With a few deep breaths, some light stretching, a bit of visualization, and a deep belief in yourself… you can get significantly stronger in just minutes.
Okay—maybe that’s kind of a lie.
But maybe it’s also partially true.
In moments of extreme need, the human body can call upon incredible strength. We’ve all heard stories of someone lifting a car off a loved one. While we hope to never face that kind of situation, it raises an interesting question:
Why do so many people lift 3–5x more weight in their very first assessment with us than they ever have before?
Did they suddenly become 300–500% stronger because of our coaching? Because we believed in them?
Of course not.
What changed was this: they started to believe in themselves.
They started to believe that:
They can strength train.
They can challenge themselves safely.
They can use good form with heavier weight.
They won’t suddenly become “too bulky” by lifting more than 10 lbs.
They’re not one rep away from hurting themselves.
Just yesterday, a woman came in for her session and told me she never imagined lifting more than 10 to 15 lbs off the ground. I handed her a 30-lb kettlebell for deadlifts. She crushed it.
After that, I told her—based on how easy the 30 lbs looked—she could definitely do 44 lbs.
She was hesitant. But open to trying.
She did eight strong reps with the 44-lb kettlebell.
And then she said something powerful:
“That actually wasn’t as hard as I thought. I think I could have done 20.”
In one session, she walked out 440% stronger—not because her muscles changed, but because her mindset did.
The first wall we need to break down isn’t physical. It’s the one we build in our own mind.
– James Pratt