This one’s for the ladies- at the risk of sounding cheesy I think of CPC as a gift that I have given to myself! I have been athletic all of my life and grew up here in SB County so I quite literally have been to (or joined with) many of the local gyms. From the standard gyms, to yoga/pilates studios, kickboxing gyms, and running groups… you name it I’ve done it! So when my girlfriend (who does CF down south) recommended CPC, I was…curious!
Feb
11
SELF TALK
By
Is it time to eat? Is it time to poop? Is it time to sleep? Is it time to play? That's all I got.
Every motivational book that I have ever read says something along the lines that human beings have about 10,000 thoughts per day (Riv has 4). The problem is that for the most part we have the SAME 10,000 thoughts today that we had yesterday. So this begs the question, what are you thinking about? What is the dialogue that you’re having with yourself, and most importantly, what is the dialogue that you are having with yourself right before, and during your workout? Are you telling yourself beforehand that you are strong, fast, and capable of accomplishing anything? Or are you telling yourself that it’s going to be hard, it’s going to hurt and hopefully, by the grace of god you’ll manage to get through it somehow? Be very, very vigilant about the thought patterns that you are running before leaving your house to come to CPC, in the car on the way to CPC, and then especially right before and during a workout. The brain can only hold one thought at a time, so having a default thought of “I CAN DO IT” is a great way to make sure that nothing negative or self-sabotaging is creeping in. Anyone have a trick to share on this subject? Please post to comments.
Today’s Workout:
3-3-3-3-3 Press
Followed by:
2 Min Max Double Unders
30 Ring Dips
2 Min Max Double Unders
30 Toes to Bar
10 Comments
February 11th, 2010 at 8:58 am
Since I workout at 6am, I too am often thinking “Is it time to poop?”
February 11th, 2010 at 10:08 am
I think River pretty much nailed it.
The Claw
February 11th, 2010 at 10:33 am
Deniz at Paradiso CF shared this awesome article with me about Mental Thoughness and the Mind Games we play. It focuses on Olympians in the winter games but it’s very usuaful for our sport as well. The internal dialogue that we have in our heads greatly effects how we perform. If we don’t have our head on right on game day our performance will suffer as thoughts of how we would have , should have and could have trained,eaten, & performed better go though our head.
Enjoy the article:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123565231&ft=1&f=1004
February 11th, 2010 at 11:10 am
I took a self-hypnosis class years ago, where I was taught to make affirmations to yourself as “you” instead of “I.” That is, “You can do it” is better than “I can do it.” Don’t know whether it’s really better, but it’s what I do.
Also, I try to envision the step right after the one that I’m really worrying about. For example, when cleaning, I try to focus on getting my elbows quickly under the weight, when what I’m really worried about is getting the bar up high enough.
The Claw
February 11th, 2010 at 11:33 am
1) Why am I here?
2) Why the f*ck did I just do that to myself?
February 11th, 2010 at 11:53 am
whoa what an eye opener- before every WOD I think “it’s going to be hard, it’s going to hurt and hopefully, by the grace of god I’ll manage to get through it somehow”
I really need to think about it in another perspective of “I am going to f-ing crush this WOD and I can do it.. grrrr!”
Good post!
February 11th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Okay, actually in all seriousness… I clear my head. I find I need to empty my thoughts and just go. If I think about a movement, the workout, etc, my brain goes into hyperspeed, I get all nervous and my muscles get tight.
The secret to my power lifting is that I NEVER walk up to the bar thinking I can’t lift this, no matter what weight. I always believe that I will. Yup, it’s a little cocky, but it works.
KJ – you’re already killing it thinking like that…I can’t imagine how you’re going to start crushing it once you change your brain!
February 11th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rAHnwWfsaY
The Claw
February 11th, 2010 at 7:23 pm
I love CF because it clears my head of the thousands of nagging thoughts I am otherwise having about work, chores, and life in general. Right before, I am thinking “I can’t wait to go to Crossfit”. During, my mind is petty much blank. After, I am thinking “That was intense!”
February 11th, 2010 at 8:33 pm
Couple things I like to think about:
1) how accomplished I’ll feel when its done
2) how can I further exploit my dog
3) Who programs this shit?
Mental attitude is incredibly important and Traver nailed it on the head. A simple adjustment or mental cue to yourself can be the difference between an average performance and a PR.
It’s easy for us, as coaches, to see who’s mentally into it before a WOD starts…and the results tell the story. The mind will give up far before the body will…stay strong people!!!