Get into the groove

More often than not, an experienced observer can predict the eventual success of a lift based simply on the way the lifter approaches the bar and sets up.

Part of learning how to handle heavy weight is establishing consistency in your setup. The importance of a consistent pre-lifting ritual for fixing your stance and grip, setting your body into position, and regulating your breath can’t be overestimated. Eventually it will become almost automatic, allowing you to put your conscious energy into other elements of the challenge.

Veterans to the iron game know that success in lifting—especially as the weight increases and the margin for error gets smaller—requires taking the time to develop a regular pre-lifting ritual and then always performing it the same way. Every time they step to the bar, it looks the same, no matter the setting or the load.

You don’t have to have your own entrance theme song played, UFC-style, every time you approach the platform, but a little bit of ritual is a good thing. There are too many other variables that can make or break a lift; control the ones you can by establishing your own groove and then finding it every time.