Maximal Lifting: Controlling Fear & Anxiety

Man the fuck up.

Could you imagine what went through the minds of these young 18, 19 year old kids when they stepped off on to the beaches of Normandy, Omaha, Iwo Jima, Tarawa? This is something I think about day to day, when I am feeling like a bitch in my cozy little life.

Fear and anxiety are a part of our every day life. However, in order to move forward, in order to achieve, in order to succeed, in order to be stronger today than you were yesterday-- you have to remember something... your mind and body lie to you. You still have a choice. Regardless of what you think and feel.

You need to remember that you subconsciously want to be lazy. Your body does not want to do anymore than it has to. It wants to be comfortable. It does not want to have to burn energy and work anymore harder than it has to. Have you ever found yourself feeling sluggish, tired, and lethargic? Therefore the thought of just getting up to take a piss sounds like an all out effort that would be similar to running a marathon while carrying a hippo on your back? Yeah? Me too. Then, you force yourself to do something, say like vacuuming the floor or going to workout, and once you get going you realize you had more energy than you thought? Hell, I've been running off of 2 hours a sleep after a busy 24 hour shift at the Fire Department then I go and have an epic squat session. Even though before my vision was blurred, I was dizzy and the world seemed like a thick fog.

I don't know the science behind all of the brain chemicals and hormones in the body, but I can certainly liken these effects to adrenaline, dopamine, and the like. Before I go on, I am certainly not advocating not sleeping and training when you should certainly rest. Sleep is extremely important for the body. However, one needs to weigh their situation with reality and the way it has got to be. I choose my battles and push myself beyond the pseudo "normal limit" one could say. This is because I understand my mind and body. I know when to ignore it and when to listen to it.

A a very similar thing happens with anxiety towards lifting heavy weights. It is natural and happens to everyone that genuinely pushes their physical and mental barriers.

Controlling Fear & Anxiety

First, a lifter needs to understand why they are feeling anxiety when lifting at maximal, sub-maximal weights, or even just during a challenging training program. Anxiety with lifting generally comes from either one or a combination of these reasons:

• Fear of failure.
• Fear of putting out; hard work. i.e. it is really gonna suck.
• Fear of injury or death.
• Fear of quality performance; performance anxiety.

That is really it and I have experienced every single one of those fears in my time of lifting. I have been lifting weights on and off for about 16 years now, 6 years of how I do now (powerlifting, Russian systems, etc.), and can confidently say I am very familiar with them. The amazing thing is, I no longer experience them any longer, and it is a pleasant freedom to have. I feel I have gotten this way through the experience of never succumbing to them, much like never giving in to being "tired." That is not to say I have never had to do internal battle with them. It is important to note that these fears/anxieties are just as  important to becoming a stronger lifter as the actual physical lifting.

Learning to deal with these is just like learning to deal with dying loved ones, betrayal, social anxiety, discipline in school studies, and so on. You will find the harder you push your mind in the weight room the stronger your mind will become in your everyday life. It is what I always say about why I lift, and why I lift the way I do, because it tempers my mind and soul into something more than just Phil York. Part of the process is learning to deal with these fear and anxieties just like you would outside in your normal life.

To start, look at each one, and realistically analyze them.

Fear of  Failure
Remember, the only person that cares is you, and you alone. You manifest these qualifications of yourself. No one else. You must also remember that failure is what drives all of us. Without failure there would not be greatness and success. There would be no reason for anyone to push themselves beyond the standard. It is why we have personal records, right? I have never met a true success whom has not failed, and failed multiple times. I can not tell you how many times I failed getting to where I could squat 405 lbs before I ever got it, but I eventually got there through persistent failures. In short, the failures were what ultimately made me succeed and find out what worked.

Fear of Hard Work
This is my favorite one and I still feel these viral feelings creep into my head every once in awhile. The best reason I have come to believe for the cause of such anxieties is your body simply telling you, "Hey! You do not have to do this!" The best way to deal with this is to just remind yourself why you are doing what you are doing. If the reason/goal is great enough, you will do anything to achieve it. This is where personality plays a huge role. Some people want things bad enough, some people don't. Bottom line, there is no sense in fearing hard work. It is only your mind trying to talk you out of the uncomfortable experience. Over time, you will feel these less and less because you adapt to harder and harder training. 20 rep squat programs, Smolov, and the like are great programs to deliver lessons in overcoming fear of hard work. It is just hard work. Not a big deal.

Fear of Injury/Death
Certainly a legitimate concern. You just have to rationalize it. I can remember when I first started training my working sets in the high 300's for squats. I remember my mind telling me to rack the weight, rack the weight, rack the weight all of the time! I hate to admit it, but I have listened to those words a few times and every time I regret it as soon as the weight is off me. I realize I was in no real danger, it was just a natural reaction. Your mind realizes that weight could kill you or seriously harm you. In a twisted way, it is why heavy compound lifts are so awesome and why they work. You must keep yourself alive by doing them. Pretty awesome right? In reality there is nothing to fear. If you are using good solid form and are lifting with a spotter or in a rack, you really have nothing to worry about. Keep it in perspective. Lift smart and safe.

