I see these 3 mistakes all the time so I am sure the majority of people who read this will benefit from one or all of these. This is not meant to be a long post, article or anything that will be supported by research, although I am sure I could find research to support all three.
I also know all three are supported by Under The Bar experience, those with it will know these are true and those still learning can ask an experienced lifter and they will tell them the same.
YES, these are SIMPLE but look around and you will see how often these are not followed.
FIRST
Stop thinking about your training session ALL DAMN day!
You are exhausting yourself. I understand looking forward to hitting the gym. I also understand wanting to get ready for Max Effort work, a new PR or whatever else your training goal is for the day. I know people (and used to be one) that would spend my entire day looking forward to getting to the gym. While in school my notebook was full of pictures I drew of barbells, guys squatting and pulling.
Just let this shit go!
If you need to get jacked up for the gym do it on the way to the gym. I have learned, as have most lifters who have been around along time that it is better to get your mind jacked up before the actual lift and no other time before. I was once told if I had to get my head right more than right before the lift than I really didn't think I could do it in the first place and lacked confidence.
This one hit me like a ton of bricks because when I looked deep it was true. This isn't about how to build confidence in your lifting but that is VERY important. This is about using your arousal only when you really need it. If you do this your strength in the gym will go up as you will not be shot from thinking about it all day long.
Second
Grab the damn bar and squeeze the shit out of it. I'm talking red knuckles tight. Tightness is a lifters best friend. The tighter you grab the bar the tighter everything else will get for two reasons.
1. The hand bone is connected to the arm bone, the arm bone is connected to the back bone.... Seriously the tighter your grip the more inclined you will be to tighten up your back, torso and everything else.
2. The other thing this does is trigger your brain that you need to get your body tight.
The #1 issue on all lifts at the last Powerlifting Experience we just conducted was TIGHTNESS. This is not that hard to fix - it just takes focused effort and making it a priority. The best way I have found to do this is start with the hands - grip.
SIDE NOTE: This is not the case with bodybuilding - this is about strength. The difference being in one you are looking to isolate muscles and other you are looking to get the body to work as one.
Third
This is another aspect of getting tight. I don't give a shit of you are a strength athlete and are doing hammer curls - make sure your feet are grounded and locked into the floor. I really don't care if you think of screwing the floor around, pushing the floor apart or grasping the floor with your toes...
whatever works for you. Just lock your feet down tighten up.
If you are tight from hands to feet I will guarantee the rest of your body will tighten up and your strength will go up right NOW.
Next time you are in the gym look around at how many people do not grab the bars tight or lock their feet down. After you are shocked by this - realize the odds are very high you are making the same mistakes.