Tip Step Up and Compete Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Alpha LifePowerful Words Tip Step Up and Compete Studies show how competition allows you to achieve things you couldn' t have otherwise Check this out by Michael Warren August 25, 2017June 8, 2021 Tags Motivation, Opinion, Powerful Words, Strong Words, Tips Compete Whether it's a strongman competition, powerlifting meet, or a bodybuilding show, you should step up and compete. Investigations into the benefits of competition are as old as psychology itself. In a classic 1898 paper, Norman Triplett of Indiana University observed from race data that cyclists recorded faster times when competing against others than alone against the clock. There are numerous lifting studies too, like the 2003 study by Matthew Rhea and his colleagues at Arizona State University. Given one chance to lift the maximum weight possible in front of an audience, both male and female amateurs bench-pressed more, by an average of 2kg (4.4 pounds), when competing against another person than when lifting by themselves. There's something inexplicably compelling about the nature of competition. Perhaps that's because, as some scholars argue, competitiveness is a biological trait that evolved right along with the basic need for survival. A Clear and Defined Goal You'll get several significant benefits to stepping up and competing. The biggest one is, regardless of the specific competition, you have an absolute, clearly defined goal. Competition will give you the motivation and focus to push beyond perceived limits. It ensures that regardless of who you're up against, you'll want to arrive on the day and perform to your absolute best. To achieve this, from the moment you enter to the competition day there will be the constant pursuit of improvement and readiness. And you'll likely seek new training methods, techniques, environments, and mentors to push your performance and develop as a lifter. Finally, the great thing about competition is that regardless of the result you will have the experiences and memories that will last forever. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Alpha Life The Fake Butt Phenomenon From fitness celebrities to reality stars, augmented asses are everywhere. Here's how they do it and how to spot the pretenders. For Women, Glutes, Opinion, Strong Words John Romano March 6 Alpha Life Tip Drop the Body Love Nonsense Put in the effort and seek the results, but don't get sucked into this politically correct movement. Here's why. Opinion, Powerful Words, Strong Words, Tips Dani Shugart May 25 Alpha Life Oh Shut Up It s Just Food Has your diet become your identity? Then you're pathetic and no one likes you. Here's why. Christian Thibaudeau May 20 Alpha Life Tip Does T Nation Endorse Steroids Some people think we're promoting steroids. Are they right? Here's the answer. Living Better, Pharma, Tips, TRT TC Luoma April 2