drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
<header class="entry-header">Strength Train the Mind
by Nia Shanks
</header>If you read my blog regularly you know how much I love strength training and how important I think it is for building and maintaining a strong, lean, and healthy body. Well, it is just as important to strength train the mind.
Before we move further, what exactly do I mean by “strength train the mind”? There are several different ways to interpret this phrase, but right now I am going to explain to you how strength training the body can also strength train the mind.
The other day in the post Super Squats I shared my enthusiasm for the back squat and a few squat variations I use with myself and my clients. There is another reason why squats are such a great exercise – they can really show you what you’re made of!
I still remember when I was training a fairly new client several years ago. I had to ease her into training hard and heavy because she didn’t like the feeling of working too hard or straining to any extent. Because of this we didn’t start out using heavy weights since she wasn’t comfortable. After a few weeks, however, I knew it was time to kick things up a notch. She was warming up for squats and I told her that we were going to push a little harder. While she looked a little intimidated, she was willing to give it a try.
So after a thorough warm-up we loaded up the bar. I told her not to rack the weight unless I said so. She got under the bar, unracked it, took a step back, got into position, and then squatted. I could tell by the look on her face that “this was heavy”, but she descended into her second rep. After her third rep I could tell she wanted to end the set, but she kept going. She managed to bust out three more picture perfect reps and I told her to rack the weight.
Something in her eyes changed at that very moment. It was as if she was surprised that she was able to squat that weight for six reps; that set showed her what she was capable of and that she could push beyond the comfort level she had established. Things were different from that point on – she was no longer timid of lifting heavy and pushing herself hard.
The point of the story is this – strength training gives us opportunities to challenge ourselves in new ways. We can see what we are capable of achieving and pushing ourselves to new limits.
NOTE: I am not condoning any stupid stuff seen in everyday commercial gyms like when guys load up the bench press and kick and squirm through every rep that their buddy has to lift off of them. Nor am I suggesting you perform a set where your form breaks down and you are screaming at the top of your lungs. Any time you train you must use perfect technique with each and every rep. Sloppy reps will get you injured.
Two of the best exercises I can think of that will strength train the mind are squats and deadlifts. These two exercises engage a lot of muscle mass, and so they allow you to use a lot of weight. I can count numerous occasions where I was in the middle of a set of squats and I wanted to call it quits. However, I knew that I had a few more perfect reps still in me, and so I would make myself push forward.
So many people shy away from anything that is challenging. That is why most people use machines and never learn to squat and deadlift. As a result, they never get the results they want. Squats and deadlifts are damn tough, but they work.
You don’t have to push yourself to the limit every time you train, nor should you. However, don’t be afraid to test yourself from time to time. There’s nothing wrong with doing a tough set of 20 rep squats (as long as you know how to squat perfectly) or loading up a bar and deadlifting it as many times as possible (again, as long as you deadlift perfectly).
There are limitless ways to challenge yourself in the gym: test your three or one rep max on a given exercise, see how high you can jump, perform as many push-ups as possible, etc. Oh, and Hill Sprints are also excellent for strength training the mind! Give them a try for yourself and you’ll know why.
Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. You just might learn something.
by Nia Shanks
</header>If you read my blog regularly you know how much I love strength training and how important I think it is for building and maintaining a strong, lean, and healthy body. Well, it is just as important to strength train the mind.
Before we move further, what exactly do I mean by “strength train the mind”? There are several different ways to interpret this phrase, but right now I am going to explain to you how strength training the body can also strength train the mind.
The other day in the post Super Squats I shared my enthusiasm for the back squat and a few squat variations I use with myself and my clients. There is another reason why squats are such a great exercise – they can really show you what you’re made of!
I still remember when I was training a fairly new client several years ago. I had to ease her into training hard and heavy because she didn’t like the feeling of working too hard or straining to any extent. Because of this we didn’t start out using heavy weights since she wasn’t comfortable. After a few weeks, however, I knew it was time to kick things up a notch. She was warming up for squats and I told her that we were going to push a little harder. While she looked a little intimidated, she was willing to give it a try.
So after a thorough warm-up we loaded up the bar. I told her not to rack the weight unless I said so. She got under the bar, unracked it, took a step back, got into position, and then squatted. I could tell by the look on her face that “this was heavy”, but she descended into her second rep. After her third rep I could tell she wanted to end the set, but she kept going. She managed to bust out three more picture perfect reps and I told her to rack the weight.
Something in her eyes changed at that very moment. It was as if she was surprised that she was able to squat that weight for six reps; that set showed her what she was capable of and that she could push beyond the comfort level she had established. Things were different from that point on – she was no longer timid of lifting heavy and pushing herself hard.
The point of the story is this – strength training gives us opportunities to challenge ourselves in new ways. We can see what we are capable of achieving and pushing ourselves to new limits.
NOTE: I am not condoning any stupid stuff seen in everyday commercial gyms like when guys load up the bench press and kick and squirm through every rep that their buddy has to lift off of them. Nor am I suggesting you perform a set where your form breaks down and you are screaming at the top of your lungs. Any time you train you must use perfect technique with each and every rep. Sloppy reps will get you injured.
Two of the best exercises I can think of that will strength train the mind are squats and deadlifts. These two exercises engage a lot of muscle mass, and so they allow you to use a lot of weight. I can count numerous occasions where I was in the middle of a set of squats and I wanted to call it quits. However, I knew that I had a few more perfect reps still in me, and so I would make myself push forward.
So many people shy away from anything that is challenging. That is why most people use machines and never learn to squat and deadlift. As a result, they never get the results they want. Squats and deadlifts are damn tough, but they work.
You don’t have to push yourself to the limit every time you train, nor should you. However, don’t be afraid to test yourself from time to time. There’s nothing wrong with doing a tough set of 20 rep squats (as long as you know how to squat perfectly) or loading up a bar and deadlifting it as many times as possible (again, as long as you deadlift perfectly).
There are limitless ways to challenge yourself in the gym: test your three or one rep max on a given exercise, see how high you can jump, perform as many push-ups as possible, etc. Oh, and Hill Sprints are also excellent for strength training the mind! Give them a try for yourself and you’ll know why.
Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. You just might learn something.
