✓ Member
It's not too heavy
Gents, and I refer here to the males who are reading this, some of you are suggesting that shit is getting heavy when it actually isn't. It is important to maintain some perspective. I have some pretty small women trainees that don't weigh very much who squat poundages at, near, or above the weights people have described as heavy. They are smaller than you and have a lot less testosterone at their disposal. You can and will do better.
Here's the thing - the weights always feel heavy. However, the best way to make today's work set feel lighter is to commit yourself to getting stronger. It is very hard work. It is not fun. You will question how the hell it will be possible to add another 5 pounds, let alone 25 pounds to the bar. Persistence is rewarded. Stop telling yourself it is heavy. Instead, go to sleep earlier and go after it again tomorrow. Also, you need to watch the following video when you feel like shit is too heavy. Note, there's a lot of profanity in it.
I've been searching for the perfect thread to drop this in, but gave up and just made my own. CT Fletcher is a force of nature.
Then, you need to watch this:
Did James Henderson mention anything about the weight being heavy? No. Instead, he repeatedly told himself that he was going to have a powerful workout. He then went on to bench 600 pounds like it was of little consequence.
Bulgaria
We just had this conversation at the gym during our team meeting last weekend. When I started cleans last night, I actually said out loud that the first weight on the bar was light. And, then I had a fucking amazing night of cleans. I came home and read this at 1:30 am. Perfect timing. CT says fuck more than I do, though, which is kind of amazing.
Starting Strength Coach
Isn't "heavy" relative to the experience of the lifter? For someone who's never been under a barbell, squatting 135 might be a near impossibility, but after a year of training, they could easily triple or even quadruple that.
It's also relative to the mass of the lifter. For a 150 lb guy, a 225 bench is starting to get pretty "heavy." But for a 230 lb guy who can't bench 225, it sounds like you'd rather say, "That's not heavy, you're just weak." Depending on the attitude of the lifter, that could either be really motivating or extremely disheartening, whether it's true or not.
It's just semantics, I guess. If you're out for a Sunday drive with Grandma, going 95 MPH on the freeway might be a little too fast for her. But if you're a NASCAR driver, 95 MPH seems really slow.
It sounds like you're implying that there is a concrete number for each lift of when a weight is "heavy," regardless of the experience, size, or ability of the lifter. Do you have to squat 700 lbs before you're lifting heavy? If that's the case, then a rather high percentage of lifters will never do a heavy squat.
Are you worried that if a guy calls his personal best 270 lb squat "heavy," that it will devalue what heavy really should mean? If so, then I can buy that, but again, it's just semantics.
Or... are you simply trying to get people to realize that they have a lot of untapped potential, and that instead of perceiving a weight as "heavy," (thus psyching themselves out of the lift), they should just be strong, get under it and lift it? If that's the point of this, then I couldn't agree more. It just comes off a bit like you're minimizing the accomplishments of a novice lifter who may have just set a personal best with what, relative to them, was a "heavy" weight. You may be able to bench 225 lbs with one finger, but a lot of novice lifters struggle to reach that bench mark.
Member
This. Unfortunately one of the problems of this forum is that everyone overthinks stuff. It's simple. Lift the f'ing weight. No it's not heavy even though it "feels heavy" to you. This goes for me too, and I'm one of the strongest guys on the forum, and IMO I'm still a great big giant pussy.Originally Posted by WorkoutNick
Member
I get it in my head that, "It's going to happen!" early in the day. When I get to the workout, it's like I've already accomplished the reps.
✓ Member
I am not in any way suggesting that PRs are not reasons to be happy, no matter the weight on the bar. My intention is not to minimize or disparage anyone's accomplishments. I work with novices all the time and it is a gratifying experience to watch them get stronger. My intention was to provide some motivation and context. Of course the weight feels heavy and that is relative to the lifter. However, I want to encourage people to move beyond that and keep going after PRs even when it gets tougher.
That and I've been doing lots of form checks and wanted to change things up a little. Plus, I love that CT Fletcher video. I've watched it a bunch of times. It makes me want to lift.
Member
I, for one, hit a 205x5x3 bench press, which was a little mental "limit" for me. That summer prior, before I started training, I couldn't even get 205 off my chest. So I achieved a little personal "goal" of mine, and then between rugby practice, an injury here, some motivation there, and I've lost strength and haven't lifted 200 pounds since.
So I think if I had instead set my sights on 275 or 315, without worrying about accomplishing an admittedly paltry weight of 205, I wouldn't have let off the gas.
Member
Weight is relative. Example: 100 < 200 < 400 < 500 < 600 < 700 < 800...you can compare weight because its a numerical thing.
At some point, its all heavy. Its best to not think about how it feels but rather on what the hell you are doing.
The only thing that should not be relative is mindset. Do not walk into the gym thinking, "I wonder if I can do this." All effort must be set on execution and successful completion. You WILL do this. This IS THE PLAN.
Sometimes you fail; this is reality... but you can't think like you are GOING to fail. You have to rationalize success even when you are being stupid and probably shouldn't be doing what you are doing (LOL...this is called "trying your luck").
But really, you have to believe in yourself because that's the only person you are letting down when you go in there and start making excuses.
Member
It's important to not even let yourself wander down that line of thought. It's only a few steps away from settling for less than you can really lift if you keep grinding it out, or worse -- deciding what's the point? and giving up. We shouldn't search for reasons for why it's OK that we're weaker than the other people we see at the gym or on forums. That's self-sabotage and a set-up for failure.
Personally, when I'm filling up with air to get under the bar for work sets of squats, the ONLY THOUGHT IN MY HEAD is that no matter how heavy this feels, IT'S GOING UP.
Member
Its all relative. Weight is relative. Its the mass that is constant. The weight you lift here is different than the weight of the same object on, say, the moon. So just shut up and lift, muthafucka.
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