idk if it actually improves performance and if you eat cooked garlic regularly (and why wouldn't you) you're probably getting all of its benefits anyway, but consider these two humble facts:
1. ancient greek olympians would eat raw garlic to boost performance
2. when you're in the gym, you can look around at the sheep doing dumbbell romanian deadlifts and cable lateral raises, people "lifting light weights" for their muscle "tone", and ask yourself "who else here ate three cloves of garlic before working out today?" the answer will invariably be: "no one".
it's no secret that i'm a big nietzschehead, so i think the ancient greeks definitely knew something i didn't, and i value setting yourself apart from the herd. there's no hard evidence that raw garlic helps you lift more but i don't care. yeah it's gross and uncomfortable, but i'm about to do gross and uncomfortable things in the gym, and this ritual prepares me to face the iron. the gains in mindset are undeniable.