Every CrossFitter has their demon WOD. Mine is 15.5.
For those of you who are not familiar with this particular WOD, it is a workout from 2015's Open; it was 27, 21,15, 9 reps of 65lb thrusters and calorie row. Terrible.
It was terrible the first time, and recently I had to do it again for part of Sports Training...terrible.
Something good comes out of everything, and what I was reminded of was that CrossFit is mental. Mental, Mental, Mental.
After not performing like I wanted on the 15.5, I questioned my strength, my endurance and my overall Cross-fitness. But after taking the emotion out of the failure, I realized that my biggest hurdle was mental: the ability to fight through a threshold of pain and not drop the bar.
Mental Toughness is as much a part of CrossFit training as leaning to do a proper squat, or learning a kipping pull-up. I think part of it is built into your DNA, but you can make yourself mentally tougher if you are willing to put in the work.
After my Epic Fail I decided I would do what any professor would do, research Mental Toughness.
I found a very scholarly article on the subject. :) Men's Fitness. :)
OK. But it makes some good points!
Sean Hyson states that there are several qualities that make Mental Toughness attainable:
1. Be a Self-Starter
2. Find you zone - your ability to have a cool head
3. Be Positive
4. Talk to yourself -not like a crazy person - but as Hyson states, "You should be your own coach. Speak to yourself in the second person with statements such as, ‘You are going to give this every- thing you have,’”
5. Visualize
6. Meditate
7. Get Uncomfortable
8. Be prepared
http://www.mensfitness.com/training/build-muscle/mental-toughness-training?page=3
The quality I will focus on is #7, Get Uncomfortable. Because I think you can teach an athlete to get there if they are willing. I am willing
I am now doing thrusters every day. I hate how they feel, but someone stated - in something I read -that our muscles don't like to be uncomfortable, so they send messages to our brain to stop exercising when it gets hard. You have to send a message back to your muscles that tells them to shut the fuck up!
I am doing this by NOT putting the bar down for at least 2-3 three reps past my brain yelling at me to do so, and it is slowly working. I wait until the grip is gone and the arms cannot push me up any more, or I lose my balance. I think it will pay off.
Phil Jackson said, "As much as we pump iron and we run to build strength up, we need to build our mental strength up...so we can focus..."
I have always loved Phil Jackson and recommend his book, Sacred Hoops.
Now I will digress here, and maybe even wine a bit.
I get all that.
I try to practice it, but I am hoping some of you understand this. Life gets in the way.
This has been one of the toughest years I have been through in a while. I won't give you my laundry list or invite you to my little pity party, but the outside stuff has really wanted to get in the door to my CrossFit world.
I purposefully do not bring my cellphone into the Box because of this. I want my time in the Box to be MY TIME. This helps keep me focused. But it drives my husband crazy!
There are moments where my mental focus has been spot-on. When we went to compete in the Reindeer Rampage in Frankfort, Ky. for the last WOD of the day, I could feel a level of mental strength that was purposeful. Melanie and I killed that WOD!
And when we had to do Fight Gone Bad with over 300 reps. I was ready. Erin made us do that one in the dark, with no one else and no music. Perfect. The Balance was there. There was a sense of Purpose. I knew it, I could feel it.
But getting to your "Dark Place," your "Nirvana," or your "Zone" - whatever you call it - is not every day, and is not easy. Athletes like Rich Froning make a lot of money because they are the few who have figured out how to do it on a regular basis.
I have not. But I will keep trying. I will read books, because that is what I do, I will listen to my coaches and my teammates, because that is what I do, and I will keep adding 5 more pounds and 5 more reps, and I won't drop the bar. And one day I will see 15.5 again...and I won't be afraid.
