To be honest i never really got why people flew off the aggression scale before attempting a lift. To me it’s just wasted energy.

I understand motivating yourself and getting yourself fired up before a lift but to go ape shit is completely different and a waste of time in my book. I’ve seen guys in competitions have people slap themselves in the face before lifting and i have to admit, no offense to anyone who reads this and does this, but i find it quite amusing. Sorry.

At comps you (powerlifting) you have guys slapping faces, cursing and yelling, taking those sniff capsules to awaken their senses or whatever (can’t remember what their called) it’s a bit of a joke.

A book called ‘Keys To Progress’ by John McCallum details about ‘auto suggestion’ or something along those lines where a person hypotises themselves to acheive great things like lift a weight that seems almost impossible or complete an extra 2-3 reps, it’s about total relaxation and concentration on believing you can do something and you will not fail - you CANNOT FAIL.

Key’s To Progress by John Mccallum is probably my most prized posession - it’s a fantastic book about old-time training, old-school, on how to develop muscle, strength, power, diet of the ironagers - home made protien shakes etc - and it’s extremely well written - funny as hell. John McCallum is probably my favourite ironage story teller ever.

But anyway:

Is there any physiological benefit to increasing aggression before and during weight training?

I honestly don’t know. I believe at the end of the day - It comes down to your own style of training. Some people moan and scream like their having sex when lifting weights, others are quiet as mouse.

It really depends on the individual.

Posted by: Robert Forbes | April 2, 2006 5:41 PM

Rob, that’s the second time today someone’s mentioned that book (I’ve never heard of it before) - will have to look into it.

I agree - a good level of concentration and a general awareness of what you’re doing is great, but it seems a waste of time to go around yelling and slapping.

Posted by: Scott | April 2, 2006 9:13 PM

I do a bit of a breathe out a little bit of a shake out and a maybe a bit of a snarl if no-ones around. But I think the face slapping is a bit much.

I do agree that if I’m feeling kind of negative or pissed off it’s good to do a bit of speedball work to turn it into controlled agression before I pick up any weights, rather than jumpy annoyance.

Posted by: Steph | April 3, 2006 12:16 AM

Speedball work sounds good.

Posted by: Scott | April 3, 2006 9:15 AM

Sometimes if I blow a lift, me being pissed helps. But as a method I would always use, it really isn’t necessary. I save my intensity for the moment the lift is about to begin.

Posted by: Alberto Caraballo | April 3, 2006 4:46 PM

Alberto, are there certain lifts where being a bit pissed helps? Perhaps ones where you’re more confident of having good form, or where form is less critical.

I don’t mind the aggression so much if I’m doing something like rack pulls - it just gets in the way with a more complicated combination such as squatting; where a slight deviation from good form makes a much bigger difference.

Posted by: Scott | April 3, 2006 5:14 PM

I don’t think there is any benefit. I think it is a psychological crutch that some folks use. Yes, I’ve gone into the gym annoyed and lifted pb’s, but I’ve also had great lifting sessions while calm and happy. On the other hand, if someone is consistently breaking records after breaking things, I say go right ahead and continue breaking things (as long as they belong to you, of course). :-)

Posted by: Mich | April 3, 2006 9:20 PM

It sounds as though most people here prefer the ‘intensity and focus’ approach to the pushing/slapping/swearing antics sometimes employed. Does anyone favor the aggressive approach?

Posted by: Scott | April 4, 2006 4:59 PM

I walked into the gym yesterday after having a miserable time the day before with shoulder training - Not managing even 1 rep with 92.5kg on the Push Presses.

Well today i was determined to lift 92.5 which with a little agression and being fired up the 92.5 went up with no problems.

I never slapped myself in the face, or flew into a rage of anger just used some agression to sych myself and attack the lift with ultimate focus. And it payed off….Now wish me luck getting 2 reps next time!

Robert

Posted by: Robert Forbes | April 5, 2006 2:09 AM

Wow, somehow I missed this conversation. For me, aggression is a mixed bag. If it gets out of hand, you’re just firing off too hard in every direction. If you have it under control and channel it, you’re quite often better.

From what most people are saying here, they seem to be using channeled intensity (something I might call aggression). Let me point out, for the record, that expressing aggression is quite often taboo. People won’t even confess to feeling aggressive or mad and certainly strive not to show it.

Posted by: Bud Gibson | April 5, 2006 4:38 AM

Rereading the original post, I get concerned about how one would lift without being aroused. Relaxation seems to run counter to that.

Posted by: Bud Gibson | April 5, 2006 4:42 AM

Every so often, if you have the negative energy you can channel it towards something good like setting a new PR, that way it’s a win win, but every once in awhile I find that yelling at my clients keeps them on track…

Posted by: carpediemcat | October 15, 2007 4:38 AM

Yes agression definitely helps me with heavy low rep lifts. Also a hightened sense of arousal does it too.

but the trick is learning how to control it, how to turn it on at just the right moment when needed.

Posted by: Nigel | October 18, 2007 2:12 AM