I’ve been meaning to write a post on this subject for some time now, and have really been thinking about this a lot since the CrossFit Open has begun. Not a lot of you know my history with CrossFit, so I thought I would start there. Here it goes..
I did my first CrossFit workout in November 2004 and have never looked back since! Yes, that sure IS a long time to be hitting WODs. I started doing the workouts with a few of the athletes that I was training at the time, and then got certified in May 2005 and really started to push it. I trained pretty hard for about 8 months and was getting amazing results! The flame was burning strong!!! Then it was about 2.5 years before I was finally able to do “true” CrossFit, as I didn’t have access to a place where I could do all the heavy lifts. But I sure got good at the met-con type WODs in the meantime!
Fast forward to 2009; this is when I first opened the box that you all now call your own. The day I received the keys to 613 Herald St., my dreams began to come true! I put in 12hr days during the week, as well as 8 hr days on the weekends, for about a year. Unfortunately, because of that my training fell behind. Someone said to me during that year that, “You will never be the best business owner, the best coach, AND the best athlete.” That just didn’t sit well with me at all! So, to this day, I’m striving as hard as I can to achieve all of those things. I’m not sure how to measure if I’m successful or not… But, I suppose that if my business is profitable (at least making some pocket change), my coaches are happy, and the athletes love the gym, I’ve succeeded! Therefore, I think I can check the first item off the list. 😉 I get feedback almost every day from Zoners who say how much I help them, and how much of a role the coaches and I have played in helping them get where they are today. So, I think I can check that one off the list, too!
As for the last item, well… I’m not sure how to measure what it means to be the “best athlete”. That’s when the reality check really comes in! Am I the best athlete in the world? No. Am I the best athlete in the gym? No. (This is the final train of thought that I originally wanted to get to with this post! Sorry it took so many paragraphs for me to get here…)
The fact is, when you first start CrossFit, you’re so excited to try everything! You’re likely getting PR’s all over the place, and are fired up to learn more. Then, you finally learn all the exercises, along with the proper technique, and you hit even more PR’s. That fire continues brightly burning inside, and you remain excited for every WOD.
Then, all of the sudden, that “thing” on top of your shoulders starts to get in the way… You all know what I’m talking about! That little inner voice that tells you…
“I can’t do this”
“I need to take a rest.”
“I don’t need to push it hard today, I’m too sore!”
“I’m not strong enough.”
That voice in your head can either be a strength, or it can be a weakness… it’s your choice! I recently read a CrossFit Journal article called Performance Psychology: Taming Your Inner Voice, and the article got me thinking. Imagine this: let’s say that you’re cheering on a fellow Zoner in a WOD, and every thought that you say in your head during your OWN workout, you’re saying to this other athlete. Would this motivate them or demoralize them? If the answer is that it would demoralize them, than why would you ever say those things to yourself?!
“If you want to improve performance, then you need to learn to control your inner voice and make it work constructively to produce good quality self-talk,” says Wendy Swift
Sounds pretty easy, right? All you have to do is think positively. It’s easier said than done! I kn0w that when I’m in the middle of a WOD and am getting fatigued, my body goes into panic mode and resorts back to what it knows. And what it knows is usually NOT motivating thoughts. Does this sound familiar?
Here are some tips from Wendy to help you raise your own awareness:
1. Get a diary
2. Use your CF WOD as your daily task to monitor your self-talk.
3. At the end of your workout, take a few minutes to recall what went through your head.
For example:
- Pre-workout assessment on how you’re feeling
- What you thought about the WOD when you saw it on the board
- Reactions on how you felt during the warm-up
- Were there your thoughts about previous performances in similar workouts?
- Self-talk during the workout, particularly when it got hard
4. Record a brief summary in your diary, along with a rating on your physical performance satisfaction.
We record everything that we do in the gym, as well as everything that we put in our mouths. So, why would we not monitor our thoughts? Do this little exercise for about 4 weeks and see the improvements in your performance, as well as your performance anxiety!
I now know that as soon as I get my inner voice dialed in, I will be on the road to being the “Best Athlete”, what ever that may be… 😉
– Angry Kitten
We will be re-doing 11.4 this evening at 6:30pm for anyone who wants another try or has not hit it yet. The last opportunity will be Sunday afternoon (time TBA).
Please bring in your $$$ for your Skins order, so we can put the order through and receive the product next week.
