Hello coach!
I would like to hear your opinion regarding the right way to prepare myself psychologically for a new PR, getting "in rage" and removing any sings of hesitation and fear before approaching the new weight.
Would gladly hear any good tips or read any article about the subject.
Thanks in advance!
Depends on who is making the PR. Karwoski had his own method. A 75-year-old lady on her third week of the program just lifts a heavier weight because her coach loaded it on the bar. You will develop your own methods as you work through the program, as part of the learning process.
You have to master the execution of the lift and do the requisite preparation work. As long as you have done that, you just have to not mess up. If you have followed the steps of linear progression, you should know what you are capable of doing.
A big mistake I see novices making is forgetting about what the hell they are doing. Almost all tweaks and errors I see during heavier attempts come from not paying attention. Stay focused on every single rep.
If you are a competitive powerlifter you should listen to this interview with Rip and Karwoski.
There are some gems in there. Rip said it well, you learn as you put in the work. Time under the bar will teach you a great deal. Learn what you can from credible sources, but ultimately you have to find your way.
If you fail, the female Young Things in the gym may lose all respect they had for you; and the machine-bros will have a one-up on you for a few days.
Anyways. . .
Just remember that you made the last PR with the same hesitation preceding it; and after you make your latest PR, the hesitation will be there again when you attempt your next one in a week -- it will never end. Rage isn't my thing for a new PR, (although the title of my log seems to contradict this statement.) I found that it got a little easier by facing the attempt in a more relaxed frame of mind. 'Going to give this everything I have, but if I fail, I'm not a failure at what I do in the gym'. It took a long time before I could convince myself of this, and I still struggle. As Mark says, you'll find your own way. Just don't put "all or nothing" pressure on yourself to the point that you'll feel like shit for days when if you miss it.
-Jeremy
If male I would suggest making sure a female is watching.
One of the biggest mistakes I see conventional (non-technique-trained) lifters make is the focus on what they are lifting -- i.e. what's on the bar -- instead of how they plan to lift it. The heavier the weight, the more focus there must be on the technique, specifically the part of the lift you know you must pay attention to. Psyche can be a huge distraction. Focus on the technique you must execute.
Know where YOUR sticking point is in each lift. Then valsalva and fury your way through it and get the fucking bar up. But conserve that effort until the bar slows. Keeping good form all the way if you can. Assuming, of course, that you want to avoid the kind of damage that will result in surgery or finding another way of challenging yourself physically when your muscles, bones, ligaments, or tendons deny you the great joy of hoisting the iron.
So push yourself. Hard. Stay in form. Know when to signal for help, when to drop the bar, or bail with the bar to the safeties. Then do your best to conquer any willies that experience gave you and try to do better next time.
Clench your butt cheeks, turn the brain switch off, the go switch on, grip it and rip it.
I have a set process for this. I strip down to my underwear and go up to every person in the gym and shout "WHO DA MAN!!" as loudly as I can in their face until they high five me. I then scream like Tarzan and piss all over the squat rack to mark it as my territory.
It works pretty well but I'm running out of gyms to train in.
If you have to ask this question, you don't mentally have what it takes to lift big weights.
