Rage Lifting
So, I don't lift weights to music. I know why people do it, but I learnt my lesson when I injured myself while deadlifting when "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was on the gym radio (if you know me, you know precisely where in the song it all went horribly wrong).
The reason you want music, or anger, or whatever else, is to pump you up, to give your lifts that extra oomph, whether that's because you're going for a new 1-rep max, or because your fingers want to give out mid-way through a set of ten.
Since I can't do music, I tend to go for anger, but I like to be careful. Me fuming may be able to lift 10 kg heavier but she can also get 10 kg more injured. What I want is a small, unimportant thing to get annoyed about. For instance, my 10 rep max was originally set while fuming at people being in the way of the squat rack meaning I'd have to deadlift first and, because it would be a new max, would probably mean I wouldn't set a new max on the squat*. It was supposed to be 1 x 10 x 60 kg, then 2 x 10 x 55 kg. It ended up being 3 x 10 x 60 kg, because I had rage to burn.
But you can't rely on people getting in your way all the time (except for when you want a squat rack, then you basically can (disgruntled face)), so I have some fall back annoyances I use to get myself pumped up. The traditional one, when Bournemouth were in the Premiership, was annoyance at the praise they were getting when they were a terribly set-up team that got lucky. English football commentators are seduced by attacking football and are unfairly willing to overlook defensive frailty (mumblety grumblety no-one defends anymore, everything that's wrong with modern football etc). It's perfect - something utterly unimportant that I can get cheerfully annoyed at.
The thing I find amusing is how much my mind wanders once I'm there in the annoyed place. One time, I was happily deadlifting (not PB level but maybe 10 kg underneath it), annoyed on that occasion by Arsenal. And my mind completely drifted till I realised I was rage-lifting at Banlieue 13 - Ultimatum (District 13 - Ultimatum I think's the English name), and the idea that Damien would get another girlfriend if Lola was interested in him. Why would you do that? I had not previously considered 'shipping as a source of ideas for rage lifting but it shouldn't be discounted.
*when squatting I need to pay too much attention to my form to require anger.
The reason you want music, or anger, or whatever else, is to pump you up, to give your lifts that extra oomph, whether that's because you're going for a new 1-rep max, or because your fingers want to give out mid-way through a set of ten.
Since I can't do music, I tend to go for anger, but I like to be careful. Me fuming may be able to lift 10 kg heavier but she can also get 10 kg more injured. What I want is a small, unimportant thing to get annoyed about. For instance, my 10 rep max was originally set while fuming at people being in the way of the squat rack meaning I'd have to deadlift first and, because it would be a new max, would probably mean I wouldn't set a new max on the squat*. It was supposed to be 1 x 10 x 60 kg, then 2 x 10 x 55 kg. It ended up being 3 x 10 x 60 kg, because I had rage to burn.
But you can't rely on people getting in your way all the time (except for when you want a squat rack, then you basically can (disgruntled face)), so I have some fall back annoyances I use to get myself pumped up. The traditional one, when Bournemouth were in the Premiership, was annoyance at the praise they were getting when they were a terribly set-up team that got lucky. English football commentators are seduced by attacking football and are unfairly willing to overlook defensive frailty (mumblety grumblety no-one defends anymore, everything that's wrong with modern football etc). It's perfect - something utterly unimportant that I can get cheerfully annoyed at.
The thing I find amusing is how much my mind wanders once I'm there in the annoyed place. One time, I was happily deadlifting (not PB level but maybe 10 kg underneath it), annoyed on that occasion by Arsenal. And my mind completely drifted till I realised I was rage-lifting at Banlieue 13 - Ultimatum (District 13 - Ultimatum I think's the English name), and the idea that Damien would get another girlfriend if Lola was interested in him. Why would you do that? I had not previously considered 'shipping as a source of ideas for rage lifting but it shouldn't be discounted.
*when squatting I need to pay too much attention to my form to require anger.