Today’s Workout
Buy-in: Athlete’s Choice – Press or Push Press 5 x 5
- Use racks, make sure area is clear of plates on the floor and other athetes while lifting
- If you need to dump, then do so safely
- Remember, no leg drive on a regular press and only one knee bend on push presses!
WOD: “Partner Kelly”
This is a re-make of a very challenging wod involving running, wallballs, and box jumps. You’ll be working in partners today, which will make it more of an interval style workout, but a toughie regardless. Enjoy,
Turts
For time, each partner will complete 4 rounds of:
- 400m run
- 20 wallballs (14/20) and 20 box jumps (20/24)
- while one partner is out on the run, the other is completing the wallballs and box jumps.
- partners can only switch roles when both are done
Zone 3 – 10 wallballs (14/20) and 10 box jumps (10/24) per round
Zone 2 – scale wallballs to 10/14, scale box jumps, consider reducing reps to 10 each round
Zone 1 – scale as needed
Cash-Out: Foam roll and lacrosse ball as a group
This is a great post Deanna. You’re right about the ‘fire burning brightly’ when first starting. I’m a new athlete and am burning to be good at EVERYTHING. Of course, that’s not possible and pacing is important. And so is the self-talk. I loved your point about encouraging others with the same thoughts running through YOUR head in the middle of a tough round. Yikes, I thought when I read that. I often psych myself out when the weight is heavy, and especially when it’s overhead. Having an effective attitude is so important with Crossfit. It will sound silly, but sometimes I write in chalk on the floor “tall and tight” or “smooth” to give my mind focus when I’m in the fight. That helps a lot. Crossfit is so good for this. It’s one of the greatest areas in my life where I directly confront my limitations and push past them – whether that is physical discomfort, fear, or a belief that I can’t do it. Raising my threshold, it strengthens all other areas of my life.
Thanks for your thoughts Brandt! I did notice that you write on the floor and I started to do that one workout as well. When I was starting to say I can’t I just looked at the floor where my goal was written and kept plugging through the workout.
I am sure that others have similar stories to share… please do so 😉
Is Sunday the only day we can redo the games wod?
The mind-body connection can’t be understated. I have more experience with how it affects skinny ultrarunners during the latter stages of a race, though…
I read once (and Cam could probably chime in here with the ACTUAL science, I’m just going by my weak recollection of a chapter in a book) of the ‘central governor’ theory. Like a speed governor in a car, it is an evolutionary response to high physical output. When you are under extreme stress from physical activity it triggers and sends ‘STOP’ messages to your brain. It’s an evolutionary protective mechanism designed to ensure you don’t end up pushing up the daisies prematurely.
They say that the best runners in the world are masters of their ‘central governor’.
After a year of being at the Zone, I really believe that the biggest factor for me in realizing new PRs and improving my fitness is self-talk and attitude. Muscle ups are a key example: If I hit the rings knowing I own it and WILL do a muscle up, I’ll likely get it. If I’m hesitant at all or think about shoulder soreness or failure, I’ll likely miss it. It’s amazing how the mind directs the body, especially when you’re looking to push yourself to new heights. Thanks to those who cheer us on during the Open. It helps drive our own positive thoughts during the workouts.
Mind over matter. What’s the matter? The mind.
Great post, Deanna. Giddy up!
Agreed on the governor theory Rob… and a lot of things can come into play with that one – heat, dehydration, muscle breakdown, decreased pH intramuscularly, increased CO2 in blood etc etc are all signals that your mind uses to determine how “dangerous” your exercise is to it’s survival!
Certainly some individuals have a “special” tolerance to extreme physical distress – you and your ultra buddies are a prime example (that lady… Pam something? who wins Badwater all the time must be in that category)… but also those who can perform a massive amount of work in a shorter duration (think track runners, speed skaters, “elite” crossfitters maybe??).
One thing that seems to be constant though is that repeated exposure to physiological nastiness (scientific term) can change the mind/governor’s reaction to physical challenges. So training and exposure to adverse conditions doesn’t just condition your body but also works to progressively convince your governor that an adverse physiological state is “okay” to be in… therefore allowing you to go further into the nastiness without shutting down.
Really though to sum it all up, James “OPT” FitzGerald says it best: train to “get comfortable with UNcomfortable”! The more frequently you can expose yourself to the toughest parts of your training (while balancing with NOT training too much or too hard) the more your body and mind will allow you to do.
The body and mind interact in a very complex way during hard exercise and the greatest thing is that we all get to explore that relationship and try to get it to work more in our favour.
Turts