Leveraging your invisible load

The mind is a funny thing.  The way we remember, specifically.

I have done thousands of lifts over the course of my life. I don't exactly catalog every single training lift I've ever done in my mind.

However, I am finding just from simple mental cues like looking at an old video, I can remember the exact feel of a lift at that specific time range of training.  I can remember what my training sets felt like at that time - what I was power snatching for triples and how high I caught those snatches.

For Master's lifters or even lifters of any age who have suffered serious injury, you may find yourself in a sense starting over in lifting after a big hiatus.  And, all that work you have done over the years is an accumulation of loading; it is what we call the "invisible load".

What I can recommend to you is to try stepping into lifts- mentally- that you have done before. This is the biggest advantage that you have over your less experienced competitors- having actually done more repetitions and heavier weights in the past.

So, basic tips: think of some of your best lifts, and don't just see them or watch them, actually feel the lifts again.  Find yourself as the same person, that same moment in time doing that lift-- then apply it to the now.