Worksheet: Mental Training for Weight Training

By: Stephen Ungerleider, PhD
From: Mental Training for Peak Performance: Top Athletes Reveal The Mind Exercises They Use To Excel

Review these mental training techniques before your next lifting session. You'll want to customize these tools to meet your own goals and needs and take note of what images or techniques work best for you.

Use affirmations and self-talk. Practice these during training as well as during competition. Tell yourself during a tough workout or competition, "I can do this." Don't allow negative thoughts such as "Those other lifters look awfully strong" or "I don't think I can make this lift." If you botch a lift, put it behind you. Choose a cue word or phrase such as "You can do it" to use while you are lifting.

Breathe right. Practice full breathing regularly. Before your competition or workout, you may want to listen to a specific piece of music to practice relaxed, comfortable breathing. You might want to pair an image, such as making a successful lift, with your breathing routine. As you lift, it is important to inhale fully, being sure never to hold your breath. Holding your breath serves only to tighten and constrain various muscle groups. Then exhale gently at the end of your lift and allow your lungs to be free of excess air as you complete your maneuver.

Meditate. Meditation while lifting will help you shut out the outside world and concentrate on your own performance. You might choose a mantra such as Byrd Goad's "I'm strong; I'm in shape" to repeat while lifting to help you concentrate and stay relaxed.

Relax. After hard workouts, practice progressive relaxation to relax your muscles. Establish your own relaxation routine with an audiotape. Practice a mini relaxation session, perhaps using deep breaths or counting backward from 10 to calm yourself or relax overly tense muscles just before a lift. You can also use what is called differential relaxation, learning to control various muscle groups so you can relax the ones you aren't using to lift, even during competitions.

Practice imagery and visualization. For imagery practice, watch lifting competitions on television or have someone videotape you lifting. In your mind, watch yourself during a lifting session, slow down your visualization, and correct any mistakes you see in your technique.

Consider your opponent. Jacob likes to visualize an opponent and then forget he exists. He knows the competition, but ultimately he knows "it is up to me and my training and mental toughness to hit the weight I have prepared for. No other competitor will impact my performance. I am my best opponent and my worst opponent, depending on my mental game that day."

Visualize technique. The mental training program Byrd Goad uses allows her to see and feel the proper weight lifting technique. As a world record holder in the 110-pound division, Byrd Goad likes to visualize the weight and, more important, her approach to the weight. With the proper technique, she points out, anyone can do weight training and competitive lifting.

Build a victory image. This is a sport that both men and women are doing more of and is part of a cross-training regimen for nearly all competitive sports. If it's not your primary sport, enjoy your weight work as time away from your competitive sport. If you're a competitive lifter, develop an image of an explosive, powerful lift and imagine the feelings that accompany a successful lift.

Use visual motor behavior rehearsal (VMBR). Visualize yourself lifting; focus on enhancing your technique and analyzing and mentally correcting errors. While training, practice the corrected behavior. Before lifting, imagine all the details and how you will meet challenges as they arise, such as pain or tightness, a sense of fatigue, or a strained or pulled muscle. Practice switching back and forth between a relaxed phase and a ready-to-win state of mind.

Have a precompetition routine. Anticipate, prepare for, and minimize as many distractions as possible. At the competition site, check out the surroundings, the crowd, and the noise. Look around to see who your competitors are. Thirty minutes before your event, move into your PTEZ, or perfect timing and energy zone. Practice relaxed breathing. Visualize yourself competing and finishing strongly. Tell yourself that you will do well in this competition or workout. Do any precompetition rituals that make you more comfortable. Byrd Goad is the ultimate competitor, but she likes to hear or tell a joke before she competes. This is her ritual for preparation in a major competition.

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Reprinted from: Mental Training for Peak Performance: Top Athletes Reveal The Mind Exercises They Use To Excel © 2005 by Stephen Ungerleider, PhD. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098.

© 2006 Rodale Inc.
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