This is the first of many blog posts I’ll be writing about training, business, entrepreneurship, and any other topic I feel needs to be addressed.

I’ll do my best to keep things short and to the point.

Start Thinking For Yourself

This is in reference to training. Powerlifters specifically.

I get it – some people aren’t knowledgeable about training and need programming and support from online coaches and trainers.

But if you’re planning to compete in powerlifting you need to start thinking for yourself.

Powerlifting is an individual sport – meaning YOU are solely responsible for your success or failures. Sure you have teammates and training partners, but who’s on the platform trying to set your new PB?

Start picking your own attempts in training. Unless your life is 100% lifting and training and you have no job, no family, no stress, and no other obligations – there will be days where you feel good, and days where you feel like shit. On the good days – step up and try something you haven’t done before. On days where you’re beat up or feeling run down, do what you need to do with your training, hit your numbers, and stay hungry for the next session. Missing weights that you should be hitting, leads to frustration and bad workouts.

Example:

If your program calls for 450×5 but you only had 2 hours of sleep because of whatever reason, I can probably bet you’re not gonna hit your numbers for the day, be even more pissed off than you already are, and have a shit workout. This can do 2 things – motivate you to crush it next week or make you doubt yourself – which will lead to your next workout being shit as well.

Get on a solid program (my next post will address this), with the reps, sets, and intensity laid out – but figure out your numbers while you’re training (unless you’re peaking for a meet. Again this will be in another post).

Stop asking the people around you what weight you should do next. Stop asking if your depth was good. Stop asking what exercise to do next.

Go into every workout with an idea of what you’re gonna do that day. Both numbers and exercises.

Think for yourself, and be responsible for your own training. Don’t blame your coach.

Dan