I have been training for well over three decades now and it has only been the last five or so that I have used AMRAP. That stands for As Many Reps As Possible, in case you did not know it.

When I was young everyone pretty much did three to five sets of 10 reps with the occasional max single. As I got a little older and a little more savvy, I leaned about periodization. That was my first experience working with percentages. However, still no AMRAP.

As I got further into powerlifting I learned about conjugate training and Westside Barbell. That was right in my wheelhouse. Taking the main lifts to singles on max effort days. That was the sh!t. Working up to max singles on versions of the main lifts was the most fun I ever had lifting.

It was easy to get up for those sessions. I'd look forward to them all week. For me, that was pure joy.

Conversely, in my opinion, there's AMRAP. I'm sure there are a number of programs that use AMRAP. The two I have experience with are 5/3/1 and more recently, 5th Set. AMRAP blows! It's really f'n hard.

I found more and more I'd be dreading upcoming sessions. It was weird, I always used to love training. Now suddenly I was pushing the sessions further back into my head. I'd be dragging ass getting down to the gym and it left me wondering why?

Then one day it dawned on me, AMRAP! AMRAP was causing me to not love training. There was a sad truth to it also. I realized I hated it because it was so hard. AMRAP in my opinion is way harder than working singles both mentally and physically.

Fortunately, once I realized it, I was able to change my mindset. If this was the training I was choosing to do, then I'd better embrace it. AMRAP has certainly not gotten any easier, but now my mind it right. I can mentally prepare for the sessions ahead.

Last week I remember specifically getting up for a squat session. I had 385 for AMRAP. The week before I had taken 380 for 15. All I could think about was getting 385 for 16. I was mentally priming myself for it all day. The set took me a minute and fortyfive seconds. That's a long ass time to be squatting. But guess what happened? I hit 16 reps. I was wrecked for the rest of the day, but I got it.

I can't be the only who wasn't embracing AMRAP. It's a beast. However, if you get your mind right you can tame it. Even better, when you get into the right zone, you even beat it.