How to Improve Focus When Weightlifting

If a lack of focus is getting in the way of smashing your next weightlifting workout you need to stop what you’re doing and read this article.

Weightlifting success isn’t just about being able to swipe your card at the gym reception a few days per week.

It’s about dialing in when it counts the most. Zoning in on those weights and battling to make them bow to your every will.

But if you’ve not got that champion mindset and the gym is getting the upper hand it’s time to improve focus.

And if you want to know how, read on to find out…

There’s more to weightlifting than simply lifting weights

If you’re a regular reader of 4 Gauge you’ll more than likely enjoy the gym. You might even be pretty jacked too.

You work hard in the gym and so far you’ve had good results. But as the fitness levels have gone up and the lean tissue has started to pack on, you’ve found that making progress has got harder and harder.

To the point where you’re not really seeing any progress at all now.

There’s more to lifting than just gritting your teeth and hoping for the best. The mental resolve, focus and mindset that the pro’s talk about becomes increasingly important if you really want to smash your current fitness levels and achieve the dizzying heights of gym god.

What do we even mean by focus?

Throughout the many gyms in the US you’ll hear echoes of the word ‘focus’. But what does it even mean? Is it just a buzz word that coaches use to impress clients?

Well apparently not.

Sport psychologists suggest that focus is one of the most important aspects of athlete performance.

In terms of consistently performing well, athletes perform optimally when they learn to blank out distractions devote as much energy as possible to their training and competition.

Improve focus and you’ll find that:

• You have a better attention span
• Distractions and ‘noise’ are reduced
• Performance is enhanced
• You build stronger resolve

Lose focus and your results will really start to slow down

Form and technique play a huge part in progressive overload, neural activation muscle fiber targeting.

It goes without saying that if you start to lose focus, your technique will suffer; and so will your progress. And that’s definitely something you want to avoid.

What are the side effects of a loss of focus in the gym?

• Slower results, or none at all
• Loss of attention and interest
• Increased risk of injury
• Boredom and frustration
• Poor mindset and negative psychology around training

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Improve focus with these strength boosting tricks

If you want to harness the black magic of sport psychology and use focus as a way of improving weightlifting, these are the main points to know…

Use L-theanine in your pre workout

L-theanine is an amino acid found in tea leaves. It is an analogue of L-glutamine and has a very similar chemical compound structure.

The reason we added a generous dose of the L-theanine to our pre workout 4 Gauge was because it’s been found to help athletes focus better and get faster results from their workouts.

And it’ll do the same for you too.

L-theanine increases the production of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in your body. And as a chemical neurotransmitter, it is effective for promoting calm, relaxation, inhibiting central nervous activity and also improved focus.

Because of its effect on the brain and nervous system, L-theanine is classed as a nootropic supplement.

When combined with caffeine (which a big component of pre workouts because of its potent performance-enhancing effect) it forms ‘smart caffeine’. Due to caffeine being stimulant it can leave you feeling unfocused and jittery if you don’t funnel it into the right elements of performance.

But adding L-theanine to caffeine helps to target energy where you need it most – without crashes, irritability or loss of focus.

Have a ritual before your big lifts

If you’ve ever noticed how the pro’s get ready for a big deadlift, bench or squat you’ll notice that they have a ritual that they repeat for every lift.

Sometimes it looks kind of strange.

But it works.

It’ll definitely help you too; particularly if you get distracted easily before a heavy set of weights.

The so called ‘pre-lift’ phase of your workout allows you to work through a mental process, zoning in on what’s about to happen and visualizing success.

It’s all about improving focus.

Making the way in which you walk to the bar, get in position and prepare for your big lift allows you to really improve focus and attention.

Many top level lifters say that ‘shutting their brain off’ to what’s around them not only  improves focus but also helps them hit those big PRs time and time again.

Although you’ll no doubt develop your own ritual as you go along, here’s how other powerlifters improve focus before a big lift:

• Close your eyes before a heavy set and visualize technique and form.
• Listen to music that gets you motivated or angry.
• Have a movement ritual. This could be moving the hips up and down two or three times before a deadlift, energetically gripping the bar and so on.
• Relax your breathing. Many lifters take a couple of deep breaths once they’ve gripped the bar. This gets them ready for what’s to come.

Try using headphones to block out distractions

Gyms tend to play pretty poor music. We know that and we’ve kind of accepted it.

But there’s nothing stopping your own playing music that boosts your motivation and focus. Headphones are a great tool for good lifters.

You might respond better to fast music or even music that you don’t necessarily ‘like’, but gets you feeling energetic or angry. Everyone is different, but music can effect you heart rate and mindset so much that it’s worth practicing with different kinds.

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Summary – Improve focus when weightlifting

Improving focus takes time. It’s not something that’ll happen overnight.

But if zone into mental rehearsal, develop a ritual before big lifts and use a premium pre workout supplement with L-theanine, you’ll quickly discover stronger workouts, more productive lifts and reach your goals in no time at all.

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4 Gauge is an exhaustively researched, all-natural pre workout designed to rip the lid off your gym sessions, sports games or workouts.

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