We talk on here so much about all the technique in training, drilling and lifting.  But so much of it is the attack.  I was just going back and forth with the Original, Steve Pucinella.  And he was saying so many times in his mind prior to a throw he is saying just screw it and go.  Many times when I do an event I am in the attack mode, not thinking anything of form.  What do you use to get your mind right?  Ammonia, nasty thoughts, bad intentions.  I use them all.

When even training, do you have your mind right there?  I do a red bull and a BC powder.  I am listening to something nasty and I even yell in the truck on the way to the gym.  I might just yell anything out and loud.  Ooooooooohhhhhhsawwwwwwww.  By the time I got to the gym today my hands were shaking I was so ready to lift something.  Attack!  I am going to force the issue.  Is this how everyone does it?

Silverback wrote:   When even training, do you have your mind right there?  I do a red bull and a BC powder.  I am listening to something nasty and I even yell in the truck on the way to the gym.  I might just yell anything out and loud.  Ooooooooohhhhhhsawwwwwwww.  By the time I got to the gym today my hands were shaking I was so ready to lift something.  Attack!  I am going to force the issue.  Is this how everyone does it?

I do pretty much just that. I like tyrosine or a little ephedrine and coffee or chocolate covered coffee beans if I am short of time.

I like feeling like I might vibrate into another dimension and being ready to smash stuff when I get to the gym.

Silverback wrote: When even training, do you have your mind right there?  I do a red bull and a BC powder.  I am listening to something nasty and I even yell in the truck on the way to the gym.  I might just yell anything out and loud.  Ooooooooohhhhhhsawwwwwwww.  By the time I got to the gym today my hands were shaking I was so ready to lift something.  Attack!  I am going to force the issue.  Is this how everyone does it?

Until recently I thought this was how everyone did it.  Instead of being able to throw due to thunderstorms, I went to the "corporate fitness center" to lift.  There's no squat rack, no barbells, and the dumbbells only go to 85, so I hate going there. I'm pissed about the weather, pissed about the trainin location. I had the proper tunes playing on my iPod because I didn't want to have listen to the best of the 70's and 80's lite rock crap they had on the sound system or the personal trainer instructing the turn n' burn group.  Hell I was pissed 'cause they were breathing the same air as me.  Heck I'm talking out loud to myself "one more rep, etc".  That afternoon my boss's boss, who is part of the turn n burn group, comes by my desk  and ask me if I realized that they could hear me talking to myself.  I reminded her, who moved every piece of furniture from her old office to her new office by himself.  Freakin' normal people....

I like feeling like I might vibrate into another dimension and being ready to smash stuff when I get to the gym.

 precisely. Personally I miss the dark, chalky pit I had in WA.  It was free iron, racks & oly platforms. Haven't found anything close here in UT. Glds gym has taken over everything ( the commercial bastards).  I'm slowly creating my own dungeon at home.

I worked with Mac Wilkins for a while in my discus career. He gave me some of the best knowledge and insight into throwing.

"When you go to compete, you must know that you have done EVERYTHING in training that you possibly can do to be ready to throw. If you have one doubt in your mind that you haven't, you will never throw far."

That quote now adorns the wall of my gym(garage). One day I will have no doubt!

Just like I always say guys.  Its Ricky Bobby time, "IF YOU AINT FIRST, YOUR LAST"    That is how I approach lifting in the off season.  So what if I get hurt on this big dead or squat, I got time to heal.   That is also how i threw at times this yr and it paid off.  Not caring if I fouled or hurt something but just went as fast and hard as possible.  Almost trying to rip my arm out of socket while throwing. 

Throwing is secondary to Lifting  

I read a book called Zen in the Martial Arts by Joel Hyams back in college that really helped my mind set.

I never wanted to be dependent on a substance (ammonia or caffiene), anger, or music to get my head right. That's my olympic background coming out.

After reading a book called Red Gold about the commie training methods I could actually bring on an adrenaline rush when needed for those heavy sets. Problem was I couldn't come down in between the sets. My chest was just pounding! It took another year to master the come down.