Performance Anxiety
Fear of your own personal performance. Whenever you get anxious about how you will perform in your training, break everything down to it's most simplistic form. Which is again, just hard work. If it is a thought of, "How am I going to do this?" Again, break everything down to it's simplicity. If you are using smart programming, especially off of percentages, then that ability to succeed lies within you and you alone. That means, you are capable of doing it. The anxiety comes from self doubt and lack of confidence. Consider the moment when you feel this way an opportunity to prove to yourself that you can do it. If you do in fact fail at the given task, then you are rewarded with a defining point to improve from. Keep your weaknesses closer to you than your strengths, as they are your point men, they will define where you go from here.

Conclusion
Failure is a step to success. Think about that.

Hard work is the corner stone to the development of anything. It is what tempers and molds humbleness, character, and ability.

Rationalize your fears. Never abandon fear, but control it and keep it in perspective.

No one can judge you but yourself. Recognize your weaknesses and keep them in front. It is the only way you will grow stronger in any form.

I simply believe that everyone must find their "reason." A passionate reason at that. It comes in different forms and different areas of our lives. For me, training has been like medication. I can zone away under the bar. Nothing matters outside of my little space. I forget about hardships, pain, and all of the negativity that comes with living. I love squats for this reason. It is the only exercise where I feel like I have to fight with everything I have to win. Every time. The anxiety, the fear, vanishes when you realize none of it matters. It is that natural power of absolute mental struggle that you cause on yourself. It is pure. You must find that special place if it is in you. It may not be, but that is why I do it. I don't know how it is for others-- but for the short moments when I am grunting through an agonizing set of squats again, and again, and again... I am in a world far beyond the physical one I walk.

Find your reason and you will never fail in the weight room again.

Protyazhka. Warming Up For The Squat

Is it bad when I see a baby squat I get jealous? Everyone's goal should be to squat like a baby! Their form is pristine. Properly warming up and good flexibility should be priority before you squat. Below I will share some of my methods for doing so.
For a functional warm-up for your lower body training, give this old school method a try. It is known as a Protyazhka, a Russian Olympic lifter's protocol developed by yours truly, Sergey Smolov.

If you are not familiar with Sergey Smolov and his infamous squat routine check out these two articles: Druge Free Steroid-Like Gains for the Squat and Smolov for Front Squats.

A Protyazhka consists of a snatch grip long pull without any knee dip. It is combined into a combination of a press behind the neck and an overhead squat. Keep in mind, this will be essentially a barbell complex without rest. It will look like this:

Snatch Grip Long Pull 3-5 reps
+
Wide Grip Overhead Press 3-5 reps
+
Overhead Squat 3-5 reps

Do this for a total of four to five rounds.

To perform the snatch grip long pull, without knee dip, imagine the stiff legged deadlift (SDL). Start in the beginning portion of the SDL using a snatch grip. Using your hips only, drive the bar up. Remember, you are not performing an actual snatch overhead, you are just using your hips to drive the bar up.

The wide grip overhead press is to be performed behind the neck.

The overhead squat forces good technique. An overhead squat cannot be performed correctly with any major flexibility or form issues and I am in favor of utilizing this moving before every squat session. It forces one to use good technique, and it is a great motor pattern warm-up for this reason as well.

This circuit is a great way to promote good blow flow, raise core temperature, and stretch out tight areas. I personally use just the barbell, you can also use a broomstick as well. You could add a small amount of weight if you need it to push you into the hole if you are that tight, but remember it is a warm-up.

To take this a step further I like to incorporate the following before every squat session.

Leg Swings 2 x 12-15 swings
Garland Pose 2 x 45 second holds (use the elbows to apply pressure to the inner knee)
Stretch the Piriformis 2 x 20 second holds
Overhead Squats w/ a broom stick 2 x 10 reps
Foam Rolling (focus on, IT Band, Piriformis, quads, & hamstrings)

Slowly work-up to your working sets. If my first working set is say 275 lbs, my work-up will look like this:
45 lbs (bar) x 5-10 reps
95 lbs x 5 reps
135 lbs x 3 reps
185 lbs x 2 reps
225 lbs x 1 rep
Start...

The goal for me everytime is to make sure every weight feels "good." I shouldn't have any tightness, hot spots, or areas that are problematic. If I do 95 lbs for 5 and it feels shitty, I do it again. So, in other words, I don't move up till that weight feels nice and my body is warm with it.

If you do this, it will ensure a pretty awesome squat session every time. You will move bigger weights with better form and feeling better about it. Take the time to warm-up every time you squat!