barrier?...i like it if theirs only 1-3 plates on the bar

My brain just exploded......again

...If you're trying to say what I think you are then - yes I do feel like less plates = easier. I find 225 ( 2 45's on each side ) harder then 100's which is 20 lbs heavier. I think it could have to do with stablizer muscles, but I don't know for sure?

I get that feeling too sometimes. Just gotta think positive. I tell myself, Lexus, you can do this man it's only 95lbs. Think of it like this "if kefe can doit, anybody can do it".

Of course it's mental. Most of lifting is mental. Do you have the mental toughness to do that extra rep? To try that really heavy weight? To go five more feet while holding hundreds of pounds? To lift that extra five pounds? Obviously physical ability is a major factor as well, but someone who doesn't have the mental capability can never realize nor use his/her full physical potential.

New weight is mental, of course. But I don't think smaller plates makes anything harder, except for deadlifting, and that's just because smaller plates is like pulling from a deficit.

I think the last time I "maxed out" on a lift was in the 10th grade.

Same mental issues would apply to new weight on heavy/low rep sets, though, no?

Originally Posted by ablc

Same mental issues would apply to new weight on heavy/low rep sets, though, no?

Yup. I train with singles and I attempt new PRs all the time.

When I train with new weight I just think to myself "LIGHT WEIGHT" like the Coleman lifting videos. It works. Just visualize the weight as nothing but the bar and think of yourself throwing it through the roof with ease

Oddly enough even doing over 4 plates was never a problem for me mentally, it takes awhile to get there as it is so another 5-10 pounds from 1-3 weeks past doesn't allow for mental barriers. Its a steady progression.

I do however have a sort of preperation ritual before max attempts that I feel is fairly crucial for me. I dont sit on the bench, I have to walk around and do something right before my lift. So I'll go get water or whatever. I also listen to music (iPod currently), so I put on something to get me 'ready' mentally beforehand, this might be a song with an intro and when its about time to hit the weight I walk over to the bench semi-quickly (not fast, it is a gym after all), get prepped (positioning), and fire it away. Sitting still in one place before a lift seems to almost 'put me to sleep' just enough to hurt my lift by a little bit.

Getting enough sleep the days prior are also very important, not enough sleep means 5-10 pounds less on a lift the next week, no lie.

It's very mental. Some people have very complex rituals they go through before they lift. Sometimes I use visualization, sometimes I get angry, sometimes I just get really happy, etc. However, I usually do try to raise my level of arousal before I lift. <Insert joke from Dale here>

it is very very mental for anyone to try and hit a max attepmt. that is why it probably isn't best for the CNS to try and continuosly hit them weeks and weeks in a row. there is a lot of arousal and overload going on there.