Winning Is All In Your Head

Training to get bigger and stronger is an essential aspect of powerlifting success. So is practicing the lifts. Then there’s the mental aspect of competition. A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research shows how anxiety impacts powerlifting performance.
 
Twenty-six college aged men and 10 women completed a survey about competitive performance while rating their level of anxiety on a 15-point scale. The stronger the anxiety about competition they lower the probability of achieving a bench press or deadlift personal best. There was no correlation between anxiety and hitting a new personal best on squats.