When you are IN THE ZONE…

[coachcalande]

How do YOU know when you are in the zone and doing awesome? Some signs for me…

1-no lack of motivation ( can’t wait to train again!)

2- great tempo- high energy- attacking each set!

3- cant get enough! Going for more weight, more reps, more sets, more movements ( ok any maybe more
Food too)
4- progress! Lookinng and feeling better, better mood, gains!

5- others notice

[EliKoehn]

You mean more so in the long run, as a pattern?

This is going to sound stupid and is probably relatable to many on this forum, but sometimes in an individual workout, it seems that I have developed an ability to summon adrenaline voluntarily. It's like a deeper layer of the will, or something. It sounds dumb because this is still a luxurious recreation in a climate controlled gym, generally not dangerous or anything. But being "in the zone" on a particular set in this way is something that is fairly new to me. Just sucking it up and maximally trying as before is different. More like whiting out stress and discomfort in eagerness and bringing it about on purposes.

[ECGordyn]

6- focus. I only pay attention to the weights. Anything else either I don't notice or it adds focus.

[Sugarmuscles123]

A general sense of mind over matter being completly put into play. The peace that you KNOW you are going to dominate every rep. Not worrying about the weight.

When you aren't thinking ahead to sets in fear but instead crushing each set in the moment no matter how challenging it is.

[jaxqen]

- preworkout and time of the day. If I workout in the evening, I don't take preworkout/caffeine. In the morning, I take some pre that contains 300 mg of caffeine and 300 of alpha GPC (they said it helps with focus). The difference is big.

- good sleep - t it has improved with not drinking coffee after 1-2 pm + some magnesium malate. I used to drink coffee at 4-5 PM and had sleep problems.

- hating other people at the gym or hating the music at the gym might help. They say hate is self destructive, but I tend to disagree.

Caffeine Sleep Hate. CSH, a new concept! I'll try and write an article for T-Nation now, bye!

You mean more so in the long run, as a pattern?

This is going to sound stupid and is probably relatable to many on this forum, but sometimes in an individual workout, it seems that I have developed an ability to summon adrenaline voluntarily. It's like a deeper layer of the will, or something. It sounds dumb because this is still a luxurious recreation in a climate controlled gym, generally not dangerous or anything. But being "in the zone" on a particular set in this way is something that is fairly new to me. Just sucking it up and maximally trying as before is different. More like whiting out stress and discomfort in eagerness and bringing it about on purposes.

It does not sound stupid.
I might be wrong, but you can get an adrenaline pump from activities that aren't danger related. Food, sex, sports, being appreciated for something or even just imagining something. You don't need to climb a mountain or fight in a cage.

[EliKoehn]

It does not sound stupid.
I might be wrong, but you can get an adrenaline pump from activities that aren't danger related. Food, sex, sports, being appreciated for something or even just imagining something. You don't need to climb a mountain or fight in a cage.

I suppose not. The aspect that might sound stupid to me, is that it's something inaccessible until you reach a certain point (which may or may not be true). I have been working out routinely - counting dedicated time in the gym, not necessarily an intelligent or especially smart devotion of effort - for eight years now. Five of those I would call reasonably serious. Not until probably two years ago was this something that came to be a conspicuously obvious thing. I could try really hard, but this weird "summoning maximal effort" where you're kind of shaky afterwards, was not something I was able to do until somewhat recently. That might not have anything to do with training experience, directly, but in my own anecdotal life, it holds true as something that wasn't possible until a couple years ago. Others might be able to do it near-immediately. I don't know, but I remark on it in my own case and can't attribute it to anything specifically but a lot of time.

I remember being like 18 and very weak overall, and just thinking "it's a matter of a long time - just keep working and don't expect results." and I would feel tanked and exhausted doing paltry work. I was almost 21 years old, three years into regular training, before I benched two plates for a single rep, for instance. That said, I was a fairly late bloomer and that might have had a lot to do with it...

[JoeTrier1]

Definitely all of the above for me