Are Limiting Beliefs Hindering Your Progress in the Gym?
One thing I have been working on quite a bit in recent years is perfectionism. The need to have things perfectly aligned before taking action. Structured training is something that is highly beneficial to achieve predictable results, and to avoid getting injured. However, it can also wreak havoc on maximising ones’ potential. It is a form of limiting belief. i.e. assumptions about yourself or the way the world works, that in some way hold you back from what you’re capable of.
Last week, whilst on a trip home to Ireland, I spent some time training in a powerlifting gym. With powerlifting, the aim is to lift as much weight as possible, in three basic lifts; Squat, Bench and Deadlift. Given that I work mostly with beginner trainees, I pride myself on my ability to impart good technique, in order to minimise the risk of injury. But once on the gym floor, where I witnessed deadlifts in excess of 340KG, I started to question if I was shooting myself in the foot with an over the top focus on strict form.
Then I had the pleasure of training a seasoned competitive bodybuilder, who has been trying to recover his mojo, after having two kids, and launching a number of business ventures in the past few years. That in addition to a long-standing torn tendon, where his pec (chest muscle) attaches to his shoulder joint.
We had a long discussion about nutrition, and re-structuring his fitness goals. Then we looked at his bench press form. I was shocked to discover that he had been bench pressing in excess of 140KG in his heyday, with his elbows flared horizontally, taking a large portion of the weight into the shoulder joint. Even mimicking the movement with just my hands, and no weights, had me feeling shoulder impingement.
Alas, this is the way the bench press had been conventionally taught up until recently, and it was even the way I was taught to execute the movement, when undertaking my personal training certification. I got him to focus on retracting his shoulder blades, lifting with an arch in his back, using leg drive, and stacking his wrists over his elbows, resulting in a more 45 degree angle in his upper arm, rather than that horizontal flare. The end result was him getting close to failure, and commenting that this was the first time he had ever benched, where he didn’t feel his shoulders coming into the movement. Just pecs and triceps.
Then the trainee became the coach. He asked me how much I was benching (82.5 KG for sets of 3). He took one look at me and said, you can do much more than that. I was hesitant. My bench press had been at about the 80KG mark for about a year now, throughout health setbacks, and just not being able to find my groove. I simply couldn’t imagine pushing it any further.
Then he snapped me out of that negative self-talk. We slapped on 87.5KG, where I managed three reps with ease. For a longtime trainee, five extra kilos on the bar, is a lot of weight. I was ecstatic. I asked if he thought it was possible, to reach 100KG within the next six months, and his reaction was to the effect of “of course”.
This got me reflecting on the approach I had been taking in previous years, and what I would do differently moving forward. I clearly had a lot right, in that my form is on point, and I was even able to correct my clients’ form in an instant. However, moving forward, I can push harder, given the extreme attention to detail, I have given to correct form over the years.
Key Takeaways
Lifting form is important. Most lifters I encountered that week had encountered one form of injury or another.
However, injuries and setbacks are part of life, when trying to aggressively progress.
It is probably wise to spend time upfront in getting lifting form dialled in. Perhaps the start of any new training block, and in each session during warm up sets.
Following that, test your limits. Or at least your perceived limits.
You are more than likely capable of much more than you think you are!