A Bull Can’t Spear its Prey with the Tempo of a Sloth-DON’T FOCUS ON THE FILTER, FOCUS ON THE ANGER!
A big topic that isn’t addressed enough is the mindset of lifting aggressively. We have broken down the U-Curve that mentions the levels of arousal versus the rigor of the movement and or the skill at hand. You don’t see a golfer running to the green with immense passion that parallels to the adolescent rage they had when their father missed their little league games. Nor do you see a lifter perform a max rep after lounging on the couch sipping green tea while reading “Faust”. I promote strength training, and I think it’s fair that we dive into the topic of “lifting aggressively” to elevate our performance with the barbell.
I linked a video of a lifter performing 485lbs for 10 reps on deadlift. This lifter is Steve Coyne, one of the baddest dudes in the game who’s been hoisting the heavy iron in the southwest region of North America, currently residing on the coast of Florida. One thing I know about Steve is that for the longest time, this man has had a tempo that can’t be matched…and if it were, I would be scared to meet that person. Steve believes in lifting with aggression, passion, and a high level of urgency. One of my favorite things I’ve discussed with Steve is all the “excuses” people make when they miss lifts or don’t perform at the level they “believe” they can…
Example Scenario:
Lifter A: So how much can you bench press?
Lifter B: Oh I can bench basically 400lbs, I just always seem to miss the lockout
Lifter A: So…you bench less than 400lbs?
Lifter B: Well, I basically bench 400lbs! Just need good sleep and sometimes I hate the benches at some gyms.
Are you this type of person? Well if you are, please stop. Quit making excuses and quit talking about “best case scenario” after you received a sports massage and had 10 hours of sleep and a hearty breakfast. YOU NEED TO HAVE AN “ALWAYS” READY MENTALITY AND QUIT THE FRONT: LIFT THE WEIGHT, AND LIFT IT AGGRESSIVELY.
So how do we do this—How do we lift aggressively? A lot of it has to do with the habits you have with the iron…
Do you show up with headphones? What do you listen to?
Do you show up to the gym with your friends and hang out for three hours?
Do you show up to the gym with no preparation and just “wanna have fun”?
To elevate our performance by using this aggressive approach, we need to indulge in habits and a mindset of aggressive behavior. If you have head phones, blare some music with a faster tempo to elevate your heart rate. If you show up to the gym with your friends, make sure your friends take it serious and come to inspire, not come to distract. If you come prepared, meaning you have intefully thought about the weights prescribed and the goals you have, you will be much more successful with the iron and be able to focus much harder.
Being aggressive doesn’t have to be complicated, it needs to be fun! If you follow these parameters of coming to the gym focused, prepared and limiting your distractions, it’s much easier to tap into this mindset and be ready to exceed your normal performance with the iron.
Understand this, a bull can’t spear its prey with the tempo of a sloth…
DON’T FOCUS ON THE FILTER, FOCUS ON THE ANGER! GET MAD, AND ELEVATE YOUR PERFORMANCE!