For a lot of guys who’ve been doing powerlifting for a while now will tell you that partners are very hard to come by. The reason why is because in powerlifting, its more mental than it is physical. A lot of these guys who made it to the top haven’t conquered these mental barriers because everytime they set a record or break a record, they have the drive to push themselves further to do it again which makes it mentally tough. But at times, even the beginner or amateur lifters have a hard time staying motivated like myself.


It was about a year ago when I thought that there was nothing else I can do in powerlifting and the reason why I was thinking that was because the lack of motivation I was getting from my partner and from myself. I was having trouble finding that “fire” again. But then, I met with another lifter, Jon Darty, who was and still is stronger than me. When I first spoke with him about powerlifting, my fire came back. But that wasn’t what caused it completely. When he came down and trained with me, he challenged me every set of every rep and I loved every bit of it…regardless if I could or couldn’t. It was hard not to be motivated during that session with him. I went home sore and taxed out but I loved it. Then I realized that the one of the reason I became a powerlifter was because I liked to be challenged and its that challenged that pushed me in the gym back then…it what pushing me now. Then I started challenging myself in the gym to do anything…whether it means breaking a PR or making all my set on plyos perfect, that what I did.


This is what you have to do in the gym. You have to challenge yourself in the gym and outside of the gym to push yourself to the limit. This is where most guys plateau mentally. No matter what, you find a way to beat that challenge so that you can attack the next one. This is what my “mental” training was missing. I needed a challenge that I can beat and then I could setup another challenge and so forth. I would set “immediate” challenges that I could take and beat within the next week or so and then I would have the “distant” challenges that I would set myself and my training to achieve. These would be called long-term and short-term goals but if you see it as a challenge you’ll take like it is…a challenge. This will push you harder in the gym to set that PR and break it. I’ve trained solo for about a year now and I get my motivation from the challenges I setup within myself. My message board has a challenge forum where guys there would make challenges to one another and the purpose of that is to push the next guy to do the same…to challenge themselves. By doing this, you can’t have a mental barrier in training…not if you have a challenge to beat you do.


You can challenge yourself on anything…breaking that 10 rep PR on bench or squat or setting up a training cycle so that you can take down that PR at a meet. Here’s an example, this past week, I looked at my training schedule and saw that I was going to do bench to failure in my shirt. In my mind, the number 405 appeared and I told myself that I would go past 10 reps with 405 on that day and on that day, I went for 12 reps with 405…by far the most I’ve done. Was I surprised? No, I wasn’t because I knew this wasn’t impossible. This also helps you come meet time. I’ve seen guys do all sorts of things to get them fired up at a meet which causes them to use a lot of energy just to get going and by the time they lift, they end up missing the lift. By mentally setting up these challenges within yourself, come meet time you won’t be “mentally” shaken at all because you’ll see it just like anything else you’ve seen….a challenge. This way you can remain focused and determined without all the extras and you would be surprised at how well this works…but then again you won’t because you will believe that not impossible for you and to me…that’s a challenge well conquered.


Hell….challenge others if this helps out in the gym. Challenge your partner to keep up with you or to get one rep more than you on everything. The challenge forum on my board has helped lifters a whole lot and when they break a challenge, they don’t celebrate, they setup another challenge to keep it going. My motivation has never been this high before and its because I’m mentally challenging myself and others to be the best and to push to their limits. It truly means…train or die!


Think about this next time your in the gym or on a message board. See how much this helps yourself. Think about your next squat day…what weight are you doing? How many reps are you going for? Once you get yourself thinking on a weight and amount of reps you want to go for, stick to it. Be honest to yourself though…make sure it’s a challenge for you. This maybe the cause of such a mental barrier in your training. Here’s another example, I told myself that I would hit 495 for 10 on squats and I got 495 for 8 reps…now don’t look at this as this beating me…I know that I will get it next time and I won’t back down from it. If you can’t beat that challenge that day, there’s always tomorrow…keep in mind, they give you a reason to train and something to work for. So keep this in mind when you look at your training log or someone else’s for that matter. Until next time, break those PRs!!
TB