When I was coaching the 6AM class yesterday two of the newer athletes were doing a 5 rep max bench press.They did like 4 sets and were like, “Yeah, that’s our max.” I could tell that one of them could do a lot more so I said, “No, it’s not.You’re not done.” He did like four more sets after that each at increasing weight that I selected for him and on the last set he quit after the fourth rep even though I was spotting him.He re-racked the bar himself after the fourth rep even though he was supposed to be going for a FIVE REP MAX!I could tell he could have gotten another rep if he just tried and even if not, he needed to experience failing to know that it’s not a big deal so that he gained the strength and experience not to be afraid to fail!I had him rest two minutes and try it again and he totally was able to do it!!He was very excited and happy because of this! Our brains will always try and keep us safe!That’s their job!This is why the gym is such a great safe environment to learn to push past our limits!So what if you fail!?In strength training as in life all of your growth and gains are obtained in the sets that you struggle in and not in all those reps you do up to that point!The purpose of all those reps is so that you will reach that failing point so that you can GROW!In strength training you will fail in more than you will succeed, however, this teaches our brain that we CAN go farther and WE WILL!Oh I know, you don’t want to get injured. Of course no one wants to get injured, which is why you have a coach like me!But guess what?Life is full of injuries and if you never push past that fear you will never reach your true potential!
- cyril8250