Too many people think their lifts depend on everything other than what's really important. It's not about having the right pre-workout drink, the perfect lifting song, or a gimmicky set-up. For the most part, also, it's not about being psyched up out of your mind.

Short of just putting too much damn weight on the bar, most people miss lifts because they are not present in the moment. Contrary to what most think, powerlifting is a very cerebral sport. Sure, we have all seen some lifters scream their brains out or bang their heads go on to make a good lift. However, during my past four decades of powerlifting competition experience, more often than not, these raving lunatics miss lifts. You just don't see those misses, because people don't often post their misses on social media. That's even truer if they were acting like a jackass before the attempt.

The best way to make a lift is to be present in the moment. There are a lot of moving parts to each lift. We have all missed lifts we are more than capable of hitting. Is it that we suddenly got weaker in that very second? No, it's due to a lapse in technique.

Some people like to think they can rely on muscle memory. The problem with this is, form degrades when the weight gets heavy. It's your mind that corrects technique in the moment.

The more your body and mind are in tune, the greater likelihood you have of making a lift. When you're huffing ammonia and stomping around the platform, you aren't thinking technique. Being out of your mind is just that, being out of your mind.

Now although I was not out of my mind a few weeks ago, I was clearly not present during a training session, and it showed. I had four sets of two with 355 on the bench press and then a set of AMRAP. My mind was not in the right place that night and I only got seven reps.

Upon immediate reflection, I could tell I was more trying to psyche myself up, versus mentally talking myself through the set. As result, the fatal flaw was not taking my usual rest on the bottom after the fifth rep (yes, I will pause on the bottom of the bench press during a set for rest, whereas most people rest at the top). Instead, I just kept pushing and only hit seven. Meanwhile, I had hit eight reps on each of the three weeks leading up.

Of course, it could have been fatigue from the progression through each week that caused me to miss. However, that wouldn't explain how I hit a heavier 360 for eight the following week. What does explain that is how I was mindful of each bench rep. I made sure to pause after the fifth rep on the bottom to take a breath and then smoked the 6th, 7th, and 8th reps. My training partners told me they had been the best reps out of my past 12-week training cycle.

I guess it's hard to keep your mind in the game all the time, but that's what separates successful lifters from the herd. I am constantly giving myself cues throughout every lift. Whatever cues resonate with you, use them. Try to focus on them for every rep. The more mindful you are, the greater your technique will become. When you train hard and get your mind and body working in sync, that's when your best lifts are made.