Why You Don’t Need to Psych Yourself up to Train

Chris and I met at a commercial gym in State College, Pennsylvania. He flirted with me, and I was interested. Now here we are. And while you’d like for that to be true, it isn’t. But we’ve all had fun now, haven’t we?

The actual reason I’m talking about the gym where Chris and I met is because of two members that trained there. These two guys trained together. They were decent guys and it never bothered me to chat with them. But if what I’m about to describe took place in 2023 instead of 2010, there would be memes of these guys all over the internet.

Let me segue by asking you some questions.

Have you ever heard a fox vixen screech?

How about screaming goats?

One more question.

Do you remember when Arnold Schwarzeneggar yelled, “Arrrggghhh!” and “Get to the choppah!”?

If you’re unfamiliar with those sounds, take brief moment to search them. Give each a listen. Now, listen to each in fast succession so they start to blend together in your brain.

That’s the noise that came out of two grown men every day while they lifted weights. Sure, there were the run of the mill screams like, “Come on, man!” and “One more rep!” But mostly it sounded like fox banging meets involuntary goat screams on the set of Predator.

I’ll level with you and tell you that I was glad to see them every time they came in. They’re grunts, cheers, and squeals were great entertainment. Although, I never thought I’d write about them 13 years later. Definitely not in an article about arousal while training. Not that kind of arousal, pervert.

See, these fellas were fueled by high-octane pre-workout. They got cranked out of their minds every time they trained. But for all their powder mixing and drink chugging, they did not grow. They did not get stronger. They just yelled a lot. And that’s fine. It seemed like they had a good time. However, it does matter if you’d like to make progress.

The problem was these guys bought wholesale into a load of malarkey that’s still alive and well, masquerading through the fitness world as if it were Gospel.

It’s the belief that you must be hyped out of your mind to train.

It’s untrue. And if you’re acting on that belief, you’re doing yourself more harm than good.

The first trap it walks you into is the stranglehold of all or nothing thinking. It makes you believe that you won’t get anything out of your workout if you’re not nearly bleeding from the ears from caffeine consumption. So, you shotgun 300mg of the finest street legal upper because you won’t be strong without it.

There are some big problems with this.

First, it’s silly.

Second, there are a lot of strong folks throughout history that’ll beg to differ.

And third, while caffeine can improve exercise performance, consuming large amounts close to a workout inhibits your ability to shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic after training. That, sports fans, is super important for recovery. So, jacking yourself up on caffeine before training could limit your gains.

It also sets a dangerous psychological precedent. You can’t train unless you’re stimulated. The thought becomes a rule in your mind that sinks rigidly into place. Now you have an obstacle to training consistency.

The problems aren’t just caffeine and all or nothing thinking. Hyperarousal, whether from stimulants or psyching yourself up, can decrease your performance.

Ever hear of stage fright? How about choking? Each is the product of hyperarousal that leads to anxiety.

In the gym it often looks like having a mental block with a given weight. And often times that mental block comes from psyching up. The outcome — lifting the weight, hitting the time, what have you — is so heavily weighted in the person’s mind that they get anxious.

The weight doesn’t budge.

The person realizes that they won’t hit the time, then they give up even when they still could have finished with a great time.

I’ve seen both situations a hundred times. And in most of those times the person had every physical ability necessary to lift the weight or hit the time. Their heads got in the way. They got too worked up.

At this point you’re wondering what you should do.

I’ve gone all Johnny Raincloud on your caffeine. And I’ve told you to calm down a tad.

So, what is it, Todd? What should we do?

Focus, but have fun.

I’ll explain with a quick personal story.

I chased a 600-pound deadlift for three years, between the ages of 23 and 26. Hyperfocus and intensity were my dominant traits during this mini-epoch of my life. Let’s say I wasn’t as fun as I am now.

For the first half of that period, every training session was like a battle in my mind. I caffeinated like a cross-country trucker. I worked myself up like the balance of my entire life rested on the success of each deadlift set. I trained so fucking hard.

My deadlift moved a little. It went from 540 to 550. But I didn’t make the steady progress I should have made. And powerlifting competitions were even worse. I’d get so fired up that I’d dump all of my adrenaline before I even started lifting. You likely have a good guess at how the competitions went. Minimal progress.

Then I had a shift in mindset. I wish I could tell you how, but I can’t entirely remember. All I can say is that something changed in me. Maybe it was the emotional fallout after a powerlifting meet. That was probably it.

I still had the same goal. But I was different. I started laughing more. I had more fun while I trained. I paid attention to my body and didn’t turn every training session into a grind. I relaxed.

Now, the focus was still there. I’d dial myself in for each rep, but I didn’t force it. I took what was there and accepted it. If I had an off day, I didn’t beat myself up about it. I was just lifting weights. I didn’t have the key to the missiles.

As I relaxed but maintained my focus as I started to have more fun, my training sessions got better. I hired a coach to direct my training and help keep me out of my own head. And I just did the work and let whatever would happen, happen.

Then, on a late fall evening in 2012, I stood behind a barbell at a cold, ramshackle gym in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. That night I was amped up. But I was excited, not worked up. Training was going well, so I decided to test my deadlift about a week early. I had no expectation. I just wanted to find out.

So, I amped myself up without working myself up. I had fun with my friends that were in the gym with me. And I took a swing at deadlifting 600 pounds.

Up it went until I stood tall with the barbell in my hands.

It was cathartic. Of course, it was after three years. But it wasn’t emotional tension that got me to lift the weight. It was focus and fun. I relaxed enough to see reality. And I had enough fun while training to keep me excited while doing it. My mind opened to the possibilities and to the truth in front of me.

And because of that, I made progress.

I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t know this article would end up here. But here we are.

Just remember, you don’t need to dose yourself with caffeine to train. In fact, it’s likely doing you more harm than good.

Focus, but have fun. You’ll make way more progress and enjoy yourself while you do it.

And remember the vixen goat boys. Not for any reason in particular. Just remember them.

Why You Don’t Need to Psych Yourself up to Train

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