How To Develop A Winner’s Mindset in Powerlifting

I can’t believe that it has been six years since my last powerlifting meet. It feels like only yesterday that I decided to start this sport and embark on this journey. There’s something about powerlifting that does it for me. I don’t know if it’s the struggles that I have overcome or my achievements. What I do know is that each year of powerlifting comes with a new lesson and a whirlwind of benefits including a winner’s mindset. I have had to overcome a lot of setbacks and failures, but those lows are part of the game. It’s not a sport that you can give up if you don’t reach your goals immediately. The newness of it wears out especially when you are not hitting PRs week by week. It’s at that moment when mental toughness, commitment and discipline are game changers.

I can name three distinct setbacks that had me questioning my place in this sport and whether I would continue with it. After my first powerlifting meet, I thought I was done. The microagressions and the negativity that I experienced that day from other lifters and coaches is seared into my mind. Everyone talks about how your first meet is supposed to be fun and exhilarating. Unfortunately I didn’t have that experience and it’s not something I want any other Black girl or woman to experience when they join this sport.

Luckily, I didn’t allow them to win. I decided to take up space, build my mindset and my confidence from the ground up. My second meet was my redemption meet, as I call it. I got to experience what was taken from me. For me, it hammered in that I’m here to stay in this sport and I’m going to excel no matter what comes my way.

Why Building A Winner’s Mindset Is Important In Powerlifting

Developing a winner’s mindset in powerlifting is so important and I want to say that it is more challenging than the training itself. Your mind and your training are complementary. You can’t approach the barbell and be unsure whether you can lift it or not. The same way that you can’t go into training with muddled thoughts and think you are going to come out with great performance. If you aren’t controlling your mind, you have lost half the battle.

Do you think that Elisabeth Akinwale went into the CrossFit Games thinking that she was going to lose? I don’t think so. She went in there knowing that she had the win before the games even started. Do you think that Serena Williams went into the Grand Slams thinking she was not going to win? Absolutely not!

These two incredible athletes are showing us that you have to mentally prepare yourself before you get on the platform. That same mentality translates into powerlifting and lifting heavy. Don’t get me wrong, it is very easy to go into the gym knowing that you have it in the bag when things are good. The weight is not as challenging as it used to be and you feel stronger. When the weights start to get heavier and the stresses of life pile up, you need to have the mental fortitude to persevere and put your current situation into perspective.

This is where having a strong and winner’s mindset comes into play. If you know how to mentally prepare yourself when things get tough and use that to fuel you, you can succeed in powerlifting.

Patience & Expectations

It can take months, even years to see significant progress (however you define that for yourself). We all have our own expectations especially when it comes to our abilities and capabilities. I learnt to focus on the results meaning that I will do my best day by day and watching that compound. My best can look different each day.

For example, I might have 100% energy on Monday and give it my all, whereas on Thursday it’s 60%. That 60% is the equivalent to 100% on Monday and I’ll still give it my all. To sum it all, you need to have a flexible approach when it comes to your expectations. It will help you handle the day when things don’t go way. You can look at the situation and know that this time it didn’t pan out, but next time you’ll get it. If you take a fixed approach when it comes to your expectations, you are going to feel disappointed all the time.

That’s when some people decide to give up, but that’s not you. You are not a quitter and you know that you’ve got to have patience in this sport.

Patience With Your Winner’s Mindset

You’ve got to be patient with yourself, the bar and the process. We all want to be able to squat 200kg, deadlift 300kg and bench 120kg and we want it to happen immediately. Unfortunately, it does not work like that. I’ve been in this sport for nearly seven years and I feel like a baby! There is so much more for me to learn and improve on. I only got really confident with my bench press a year and a half go. I had to break past a mental block of having more than 50kg on the bar.

Lifting weights and powerlifting at the gym as a woman is already challenging a narrative that women are delicate and small. The bar is always going to be heavy. Do you want to be strong? Do you want to lift heavy? Then get used to life and things getting heavier and feeling harder at times. Your goal is to be patient with things get heavier and put yourself in the best position for a good lift. So don’t neglect your set up and take your time before you start the lift.

Lastly, you’ve got to trust the process. I say this a lot and it is easier said than done. Powerlifting is about building strength and improving technique. You’ve got to learn to look at the bigger picture and not fixate on one aspect. What makes a difference in the ultimate goal of improving is the focus and intention that you put into your training. It’s not only about squatting the weight. It’s about working on weaknesses and making them into strengths. Adding those pauses and tempos. Recruiting every muscle in your legs and developing strong pelvic and core muscles. Focusing on the basics and repeating it again and again.

The Comparison Game

Comparison is the thief of joy. I understand the feeling of being disheartened when you see other lifters who are stronger than you and lift heavier than you – I’ve been there. As cliché as it sounds (but for good reason), don’t compare your chapter 1 with someone’s chapter 10. In this sport, you’ve got to put your blinders up and focus on watering and growing your garden. Focus both on the mental and physical changes that you are seeing in your day to day life such as your energy levels, quality of sleep, performance and strong willpower.

Here’s the thing…no matter how big or small, celebrate every victory and every win with pride! Your goals are important and should be celebrated as such.

Winner’s Mindset Comes With Believing In Yourself

You’ve got to believe in yourself. Even when you don’t, you’ve got to give yourself a chance before fear tells you not to do it. Wherever you want to be in this sport and in life, you’ve got to visualise it. Create that vision and that bigger picture and let it guide you. Your vision is the art of believing in an invisible yet desired future. It is aligned with your values, what you want to become and create your life. If you don’t give yourself that chance to try, you will never know what you are capable of. The sky is not the limit, you are limitless. The earlier that you believe it, the sooner you will see the change.

Inspire Confidence In Your Training

It is no secret that I found my confidence through fitness. I continue to build on it even as I powerlift. It’s that constant belief that I am capable of moving that weight and trusting in my own strength. Cultivating a positive mindset in my powerlifting training has helped me to operate from a space of abundance. Although I train alone, I make sure that I am surrounded by likeminded people whether they are around me physically, part of my online powerlifting community or come in the form of podcasts and books. Having a good support system is going to help you build confidence in your training.

Another way that you can inspire confidence in your training and strengthen that winner’s mindset is taking care of yourself spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally.

Discipline

I think this is the hardest lesson and that is letting go of instant gratification. Training isn’t always going to be perfect. You are going to have days where you fail a lift or can’t complete the reps. Challenges and setbacks are inevitable and that is something that you have to learn to overcome. When you do experience these things, you’ve got to stay resilient and open to change. In times like this, you need to remember your “Why”. Why did you choose to powerlift in the first place and how would you feel if you decided to give up? No one is born with discipline. When you want something bad enough, you won’t let anything stop you from getting it. Use that energy with powerlifting.

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What are some lessons that you have learnt since powerlifting that has helped you develop a winner’s mindset? I hope that this post inspires you to keep going when the going gets tough. Make sure to hit that subscribe button to join the community and never miss out on a post. Find me on Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok for more powerlifting and wellness content.

Until next time,

Folakemi