By Coach Dan — Tri-State Training | Mindset. Movement. Memorable.
For me, the journey into mindfulness and mindset work started close to home. My father worked a high-stress job as a detective. I watched him balance stress, separation, and the weight of the job. Over time, he leaned into mindfulness practices to find balance and taught me about visualizing, identifying feelings, and controlling the things you actually can control.
I didn’t realize how much it sunk in until later in my own career. One of the toughest competitions I’ve had came just two weeks after a co-worker passed away. I tried to bury my feelings and push through, but I was wrong. Mindfulness taught me to face what I was feeling, accept it, and compete with presence — a shift that changed how I trained, coached, and lived.
What Mental Reps Look Like in Training
Mindfulness isn’t just for heavy lifts — it should be built into your training like technique. For me, it looks like this:
- Visualization: I picture the bar path I want days or weeks before the session.
- Reflection: After each session, I ask: Did I achieve my goal? How did it feel? What did I learn?
- Consistency: Mental reps show up every day, just like physical reps.
When I reflect, I don’t ask if it was perfect — I ask what I grew from. Progress is built one rep at a time, physically and mentally.
An Athlete Example: Tanya’s Growth
Tanya, one of our assistant coaches, returned to training after having her baby. Early on, her self-talk wasn’t positive, and she held herself to impossible standards. Over time, she learned:
- Training isn’t about perfection, it’s about progress.
- Supporting herself means celebrating achievements.
- Visualization and positive self-talk became daily habits.
Today, Tanya trains full-time again, and her mindset is a key part of her success. Her story reminds us that how you talk to yourself matters as much as the weight on the bar.
The Biggest Mistake Athletes Make
The number one mistake with mindfulness or self-talk? Only trying it on competition day. That’s like wearing brand new shoes on meet day — unfamiliar, awkward, and likely to backfire. Mindset has to be trained long before the platform through visualization, breathing, journaling, and positive self-talk.
Start With One Simple Drill
If you’re new to this, start small by journaling after sessions. Ask yourself:
- How did I feel today?
- What did I do well?
- What can I work on?
These reflections reveal patterns and trends over time, showing how training, life stress, and emotions overlap. Awareness builds control — mentally and physically.
Final Thought: Reps Are Reps
Your brain learns like your muscles do: through repetition. To be calm, focused, and confident under pressure, you have to train mental reps daily. The bar will always be heavy, but if your mind is strong, you’ll know you can carry it.