Our minds are very powerful things. It’s said that success in sports, competition, or training is 80% mental. The mind and its thoughts, if channeled incorrectly can limit us to the point that we fail or the mind and its thoughts, if channeled correctly, can catapult us to success and beyond.

Before I successfully completed the StrongFirst Iron Maiden (IM) Challenge in July 2014, I attempted it in October 2013 and horribly failed the press; in that it was a horrible example of a kettlebell military press and more of a side bend, in front of a large crowd of students at a StrongFirst Level II Certification.

After my first attempt at the IM, not only did I have to come back home and re-learn how to press from scratch, but also, I had to get over my fear of pressing heavy in front of people.

This mental obstacle, overcoming this fear of pressing in front of a crowd, was harder to overcome than rebuilding the physical skill and strength for the press.

Nine months after I failed my first IM Challenge attempt, my husband Eric and I hosted a Neurokinetic Therapy (NKT) seminar at our former training gym in Boston led by my colleague, former training client/student, and friend Dr. Kathy Dooley.

On the last day of the seminar Kathy was teaching how grip strength is not just about the hand. During this talk she asked me if I would press 22kg (~50lbs) in front of the seminar participants to demonstrate that grip goes beyond the hand.

Earlier that day she had watched me press 22kg for reps in my training so she figured, of course I can press it on the fly, in front of 40 people, who would all be silently staring and solely focused on my press.

For Kathy this was about demonstrating grip strength.

For me it was about being mentally tough enough to overcome my fear of pressing and specifically having the confidence to press in front of a large crowd of strangers. The only way to overcome it was to actually DO IT.

In that moment, Kathy (unintentionally) put ME to the test and helped me to overcome my fear of pressing heavy weight in front of a large group of strangers (video above) and therefore helped me to have the breakthrough I truly needed to complete the IM Challenge six weeks later that year.

Learn how to build the skill and strength to press 50% of YOUR bodyweight overhead with confidence at my StrongFirst Kettlebell Course on September 23, 2018 in Las Vegas at Life Time Athletic – Summerlin as well as all of the kettlebell basics listed below: