Written by: Kevin Cann
We always talk about what programs are best, what adjustments we make to training volumes to increase our totals, and technique. One piece that we tend to forget about, but is equally important, is the mental aspects of this sport.
You know the greats in sports are great? They do more than everyone else and yes, there are some genetic components here. However, they also believe in their greatness.
One of my favorite stories of all-time is centered around my favorite athlete of all-time, Tom Brady. This story was of him when he first joined the Patriots as a 6thround draft pick. During practice he jumped in the huddle with the first team offense.
The coaching staff asked him what the hell he was doing, and his response was “I am going to be here anyways.” He then went up to Robert Kraft and told him that drafting him was the best thing that organization had ever done.
He was a poorly rated NFL quarterback coming out of college as the 199thpick. A college career that saw him split field time with a quarterback that went on to play baseball. No other NFL teams or scouts had high expectations for him. However, he believed in his greatness right from the start.
A couple of years ago, the Patriots were down 28-3 in the Super Bowl to the Atlanta Falcons. You could hear Tom Brady yelling to everyone “You gotta believe.” No team has ever come back from a deficit of more than 10 points in the Super Bowl. The odds were not in their favor.
They came back and won that football game. This is relevant because maybe we are going to Nationals after a bad test, or you are coming off of a bad meet. Maybe you had a rough training block. However, “You gotta believe.”
We are about to fly across the country to compete on the biggest stage of the sport nationally. Leave your fucking doubts at home. “You gotta believe.” Visualize how that weight will feel on your back and in your hands and visualize every scenario of lifting it. Visualize smashing it, but also visualize grinding it out because even on a bad day you will not fail with that weight, you will just have to fight harder for it.
Leave the fear of failure at home as well. You have a lifetime to compete in this sport, progress is inevitable. Understand no matter what, this is just a step forward in your journey. To quote another professional athlete who believes in his greatness, Connor McGregor, “We don’t lose, we win, and we learn.”
Accept that missing lifts is part of the sport, but don’t miss them because of doubt or fear. Miss them because they are too heavy. Next year, a few of the PPS lifters have a chance to advance to higher levels of this sport. We have a few that can be in the mix for Primetime and others that would like to qualify for Nationals. This attitude needs to be how we train. We need to believe in our greatness and do everything we need to do to make these things happen.
Eating right, getting in quality sleep, and attacking every repetition in training (including accessory work) with a fucking purpose. This group started with one person that couldn’t even squat when we started and a crazy small female that was scared of squatting 2 plates.
Now we are 37 strong and the majority of you had zero powerlifting experience when you joined the group. All of you have the ability to accomplish anything you want in this sport. You just gotta believe, erase all fears and doubts, attack training, and do everything outside of the gym you have to.
There is no room for doubt, lets fucking go!
Precision Powerlifting Systems 