How to overcome a fear of the bar

[rickastlen]

This is gonna sound silly, but my deadlift has finally gotten to 4 plates, and I'm having a hard time adding more weight to the bar because I'm getting scared of the weight I'm pulling. Once I get it off the ground, it's easy, but I'm getting a fight or flight response before I even start to pull and it's making it very difficult for me to get the bar moving. It's making it so that I'm more likely to say that I failed a set rather than just doing it. And the time I'm taking in between reps is huge. It's more like I do a deadlift, then I take a minute to 2 minutes to work myself up to do the next rep. It's turning more into 5x1 rather than 1x5.

[MattJ.D.]

find your balls

[Mike C]

I was gonna say be less of a pussy

I guess finding your balls would help in that process

[stonerider]

I was going to jokingly say spar probably has bigger balls than you do, but in all honesty, she probably has larger testicles than most people on here

[Corrie]

Yes, as crude as it sounds you just need to sack up and go for it.

But I was surprised to come in here and see someone being nervous of deadlifts. If you fail the bar just drops a few inches. What exactly is making you nervous?

[D.W.]

Ask yourself how bad you want it. But this just works if you have a goal.

With deadlifts for me it's more about willpower and not about fear, since as Corrie said, there is nothing that can happen.

[Matt Reynolds]

My typical answers have already been given, so I will actually answer this honestly and seriously...

What you are experiencing DOES happen in the gym. I see it all the time. Unfortunately I RARELY see people who are scared of weight be able to overcome it. Essentially you have it or you don't. The best lifters I've ever trained with (and I'm talking the absolute best of the best in the whole world) have an uncanny ability to have no fear whatsoever of ANY amount of weight on a barbell. Not only that, but they are quite sure they'll lift anything you put on there. That is one of the differences between guys like Konstantin and everyone else who gets reasonably strong.

I'll be the first to admit I'd terrified of squatting heavy weights. I'll deadlift or bench or press any weight you put on the bar or die trying but it doesn't scare me. But even I am a panzy when it comes to squatting. When I get anything over 500lbs on the bar I get nervous as hell. Which, along with the fact that I desperately need double hip replacement, makes me not a very good squatter.

[Jamie J. Skibicki]

I thought it was going to be the Jerk or the snatch. Having a heavy bar flying over you is a little nerve racking at first, but the deadlift? You aren't even between the bar and the ground. Whats the worse that can happen?

[hrat]

I get afraid of failing not because anything can happen, just because it's failure. Once you've started the set, you either finish it or fail; up until then you can imagine it'll go fine.
If it's anything like that, try calming down. Breathe deep, imagine it going fine, getting all the reps easily, and sort of tell yourself it's already done. Then only in the last 30-odd seconds psych up and go for it.

[Corrie]

My typical answers have already been given, so I will actually answer this honestly and seriously...

What you are experiencing DOES happen in the gym. I see it all the time. Unfortunately I RARELY see people who are scared of weight be able to overcome it. Essentially you have it or you don't. The best lifters I've ever trained with (and I'm talking the absolute best of the best in the whole world) have an uncanny ability to have no fear whatsoever of ANY amount of weight on a barbell. Not only that, but they are quite sure they'll lift anything you put on there. That is one of the differences between guys like Konstantin and everyone else who gets reasonably strong.

I'll be the first to admit I'd terrified of squatting heavy weights. I'll deadlift or bench or press any weight you put on the bar or die trying but it doesn't scare me. But even I am a panzy when it comes to squatting. When I get anything over 500lbs on the bar I get nervous as hell. Which, along with the fact that I desperately need double hip replacement, makes me not a very good squatter.

Nice post Matt, it's interesting (and quite reassuring) to hear that such a succesful lifter has battled with the mental aspects as well.

I have a question though, you point out 500lb as being a specific spot where you start to get nervous for squats. Has this number changed over the years as you got stronger? Did you used to get nervous before lifting 400, 300?