It requires a certain type of person to persist with weightlifting. It is technically a very challenging sport and, once you’re past the beginner’s stage, results do not come easily or quickly. It can also be considered a humbling sport: just because a person can deadlift or squat a large amount of weight, it does not mean they will be able to snatch or clean and jerk a large amount of weight. As with any sport, injuries can occur, and this can also lead to a person losing confidence in their weightlifting. With all that in mind, here are 10 ways you can improve your confidence for weightlifting.

1. Get a coach.

Having some coaching can be good for your confidence. A good coach will help you improve your technique, which will help you lift more weight. Your coach will also give you recognition when you’ve done a rep well, and point out exactly why it was so good.

2. Go back to basics.

I remember the time that an experienced weightlifting friend of mine said that she had a coaching session where they just used a broomstick for the whole hour. She described it as refreshing. You can gain a lot from going back to the beginning and just drilling the basic movements. Spending a period of time working on these basics will most likely carry over positively when you return to heavier weights.

3. Use micro-plates.

Micro-plates are very, very useful! You can get sets that have plates of very small weight and in tiny fractions. Typical gym plates only go up in 2.5kg. That’s a very large amount to go up in the Olympic lifts. With micro-plates, you can go up by increments as small as 0.5kg, 1kg, 2kg and 3kg. By increasing in such tiny amounts, you can build your confidence to lift heavier weights. It’s much less scary and there’s a greater chance you’ll have a successful rep if you have gone up only by, for example, 0.5kg as opposed to 2.5kg.

4. Front squat more.

I’ve been lifting for quite a lot of years now and I can confidently say that my snatches and clean and jerks only really started feeling “good” once I had mastered the front squat. The front squat is an extremely difficult exercise that requires a lot of mental toughness. Having to maintain that upright position builds a very strong core and helps a person have a much better rack position (vital for the clean and the jerk). The front squat works the upper back which can help with overhead stability in the snatch, as well as more obviously carrying over to getting up out from the clean.

5. Be successful five times at a particular weight.

One of the best ways I’ve found to break through plateaus and to improve my confidence when attempting to lift a big weight is to, instead of attempting a maximal weight once or twice, I will stay beneath that weight but increase the number of times I lift it. So for example, if a lifter had a maximal clean and jerk of 100kg but wasn’t consistent with it or felt nervous every time they attempted it, they could instead try clean and jerking 90kg for five singles. Once that feels comfortable, they could increase slightly, and aim for e.g. 91kg for five singles. By training in this way, you really improve mental confidence for when you get back to trying to lift your maximal weight.

6. Try exercise variations.

Spending some time doing exercises you wouldn’t normally do gives you a fresh chance to get good at them. If you’re lacking confidence in your snatches and have been for a while, why not stop doing them for a bit and instead focus on power snatches and hang snatches? You might have a pleasant surprise when you return to snatching! You might also be surprised at how much you can end up power or hang snatching!

7. Add a pause.

Pause variations of the Olympic lifts are, to me, one of the best variations you can do. This is because the exercise you are doing is exactly the same as the proper lift, so the carryover is maximal. The only difference is there’s a pause somewhere. For example, a snatch could have a pause at knee, a clean could have a pause at the bottom of the squat, and a jerk could have a pause in the split position. The pauses increase strength because they keep the body under tension for longer. If you’re stuck at a particular weight and losing confidence, you could try using a pause in the lift. Get confident at doing the lift with pauses and you’ll probably find you can go up in weight for the full lift shortly after.

8. Slow down.

Slow variations of the Olympic lifts are the other best variation you can do. The exercise is exactly the same, it’s just done more slowly, or a particular part of it is done more slowly. Slow variations mean good technique has to be exaggerated, reminding you in particular to maintain tension in your upper body at all times. A lot of people forget how much upper body involvement is used in the Olympic lifts—it’s certainly not the primary muscle group used, but the upper body must still be completely tense and active all the time. Slow snatches and slow jerks can teach you how it feels to have an active upper body. This can carry over nicely to when you do the full speed lifts. Warming up with slow variations can help you feel confident your upper body is doing what it’s supposed to. It can also help you feel confident your body and the bar are in the correct positions during the lift.

9. Be kind to yourself.

Life is full of stresses. Weightlifting is an incredibly difficult sport and can easily become stressful! You must always remember that your performance at weightlifting is not just about your strength and technique, it is a result of many factors, and includes: your life outside the gym. Life outside the gym can get in the way a lot of the time. It’s not your fault that your weightlifting may suffer sometimes, or that you can’t prioritize it as much as you would like to. Always be kind to yourself. You can only do the best you can do on any given day!

10. Believe you can do it.

Mental confidence is probably the most important part of any sport. When you step up to the bar and are just about to lift the weight, do you believe you can do it?

It is common to go through periods not feeling confident about your weightlifting. I hope these 10 ways might help you.