This article is a summary of what I have learned in almost a decade of coaching and competing in powerlifting.

We can all appreciate how we are at our strongest when our minds are in the right place. The ancient Greeks had

a saying 'Healthy mind in a healthy body.' I have learned through study, practice, trial and error that having the

right psychology doesn't just give you an edge, it is essential to fulfil your potential. We are all individuals who

think and experience our world differently, so you are certainly entitled to disagree, but these principles have

worked very well for me and the people I coach.

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Determination

You need to have a will to win and succeed. Reaching your full potential requires difficult training to force your

body to change. It will not be easy; it will often be very uncomfortable and there will be times when you will doubt yourself. There will be sacrifices to be made to find the time for training, you’ll need to invest in good nutrition and live a lifestyle that promotes recovery. I believe this is the most important psychological quality. Everything else will flow from this if you want it bad enough.

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Be clear about your goals. Ideally write them down. 

 

Understand Your Why

Our goals and actions should align with our identity and values. It is about more than just lifting weights. More than winning titles or breaking records. It is about how it makes us feel and improves our lives.

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Take some time to think about why strength training is important. Use this as motivation when you are challenged.

 

Understanding the Challenge

We need to steel ourselves for difficult work. Occasionally a client of mine will miss a rep that I’m sure they could have completed and very often they will say something like: “I didn’t expect it to be so hard”.

 

Sometimes they might try again successfully within a few minutes. This means that they could have been successful on the first set. Something must have improved for the second set, which can only be technique or psychology, assuming fatigue is not a factor.

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I generally find that people perform better when we understand and accept that an exercise is going to be difficult. This means that the only way to succeed is to give 100%. Hope for the best but expect the worst. When people approach strength training with this mindset, they usually perform better than they expect.

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Reflect on how you approach your most difficult sets. Are you respecting the weight? Or expect to lift the weight without a struggle?

 

Self-Belief

The flipside is that we still need to believe that we have the potential to lift the weight, no matter how difficult. If you don’t believe that there is at least a small possibility, then you’ll never be able to give 100%. If you honestly can’t envision a scenario in your head where you complete the lift, then for now it is probably best to reduce the weight to something you believe is realistic.

 

Research has shown that the best mindset is where we believe we are just capable of achieving something. This is the perfect balance of confidence, neither over nor under-confident. I will usually tell myself “This is going to be difficult. But I can do it.”

 

There are believed to be four main factors influencing self-belief for an exercise.

1. Observing other people succeed

2. Encouragement from others

3. How our minds and bodies feel

4. Completing a similar task successfully – this is the most important!

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Next time you want to increase your self-confidence before you attempt a new PB, think about successful lifts you've made recently or historically. 

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Self-Doubt is Normal

Although we want to feel confident, that doesn’t mean that we never feel self-doubt. This is natural whenever we are pushing our limits and attempting what we have never done before. What matters most is our beliefs about self-doubt and how we react. I believe that feeling nervous is simply a sign that we care about the outcome

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Think about previous times when things went well for you despite feeling nervous. That could be an exam, job interview, first date or PB attempt. Remember that nerves are not always a bad thing and can in fact help us perform our best.

 

Focus on the Process over the Outcome

I have already mentioned the importance of desire to achieve the desired outcome. However too many people celebrate what ends well, not what is done well. I believe you are best focussing on the process: executing good technique with maximal effort. I find that this reduces nerves about the outcome. 

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If you give your absolute best effort but aren’t successful, then I don’t think you can have any regrets because you did everything you could. You attempted a weight that was beyond your capabilities at that time, and I would instead look at improving your attempt selection.

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Are you focussing on the process or the outcome?

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Remaining Objective

It’s important to look at our training objectively so we do not make poor choices on emotion or unrealistic expectations.

At my most recent competition, the UK Single Lift Championships, I was hoping for a 270kg deadlift. However I sustained a minor lower back injury in the build-up, which impacted my training. Based off this I decided to attempt 267.5kg, which was not the number I wanted, but the number that my training indicated would be possible. This turned out to be the correct choice as I barely made 267.5kg and would surely have not finished 270kg.

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We often place too much importance on round numbers. This can encourage us to attempt milestones such as 100kg, skipping 97.5kg on the way. But sometimes 100kg may be beyond our capabilities and 97.5kg is the correct number. This is the same psychology that means we buy more items because they are 1p cheaper, because we perceive that 99p is significantly cheaper than £1. This is rooted in ancient Roman and Indian mathematics and is a product of the culture that we live in. For example, you probably wouldn’t consider 45.36kg to be particularly significant, yet an American may consider this an important milestone as this is 100lb.

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Do you keep records of all your training?

 

When planning attempts, compare recent training with periods that led up to your previous PBs. If training is trending upwards, you can be more confident in your ability. If you are not lifting heavier weights, completing more reps or lower RPE scores, then consider lowering your expectations.

 

Be Willing to Fail

You need to take some calculated risks if you want to succeed. This means that there is a chance that you will fail. Nobody wants to lose, but I recommend that you accept that is the risk you must take. In competition try and reframe that you are there to test yourself and find out how good your preparation has been. If you deserve it then you will be successful. If you fail this is an indication that you didn’t do enough to deserve it and you need to improve.

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Are you prepared to risk failure in order to succeed?

 

Learning from Losses

Sometimes not getting what you want can be a wonderful stroke of luck. Failure can often be the most valuable lesson. When we are successful it can be easy to get complacent and assume that what we are doing is enough. When we are unsuccessful this can act as a wake-up call that spurs us to improve and grow.

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Consider times when you’ve been unsuccessful but have used this as a lesson and motivation to come back stronger.

 

Comparing with Others

It is said that comparison is the thief of joy. If you compare yourself with others this may prevent you from putting your best effort and improving, especially if you perceive that they are too advanced for you to match. Remember that we are all at different stages of our journey. You may be in your third year of training or competing, whereas someone else may be in their tenth. Unlike many other sports, there is no way you can influence what your opposition does. Therefore, I recommend just playing your own game, doing the best you can, and not comparing yourself with others.

Are you 100% focussed on yourself? 

 

Blocking Out Distractions

Strength is a skill. This means that we must focus our attention on what helps us to perform every lift to the best of our ability. Since we only have so much information we can process in our short-term memory at any time, we need to focus on what is relevant and ignore anything that is irrelevant. Negative thoughts about your environment, people, or things outside of the gym may impact your performance. Remember that everything is within your control.

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People often get nervous in competition when there is a crowd. Consider that you are performing the same exercise with very similar equipment whether you are performing in front of 10,000 people or none. When you compete try and approach it the same way you would if you were attempting a PB in the gym.

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Have a think about what you need to focus on and what distractions you might have in training or competition. Consider whether those distractions are worth paying attention to if they do not help your performance.

 

Patience

You must understand that it takes time to build strength, and your rate of progress will slow down as you get more advanced. Powerlifting is delayed gratification and there are no natural shortcuts. The best powerlifters built their strength by working hard for many weeks, months, years and decades. Stay patient as you work towards your goals. Celebrate every small improvement on your journey. 

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It's also crucial to stay humble and not let your ego influence your decisions. ​Follow your programme and do the right training to improve, not to impress people in the gym or on social media. 

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Consider how long you are prepared to work towards your goals. If you knew it would take many years or longer, would you still be prepared to continue?

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I hope you have found this useful and inspiring. Remember that, just like any system

in the human body, our psychology is something we can train with intentional practice

and experience. Good luck with your training and don't be afraid to aim high!​

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Patrick