Physical Preparation Podcast · Mike Robertson

Earned Confidence, Fix it Frameworks and Buildng a High-Performance Mindset with Wil Fleming

·51 min·3 clips

Weightlifting competition is “three free throws to win the game every single attempt.”

1. Physical Preparation Podcast centers this episode on Will Fleming’s mindset methods for Olympic weightlifting and other strength sports. 2. Mike Robertson hosts Will Fleming, an Olympic weightlifting coach, author of Strong Mind, founder of One Kilo, and former Masters World Champion who coached at the Paris 2024 Games. 3. The episode asks how athletes can handle competition pressure when a single attempt can decide whether they make or miss a lift. 4. Fleming says he sold his gym in 2018 to focus on weightlifting because he could control technique, tactics, and the full training process. 5. He contrasts that with team sports, where a strong physical profile does not always mean a player is better at the game. 6. Fleming uses a five-foot-two, 55-kilo soccer player named Clark Ackerman as an example of a youth athlete who transitioned into weightlifting success. 7. He says he coached 125 kids to Division I scholarships across 10 years in Bloomington, Indiana. 8. He frames his coaching work around transferability, measurable progress, and proof that the training is actually working. 9. Fleming says competition anxiety first became clear to him at the 2008 Olympic trials in Hayward Field, where warmups felt good but his legs “turned to mush.” 10. He later met with a sports psychologist and built tools to deal with adrenaline, fear, and doubt before competition. 11. Fleming argues that more lifts are made or missed in athletes’ heads than through the movement itself. 12. He says self-talk can be passive, like “don’t screw this up,” or active and helpful when it is turned into a specific cue. 13. He advises coaches to stop identity-based language such as “I am so dumb” and replace it with a true statement like “I left the bar too far in front.” 14. Fleming’s fix-it approach is to spot the mistake, state the correction, and then let the athlete go fix the problem on the next attempt. 15. He says visualization works best when it includes sound, smell, touch, and other competition details instead of a vague mental picture. 16. He cites the Olympic village mindfulness room and its VR headsets as an example of immersive rehearsal for the stage and crowd. 17. The conversation is practical and coaching-oriented, with Robertson pushing examples from powerlifting, basketball, and team sports. 18. Fleming speaks in a clear, systems-based style that moves from personal stories to repeatable routines and athlete management strategies. 19. Trainers, weightlifting coaches, and strength athletes who want a mental performance framework will get the most from it. 20. Listeners looking for entertainment or a pure technique tutorial may skip it.

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