Nah I got it off of Kurt. All the great books are underground now it seems.

I'll tell you what though, doing the crazy cardio workouts now I probably get the mindset like Myles is talking about now.

The brutal thing is you have to keep it up for an hour at times. An MP3 player and a treadmill is a dangerous combo for me now.

if you want the book go here

http://www.bookfinder4u.com/IsbnSearch.aspx?isbn=087477490X&mode=direct - http://www.bookfinder4u.com/IsbnSearch.aspx?isbn=087477490X& amp;mode=direct

There's a great quote on mental training from Norb Schemansky.  Norb, for those who don't know, was a US Olympic Lifter in the 40s-60s who won four Olympic medals and split-snatched a world record 361 pounds when he was 38 (think about that one for a second)...

Question: "Norb, what kind of mental training did you use during your career?"

Norb: "I didn't.  I went to the gym and worked hard...and I didn't screw around."

http://www.weightliftingexchange.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=39&topic=1742.0 - http://www.weightliftingexchange.com/index.php?option=com_sm f&Itemid=39&topic=1742.0

Foreman wrote: Norb: "I didn't.  I went to the gym and worked hard...and I didn't screw around."

I like that! Focused, simple, get your mind set right, and to the point

Jason Pauli wrote: I read a book called Zen in the Martial Arts by Joel Hyams back in college that really helped my mind set.

That's a classic and must read for anybody doing soft arts. I know there were some judokas on here with alot more competitive experience than I had but I can tell you if you go into a judo match with uncontrolled aggression you are going to wind up being thrown through the floor.  But when the oppurtunity presents itself you need to bring that part out.  Doing randori with an experienced guy was always a lesson, calm and almost detached until there was a chance, then just a fury of force and motion.

The book about Norb is called Mr. Weightlifting.  Here's a link to where you can buy it:

http://www.immortalinvestments.com/ - http://www.immortalinvestments.com/

I always tried to be relaxed until i touch the steel or the implement or the play started.  Don't like to burn the energy or overspin the mind.  Then, in the moments before the effort, I just tell myself one time, this one.

Sometimes the intensity does not come very easy, so I talk myself up some, make some noise, tell myself I better wake up or I am gonna get hurt.

Most of the time, when I put myself in the situation, a competitive situation, wether I am competing against someone, something, or myself, when I put myself in the situation where I have to perform or sit down, the intensity comes.  Kind of putting myself on the spot.

Never really been one for using music to get me up.  Too lazy to keep track of an MP3.  It does work, however.  Back in Black, for example.  Fires me up.

By "switch" of course you mean how Sly would turn his hat backwards in "Over The Top."

I think Bert knows what I'm talkin' about.

Talk about the pros knowing how to do this... I remember when Kurt first went pro and got to throw with some really good guys, I think some Scots, maybe Alistair, he told me how he couldn't believe how much sitting around they did between throws. It was like they were just saving everything for the throws.

After that I think we both just chilled like crazy whenever we didn't have to throw.

Wow thanks for starting this thread. This is a HUGE thing on the field as well as in the weight room.

Plus I can now use the term "amperage."

Another good story about mental focus from the NFL.  I heard an interview with one of the San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman who played on those Super Bowl teams with Joe Montana.  They were playing the Super Bowl against the Bengals (I think), and they were driving down the field with little time left on the clock, trying to score the TD they needed to win.  The offense is in the huddle, getting ready to call the play they need to win the Super Bowl, the crowd is going insane, the players in the huddle are jacked beyond belief, it's the most stressful moment any athlete can imagine.  Joe Montana is getting ready to call the play in the huddle and right before he bends down to call the play, he looks over towards the stands, points his finger, and says, "Hey, is that John Candy?" 

The rest of the team looks over and they see John Candy sitting in the front row.  The massive stress gets broken as a few other players, dumbfouded, nod their heads and say, "Yeah, that's John Candy."

Then Montana calmly leans into the huddle, calls the play, and throws the touchdown pass to win the Super Bowl.

Nothing could rattle that guy.  He just went out there and got the job done.