One One One

The weight is loaded.

You approach the bar, tasked with a set of three squats.

You barely finished your previous set, with a lighter weight, and because of that, you have already convinced yourself that these next thirty seconds of your life are really going to suck.

How are you going to make it out of this set alive?

Don’t frame the set as for “three reps.”

Not only is doing so daunting, it is also inefficient.

When you begin a set and respect its entirety, you end up pacing yourself to make it to the end. This typically leads to reps being done at lower quality and with sub-maximal force, which negatively affects the subsequent rep. Because of this, the set is more difficult than it needs to be.

Optimize

Instead, break the set up mentally and conceive it as three singles instead of a set of three.

Do one rep with maximal force. Collect yourself, then do another rep with the same level of concentration and intent. Then do the same thing one more time.

Although the math all worked out to be the same, using this method got you to your target of three reps in a more efficient way:

• Bar speed was better preserved.

• Grinding/straining was reduced.

• Less fatigue was perceived.

• Fewer distractions (fewer reps at a time) led to a better focus on movement quality.

Whenever you come to a grueling set in training, go ahead and mentally break it into smaller parts. Your hard sets will feel less miserable and your strength and conditioning levels will improve faster.

"Control"

If we are talking about lifting, the word “control” is a word that I have come to dislike.

Many people tend to interpret controlled lifting as being synonymous with slow lifting. That is a problem because in order to demonstrate supreme control, you actually need to be able to lift a weight fast.

There is more to lifting than just moving a weight. We need to train our muscles to contract against resistance. One connection that needs to be made is for that muscular contraction to happen quickly, not to just happen.

Really, I am a huge proponent of lifting in a controlled fashion.

But just because you are doing an exercise slowly, does not necessarily mean you are the one who is in control.

Doing slow and (seemingly controlled) squats, but with wobbly feet - allowing your weight to shift from the front to the back part of your feet - is not controlled.

Bench pressing the bar up for a 3-count (and down for the same) is practicing little control if your back is relaxed and the bar flops around like a leaf in the wind, spanning from over the top of your forehead to over the top of your chest.

Control comes back to your body.

Can you produce enough tension throughout your body to handle and support the weight you are about to take? Have you established the proper body positions, positions that are necessary to safely begin the set? From the positions you create, are you able to generate enough force to move the weight without crumbling out of position?

Over the past couple of years, I have fallen in love with the word “deliberately”.

Deliberately means to do something consciously and intentionally; on purpose.

It is hard to not be controlled if you are doing things deliberately.

Approach your sets deliberately, don’t just go through the motions.

Once you have begun each set, move the weight deliberately, not casually.

Work on putting some speed on the bar.

This is where you really begin to understand what control is.