3 Ways to Improve Your Training Confidence
“We have nothing to fear but fear itself”
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
Training confidence and the pursuit of building a muscular body is no small task. Ask anyone who has been training for any length of time, and they will have stories of when they were afraid of the weight they were staring down and the days they spent riddled with anxiety knowing what was waiting for them at their next training session.
These are the types of feelings anyone who trains hard and aims to surpass their previous day’s best always have. It’s a necessary evil and a major propelling component for doing better. What ultimately conquers these thoughts so that they don’t bury us, is our ever-growing training confidence. The more we experience, through trial, error and success, the better we adapt to new challenges.
Think of all the times you were nervous heading into a lift and think about the fact that you’re still here. You survived all those times and are better for it directly because of your training confidence. If you still find yourself a little anxious or fearful with certain aspects of your training, try including these thoughts into your mindset to help you get over that hump.
Training Confidence 1: Don’t be Afraid to Try Something New
Bodybuilders are notorious for being creatures of habit due to their training confidence and in being so, rarely find themselves altering from those habits. The worry is that they’ve been able to accrue the gains or success that they currently have by way of sticking to their regularly scheduled programming, so why change?
Well, change could be the caveat for newfound success and being afraid of doing anything different may be holding you back. You have to include new ideas, new strategies, new approaches, new training models and everything else that you haven’t done before just to rule it out or not.
Otherwise, how will you ever know if what you’re doing is actually what’s best for you? Simply put, don’t be afraid to try something new. You’ll know soon enough if it works, or if it doesn’t. If that something new does work, bonus. If it doesn’t, move on. All of this because of your training confidence.
Training Confidence 2: You’re Capable of More than You Think
Many people hold themselves back from what they are actually capable of doing and achieving. The fear of the unknown is so crippling for some, that they never truly realize their potential.
Whether it’s because you are guarded in your efforts, don’t want to look like you don’t know what you’re doing, have no clear direction or are simply scared of risk, we hold back to a certain degree to maintain the current comfort we have.
Well, being comfortable is a surefire way to limit growth and you most certainly will never know what you could have achieved by following that path. So, get out there and see what you’ve got. Go all in just because you can, because of your training confidence.
Most likely, you will surprise yourself with what you are capable of, but you’ll never know if you don’t get out of your comfort zone and into uncharted territory every once in a while. And that’s because of your training confidence.
Training Confidence 3: Complacency Kills Progress
Finally, stop fearing what might happen and just do it. Think about all of your training and what you do on a regular basis. You probably warm up with a couple of sets, build up to a weight that you’re comfortable with for six to ten reps, get those reps, rack it and move on without even giving what you just did a second thought.
Well, that’s not good enough! How long have you been doing this same thing over and over again? That’s not progress; that’s complacency at it’s best. Why are you fine with the same thing week after week when you shouldn’t be? Where’s the extra effort? What are you afraid of? If you’re smart about everything, your chances of injury significantly diminish. Where did your training confidence go?
Don’t be afraid of being strong. Let’s go here! I challenge you right now to do something different today. Move more weight, do more reps, add in another set, do two top sets instead of one, force those reps, anything so that it’s different. Stop being ok with where you are and start finding new ways to improve upon where you are.
The training confidence you will gain each and every time you do something new will be unparalleled. Getting that extra rep, adding on another plate, banging out an additional set, will always be reassuring that your growth is heading in the right direction. There truly is nothing to fear but fear itself.
The weights aren’t going to bite you, throw a punch at you or say something to hurt your feelings. They’re just there and it’s you holding you back. Stop all that nonsense right now and go train the way you’re supposed to. Use the power of your training confidence.
Author: Dana Bushell
Gym Star Team Member
