There are very few downsides I’ve noticed to getting stronger, but I definitely miss the feeling when I first started and every dumbbell I would ever use for my working sets always felt “light” in the sense that I never felt fear of the dumbbell, I never had problems maneuvering it, racking or unracking it, walking it to the bench etc…

But now when I pick up the 55lb or 60lb dumbbells, I feel a significant and unsettling hint of angst/dread because they are noticeably too big to carry around effortlessly. I genuinely enjoy going to the gym and I’m always in a happy mood but the 55lb & heavier dumbbells act sorta like a buzz-kill, especially if I do fewer reps then expected or have an off-day, essentially creating a negative feedback loop where my angst/dread is “reinforced” as valid (which it’s not valid, there should never be any dread/angst from selecting appropriate dumbbells from the rack).

Is there a mental form cue or reframing trick I can use to spin that apprehensive emotion into a positive one? If there are no shortcuts, then what muscles do I need to strengthen in order to make the 55lb & heavier dumbbells feel light/effortless like the 20lb dumbbells felt when I first began lifting? I improved my PR yesterday by 1 rep but I couldn’t properly enjoy it because of the slightly unsettling vibe that larger dumbbells give me. Lastly, the problem is getting worse lately due to the self-reinforcing nature described earlier so I’d really prefer to nip this problem while it’s still in the bud. 💪

  • Lung
    141·
    24 hours ago

    Weights training can be overly specific to individual muscles. And heavy weights have more intertia in general. So the solutions are:

    • do dumbbell complexes that involve a range of movements rather than overly focused muscles. Train all the small / weak muscles around the big ones using more functional approaches
    • don’t over think it, heavier weights are less maneuverable, that’s physics
    • if it’s really a mental problem, do more sets of lighter weights. This works too, and increases your endurance rather than your bulk. So maybe not “big number ego friendly” but instead “lots of reps ego friendly”. Upside is you get to spend more time in the gym having fun
    • WhiteOakBayou
      41·
      23 hours ago

      This is good advice. More complex movements that don’t just target one muscle to get those accessory muscles working. Pull ups, squats, rows, deadlift. All the fun ones that feel good to do correctly

    • saltesc
      2·
      22 hours ago

      Yep. I don’t do weight training apart from hangboarding and weighted pull ups. I only climb. This makes the little muscles everywhere incredibly strong. I’m able to lift things heavier than my larger weight friends and I don’t even have technique.

      There comes a point where lots of diversifying or non-weighted training (such as bar/ring work) becomes important. So imagine a diversity of weighted movements does exactly the same.