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Playing
little
mind
games
with
yourself
is
a
good
way
to
motivate
yourself.
When
your
muscles
fail,
it
is
your
mind
that
will
take
you
to
the
next
level.
Here
are
a
few
tricks
you
can
play
on
yourself
to
help
you
push
your
muscles
harder:
1.
Rewards
Say
you're
finishing
the
last
few
reps
of
a
set.
It's
starting
to
hurt
and
you're
ready
to
quit.
Imagine
someone
just
offered
you
a
million
dollars
to
get
one
more
rep.
You
would
find
a
way
to
get
that
rep.
Use
other
offers
that
would
motivate
you
to
keep
going,
e.g.
pizza
if
you're
on
a
diet.
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2.
Ghost
Spotters
and
Lighter
Weight
Imagine
someone
spotting
you.
Imagine
this
ghost
spotter
helping
you
finish
that
rep.
You
can
always
try
imagining
the
weight
is
less
than
it
actually
is,
too.
3.
Magnetic
Force
If
you're
doing
dumbell
presses,
imagine
they
are
two
powerful
magnets
that
are
irresistibly
drawn
to
each
other.
If
you're
curling,
imagine
your
eyes
as
magnets
attracting
the
bar
towards
them.
If
you're
benching,
imagine
the
bar
being
repelled
by
your
chest.
This
technique
is
especially
useful
on
that
last,
slow
rep.
It
will
help
you
squeeze
a
little
extra
out
to
finish
the
rep.
4.
Chopped-Up
Sets
Here
is
a
trick
you
can
use
to
get
the
most
out
of
high
rep
sets.
- When
the
going
gets
tough,
start
doing
consecutive
small
sets
of
five
reps.
- When
you
can't
get
five
reps,
do
sets
of
three
reps.
- When
three
reps
seems
impossible,
convince
yourself
to
do
just
two
more
reps.
- When
you
can't
do
sets
of
two,
tell
yourself
just
one
more
rep.
- Keep
trying
to
get
just
one
more
rep
until
you
can't
move.
Breaking
it
up
like
this
will
allow
you
to
get
many
more
reps
than
counting
straight
through
one
big
set.
You
can
do
this
right
from
the
start
as
well.
If
you
are
doing
a
set
of
fifteen
reps,
do
a
set
of
five,
another
set
of
five,
a
set
of
three,
then
a
set
of
two.
5.
Pain
Management
Pain
tolerance
is
a
big
factor
in
weight
training
intensity.
The
more
pain
you
can
take,
the
harder
and
longer
you
can
push.
- A
good
way
to
fight
pain
is
to
tell
yourself
that
it
is
not
your
pain;
it
is
somebody
else's.
It
sounds
crazy
but
it
works.
- You
can
also
try
the
Corsican
Twin
technique.
Imagine
the
pain
you
are
going
through
is
being
felt
by
someone
you
don’t
like.
The
more
you
put
yourself
through,
the
more
punishment
they
take.
- It
also
helps
if
you're
a
little
masochistic.
Really
hard
trainers
learn
to
love
the
pain
(not
injury
pain;
hard
work
pain).
6.
Self-Reprimand
To
push
harder,
you
may
want
to
try
self-reprimand,
i.e.
telling
yourself
how
lazy
you
are,
how
small
and
weak
you
are.
You
should
react
by
vigorously
trying
to
prove
yourself
wrong.
7.
Self-Praise
Self-praise
is
also
good.
Tell
yourself
how
big
and
strong
and
powerful
you
are
and
how
this
weight
is
child's
play.
8.
The
Little
Voice
In
Your
Head
Reprogram
the
little
voice
in
your
head.
Most
people
have
a
little
voice
in
their
head
that
warns
them
not
to
do
things
that
may
seem
unreasonable
or
threatening,
e.g.
you
better
not
do
that
or
you'll
hurt
yourself,
you
can't
lift
that
much,
this
hurts,
let's
quit.
This
voice
can
undermine
your
confidence
to
lift
extremely
heavy
weight
or
get
those
last
few
reps.
