Attack the Bar!
Every time you approach the bar, it is an opportunity to practice your set-up and technique in that lift. You want to make sure you approach the bar the same way every single time regardless of what weight is on the bar. By attacking the bar every single time, you will develop positive habits and you will get into a routine that leads to a completed lift every time. You will create a habit of never missing a lift and the confidence you gain from consistently executing your lifts will exude when going for a max lift.
It is easy to go through the motions when doing your warm-up sets, But if you do so, you are missing out on a lot! You want to create a routine with a consistent mental state, set-up, technique, and effort with every rep. This means lifting the bar with as much speed as possible at lighter weights.
When you step up to the bar, you should be ready to lift. Clear your mind of all distractions and focus on the lift at hand. Create a list of cues to go through in your head that will help lead to a successful lift. This same dialogue should go through your head every time you approach the bar. Your mind is now ready to lift.
How you approach the bar will dictate how your lift goes
Your set-up should be a routine. Every time you approach the bar, you should do the exact same thing with no changes. This way, when something feels off, you will have a better idea of what could be off. This will also make improving your set-up more efficient. Because you do the same thing every time you approach the bar, you can make a single change at a time and evaluate if it has a positive or negative effect.
Often times a lift is failed because a lifter starts to think about the weight and self doubt starts to creep in. Once you have any ounce of doubt the chances you complete the lift plummet dramatically. By creating a routine you can clear your head of any self doubt and focus on executing the lift at hand!
As you complete your lift, you want to work on making your technique more efficient every time. During a warm-up, you could be doing as many as 30 reps. This is a great time to practice your technique. Completing perfect reps at lighter weights will help you not think as much about your reps with heavy loads and will help you gain confidence that you can complete your heavy lifts.
Finally, be sure to attack the bar regardless of the weight. Stay tight through the eccentric and explode through the concentric phase. Lifting fast can cause you to use more muscle fibers, which can lead to you getting bigger and stronger. To produce more force, your body needs to use more muscle fibers. Recruiting these fibers isn't necessarily based on the weight you are using, but rather the amount of force you produce. Since force = mass x acceleration, lifting a bar faster means you produced more force to lift it. And, therefore, lifting the bar faster recruits more muscle fibers. More muscle fibers recruited means more gainzzzz.
Next time you are in the gym, try and treat every weight as if it was your max and watch your lifts climb!