Aggression.

thanks jimmy. It struck me what you said that i'm one of the happiest you've come across & i'm going to go on a tangent for a minute. I think often what drives bodybuilders to progress well is what also makes them unhappy people. After being exposed to thousands of bodybuilders I must say we are one of the most insecure, bitchy, & downright selfish groups of people. At times it makes me sick. We never think about the progress we've made... it's always what we haven't done. It seems like people's first impulse is to make up excuses as to why someone has a better physique than them, rather than compliment. I'll tell you why guys like Derek, Ted, Skip & I are so happy & content. We've learned to make bodybuilding part of our life, but not our entire life. If you place all of your self worth on how you look you are going to be an extremely unhappy person. Period. Additionally, we have learned that although it's important to always be hungry & what to take that next step, it's also important to be able to look back at what you've done & appreciate it. At least once per day I think back on my life thus far and I smile. I think that's a pretty good indication of how well things have gone & i'm very blessed because of it... but it was at least partly due to my attitude. I used to be one of those very insecure, bitchy, unhappy bodybuilders.

That said I can still light shit up. I'm not going to pretend I never have a bad day in the gym, but they are very rare. A few important things

1) attitude: i've found myself at times saying "man I hope I don't fail on this attempt." what a shitty attitude that is. You can't be scared going into a lift. It has to be "I can't wait to get at this lift, i'm going to light this mother fucker up."

2) good music. as cliche as it sounds this is essential. I don't know what music you like, but if you like metal/hard rock I can point you in the direction.

3) People are going to laugh at this... but you have to make lifting personal, you have to do it with some emotion. For example, look at the NFL. Ray Lewis, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, Brian Dawkins, Jevon Kearse, etc. These are some of the best tacklers in the league... why? Because they make it personal. Lynch is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet, but he's a fucking animal on the field. He makes it personal when he's on the field, he lets his emotions take over. That's how I get in the gym. I make it personal. It's hard to explain but I think you catch my drift. You have to find something in you that flips the switch. If you talk to people in my gym who know me, they'll tell you I am a completely different person in the gym than I am outside. I've just found a way to seperate myself.

I hope that helped.

-Layne

You shoulda kept your tangent for the end of your post. It's like your "Springer's moment" type piece.

If you can cut through some of the shit, there are some good posts in here.
http://forum.avantlabs.com/index.php?showtopic=18829&hl;=

Toss up some of your favorite songs with the band name L-train.

Always looking for new hard music.

Appreciated.

Posted by: @str8flexed

Because they make it personal.  ...  I make it personal.  It's hard to explain but I think you catch my drift.  You have to find something in you that flips the switch.  If you talk to people in my gym who know me, they'll tell you I am a completely different person in the gym than I am outside.  I've just found a way to seperate myself.

I get a kick out of proving people wrong. I use it in all ascpects of life most prominently while training. Additionally, it works well with a training partner, but since I train alone I will arbitrarilly pick an individual at the gym and imagine although he told me I couldn't do X reps with this new weight for any given lift. At which point I grind it out to prove him wrong. Odd, but effective.

Posted by: @Lgoosey

Toss up some of your favorite songs with the band name L-train.

Always looking for new hard music.

Appreciated.

I got the hook up... holla if you hear me.

Disturbed - Pretty much anything, but stupify, stricken, liberate, & prayer are musts
Sevendust - Black, Enemy, Face to Face, Denial, and Praise
40 Below Summer - Minus One, Self Medicate, F.E.
Chimaira - Army of Me, Pure Hatred
Dope - Die MF Die, No Way Out, Survive, Sick
Dry Kill Logic - Paper Tiger
Hatebreed - I will be heard, Live for This, This is Now
Mudvayne - Not Falling
Papa Roach - Between Angels and Insects, Take Me, Getting Away with Murder
Shinedown - Crying Out, Fly from The Inside
Static-X - Otsegolectric, Kill Your Idols, Shadow Zone, I'm the One
Spineshank - Violent Moodswings

My gf just bought the New Sevendust CD that came out today & as soon as I hear worthy tracks off of that i'll let you all know. good day to get new music before squat workout going for 385 for 10 sets of 5 tonight

Thankyou for the music reccomendations layne, I am into much the same music as you, and a day without music in the gym is a session lacking in much needed intensity.

The new 7D album rocks, a few really good tracks on there, much heavier than seasons.

May I also reccommend a really good australian band, sunk loto, pick almost any track from their album Between Birth and Death, and they will get you completely fired up!

Also try these albums :

Killswitch Engage - Alive or just Breathing
36 Crazyfists - Bitterness the star, A snow capped romance
Chimaira - The impossibility of reason
Fear Factory - Demanufacture
Ill Nino - Revolucion, One Nation underground
Nothingface - Violence

Thanks for suggesting DKL Layne Paper Tiger sounds pretty good

Nice post layne

after listening to the new sevendust CD I must say that "Ugly" is an unbelievable song, Lajon (lead singer) reminds me of David Draiman of disturbed in that he can sing very heavy during a song, then switch it up to a melody & not miss a beat & make it sound phenominal, though they both have very different voices, the effect in both cases is pure musical gold.

Silence is also a good track.

-Layne

Anyone else notice better performance when calm but intensely focused? For me anger does nothing.

As for people that like music to pump them up I recommend the following...

Kreator - Ghetto War
Kreator - Enemy of God
Slayer - War Ensemble <-- Song really gets me pumped
Slayer - Angel of Death
Slayer - Hallowed Point

I never really relied on anger too much to lift. I try to focus on the movement and try to ignore any other factors. That works the best for me.

Posted by: @str8flexed

btw anyone know the name of the godsmack song that plays during the navy's new commercial?  And don't say Awake... that was in an older commercial, this is a different song.

-Layne

Pretty sure it's called "Sick of Life" if I'm thinking of the same commercial...

yup that's it man!

I enjoy lifting more with music; that said, I actually do better when I focus in and tune everything out.