- Reprogram
your
little
voice
to
tell
you
things
like:
that
felt
pretty
good,
let's
add
more
weight
or
you
can
do
another
rep.
Don't
get
too
out
of
control
but
don't
be
scared.
You
can
usually
do
more
than
you
think
you
can
and
you
never
know
until
you
try.
Don't
automatically
assume
you'll
never
accomplish
anything
or
you
never
will.
9.
Unreasonable
Goals
Set
almost
unreasonable
but
achievable
goals
for
yourself.
Say
for
example,
you
know
you
can
curl
50
pounds
for
ten
reps.
Set
the
goal
of
twelve
reps
and
fight
madly
to
get
those
twelve.
It
gives
you
the
incentive
to
improve.
10.
Competitions
Have
competitions
with
a
training
partner
or
with
yourself.
Whoever
gets
the
most
reps
with
a
certain
weight
or
percentage
of
bodyweight
has
to
buy
dinner.
Challenge
yourself
to
break
personal
bests
and
reward
yourself
when
you
do.
This
type
of
competition
can
dramatically
increase
intensity.
11.
Explosive
Imagery
Just
before
a
set,
put
images
of
explosive
power
in
your
head,
e.g.
rockets,
artillery,
a
stampede,
explosions,
etc.
This
form
of
imagery
will
start
up
your
adrenaline
and
give
you
a
little
extra
kick
in
the
pants
to
get
your
set
going.
Imagine
this
explosive
power
rocketing
the
weights
you
are
using.
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12.
Mind
In
Muscle
Try
to
put
your
mind
in
the
muscle
you're
working.
Try
to
consciously
fire
the
muscle
fibers.
13.
Contact
Getting
a
spotter
to
just
touch
you
and
not
push
can
give
you
extra
force.
This
is
partly
psychological
and
partly
physical.
The
contact
of
body's
energy
fields
can
actually
give
you
a
little
extra
lift.
It
is
not
all
in
your
head
and
it
is
not
all
quackery.
It
does
work.
14.
Ratcheting
When
the
going
gets
tough,
imagine
your
muscles
as
ratchets;
stopping,
redoubling
the
force,
pushing
a
little
more,
stopping,
redoubling,
etc.
15.
Positive
and
Negative
Stimuli
When
doing
exercises
where
you
are
pushing
something
away
from
you,
e.g.
bench,
imagine
the
bar
as
a
negative
stimulus
(an
ugly
person,
a
chainsaw,
etc.).
When
doing
exercises
where
you
are
pulling
something
towards
you,
imagine
the
bar
as
a
positive
stimulus
(an
attractive
person,
a
chocolate
cake,
etc.).
16.
Donald
Duck
If
you
find
your
inner
voice
speaking
negatively,
change
the
voice
so
it
sounds
like
Daffy
or
Donald
Duck.
You
won’t
be
inclined
to
take
it
so
seriously.
17.
Enjoy
It
Learn
to
enjoy
the
pain.
Eat
it
up.
18.
Borrow
Energy
Borrow
energy
from
other
people.
This
can
be
done
before
a
set
or
when
the
going
is
getting
tough.
Using
a
mirror
or
looking
directly,
look
at
someone
squarely
in
the
eyes.
Give
them
a
smile
or
a
nod
or
a
psychotic
grin
and
imagine
yourself
drawing
energy
from
them.
At
that
point,
two
people
are
focusing
their
energy
on
the
set.
You
may
or
may
not
make
friends
with
this
one.
19.
Mentor
Imagine
you
have
a
mentor
or
someone
you
are
trying
to
impress
standing
over
you
and
watching
as
you
do
your
set.
Imagine
they
are
encouraging
you
and
pushing
you
harder
and
harder.
20.
Threats
Threats
can
also
work.
If
someone
put
a
gun
to
your
head
and
said
“three
more
reps”,
you
would
find
a
way
to
get
those
reps.
Imagine
this
situation
to
get
those
reps.
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