Crotchety old fart issue or focus problem needing medication?

[Bif]

Thanks guys, sometimes it helps to talk it out! So unless there are some good resources on mental focus training as it applies to strength training to share or wisdom from Rip on the subject it's time to do as he says and just lift the f---ing weights!
Bill

Hi Bill,

I wish I could give you some techniques, a la Mark Hurling's "soft eyes", but I don't use any. I lift at home so don't have gym distractions, but I do play golf at a course that runs next to a busy road. When you're lining up a shot and an obnoxiously loud motorcycle roars by, it can be distracting. I just try to turn within myself and gain focus from me. When I'm in that zone, all the ambient noise, though still there, just seems to fade into the background.

I know that sounds all new-agey pukey, but I can't think of another way to describe the process. Bascially I just turn inwards and ignore the rest. It's prolly a skill that can be practiced like anything else.

~ bif ~

[Mark E. Hurling]

I know that sounds all new-agey pukey, but I can't think of another way to describe the process. Bascially I just turn inwards and ignore the rest. It's prolly a skill that can be practiced like anything else.

~ bif ~

You should see some of the shit that I've gotten from all and sundry when I start talking about energy flows and meridians in Rip's Q&A. They mock me mercilessly. sniff

[Gunnhild Bruno]

I actually would be hard pressed to notice a bear attack occurring right next to me when in the middle of a hard set. Perhaps I have the opposite extreme and need medication for that.

[Carlos Daniel]

You should see some of the shit that I've gotten from all and sundry when I start talking about energy flows and meridians in Rip's Q&A. They mock me mercilessly. sniff

sorry, bro

[Kyle Schuant]

I find that it helps to have little rituals to do with your lifting. For example, for deadlifts I crouch down to the bar, take three deep breaths breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth, put my chest up, another breath in, hold it and pull, stand up, consciously put shoulders down and back, then down, bar hits the floor and I let my breath out, three deep breaths again, etc.

You become so caught up in following the exact procedure that outside stuff tends to fade away. And I have a lot of outside stuff, I work out at the gym I train people at, and the useless fucking preacher curl bench is right next to the squat rack, all the moron bros keep swiping the squat rack weight plates for it, and in the mirror I can see people doing exercises wrong, and even when I ignore all that, people will ask me questions while I work out - yes, even during a set.

If you are completely unable to focus, I would suggest that there are probably some other things in your life distracting you. You cannot escape your other issues in the weight room. You will take all your personal issues with you into the squat rack, it gets crowded in there sometimes.

[bob g]

... I guess I could pull music from a cloud server to integrate my droid x2 with a bluetooth duel wraparound headset to crank Disturbed or Slipknot..

I played all of The Sickness for volume squats last Thursday.

I use an iPod and drop it in my pocket. It doesn't interfere with squats at all. I realize, too, that I do a bit of the soft focus Mark mentioned when it's time for work sets. I guess it goes back to my football days. I was always able to tune out external noise during go time.

[Mark E. Hurling]

sorry, bro

That's OK Carlos, just hold me, please?

[Carlos Daniel]

That's OK Carlos, just hold me, please?

Sure thing, bro.

No homo.

[Bean1871]

That's OK Carlos, just hold me, please?

There, there...

[bobland]

Bill,
As others have said, this is not their problem but yours. It may also surface a problem with anger, something you should look deeply into your self about. We live in a time when the generation gaps are much, much wider then ever before. Most of us "elderly" grew up in times when society was more polite and civil, when we were taught by both our parents and schools that corny old golden rule among other gems. Today's generations live by their own rules which don't include anyone else, including their peers. To them, we are invisible. However, that is not a bad thing. We must make them invisible to us!

What worked for me was meditation. I practice a form of breath mediation called vipassana. If you'd like to go further I'd recommend this as a good starting point. It's an easy and quick read but like all things in life, it is not a magic pill.