Are you giving 100% every time you walk into the gym? Do you put focus and intention into every lift and every movement ? Do you know which muscles you are using and which should be working through the movement? We all can step our game up just a little bit.
Distraction kills. It can prevent you from staying focused on your lift and training in general. Do you play with your phone, go to the bathroom, checkout during training and just go through the motions? Yet you are concerned as to why you are not see the results you want and desire, but are you putting the work in? One big question I ask my athletes is what they are thinking when they are getting to lift. Almost 100% of the time the answer i get is: “Nothing” or ” I don’t know? “, many can’t give me an answer. More disheartening is when I ask them what they are thinking about before they begin a set and I get a blank look that tells me they aren’t consciously engaged in their set.
We all know that having intention in your set or lift is critical along with technique. As a coach my job is to direct you to know what you should be feeling, how your body should be moving and where your body is in relation to the movement. If you are not bringing intention to your lift, you loose a powerful part of the training session. Next is learning about attention. You can watch someone else do the lift, hear the cues and relate it to how you should look. Taking that and now making “intentional” cues for yourself is the point we want to get everyone to,
Did you ever start lifting and get lost in the moment? You get fired up for a set, maybe even blare the music to keep you hyped, yet you seem to loose your concentration when training. Emotion and energy can only carry you so far, but intention and focus will complete the entire job. This is what separates the greats from everyone else.
A powerful statement is about to be made. Having intention in lifting is rooted in preparation and planning. It’s the idea that before I even go and grab the weights, I’ve already envisioned success because I’ve created an approach that nearly guarantees it.
Focus on what you are doing. Know all the variables involved in each of your sets. Plan on your success from lift to lift. Intention is something that requires a degree of refinement, so don’t assume it comes naturally for everyone. Like any skill, it requires practice and fine-tuning. But, I promise you, if you spend a little time on developing your intention, your training will be taken to levels you have only dreamed of.
reference: breaking muscle