This week we are going to talk about mental attitude when it comes to working on things we know we need to work on but maybe don’t get around to. At the beginning of your CrossFit career typically most people don’t need to do much to improve. You get to show up on a regular basis and get better at just about everything. Whether it is getting stronger, getting faster or maybe getting a bit more mobile. For just about everyone, there comes a point where you will need to spend some extra time working on things and giving a little extra attention to certain aspects.
Being able to control your mental focus and how you respond to bumps in the road can make it much easier or much harder… because remember, just like good old Henry Ford said, “whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.”
For lots of us that are working on our diets right now in our nutrition challenge, keeping a positive mental attitude with bumps in the road is helpful. Everyone ends up at a party or a get together where there are drinks or maybe foods that aren’t in our plan. Understanding that having a little bit of something outside the planned boundaries doesn’t mean that the whole day is a waste. Even if the day is outside the lines of expectation because we are hosting friends from out of town or even if our schedules get turned around and the whole day is a wash, it doesn’t mean that the whole week or the whole challenge is over. Being able to recognize mistakes and acknowledge them, learn from them and move on is key. Even if you aren’t in or on a challenge, this mentality with food can help keep your daily eating on a much more even keel and help you feel better if you end up eating stuff you feel that you shouldn’t. Just recognize and adjust for the abnormality.
When it comes to people that struggle with mobility and flexibility in CrossFit, understanding that everything can change and that it just takes time and regular practice is key. Increasing range of motion in our joints takes time, most people aren’t born with ballerina flexibility. The great thing about CrossFit was that we only ask for adequate flexibility to perform the movements we prescribe. The movements we prescribe are movements that will help you in lots of daily life tasks, getting down and up, lifting things and setting things down. Remembering that 5-10 minutes a day of the same and consistent stretching will bring better movement. Maybe you have been inflexible for a very long time… that never means it’s too late to start getting bendy. Once you start to feel your joints open up it will serve as momentum to make sure you keep the practice going. If you miss a few days, remember, not all progress is lost. Your body will remember what you were doing and the flexibility you built will return faster than you gained it the first time. As long you are moving in a direction of getting better, you are doing it right!
Maybe you struggle with the weightlifting and getting stronger. This can commonly be a point of frustration for people at a gym like Outlier where we make sure to make strength training a priority. In the first years the strength and the technique improves by leaps and bounds. Then eventually it slows. The weights we use in metcons don’t seem to increase like they use to. Keeping your head up here is important and understanding that it isn’t just you this happens to. The plateau point happens for everyone, the improvements come slower and slower for everyone. This is why you can find much pleasure in looking back at where you came from. Look at how much stronger you are from fundamentals day one. As well not just how much stronger you are but how much better technique you have. Realize that the weights you routinely throw around in metcons use to be your one rep max. Also note that it doesn’t matter how your strength stacks up to the rest of the gym. Inside our gym is a very skewed view of how much fitness you have actually developed, compared to the average exerciser at a globo gym, you are essentially a superhero. The whole idea of this thing is to experiment with your body and see what level of fitness you can create within yourself and then to maintain it for as much of your life as possible. Please remember that the second part of the goal is actually the most important part. It doesn’t matter if you are the fittest on earth if you only throw it all away because you became the second fittest at some point. Maintaining your fitness is an active journey, forever!
I’m sure that everyone reading this has nicked themselves shaving before, whether it’s your face or your legs. When you nicked your face for the first time you didn’t stop shaving your face altogether. The first time you nicked your legs you didn’t amputate your legs. If you go to the dentist and you have a cavity, you don’t stomp out and never brush your teeth again. You learn what caused the problem and you adjust your habits. The same approach should apply to your fitness, plan on it being with you the rest of your life. You are just learning how you need to improve just as how you learned to shave. Accidents happen, just keep learning and moving forward and remember how much you have accomplished since day 1!
Coach P