Tuesday 2.25.14

Postures of Defeat

This weekend Phil and I attended the CrossFit Invictus athletes camp in San Diego. This camp was designed for athletes who are interested in being competitive in CrossFit whether it's on a local, regional or Games level. We had an opportunity to be trained by some of the best coaches and athletes in the world on Olympic lifting, gymnastics skills, and barbell cycling, to name a few. In addition to those physical aspects of competition, a large portion of the weekend was devoted to mental preparation. It's pretty tough to become stronger or faster in one day....but one thing you can change immediately that will dramatically impact your performance is your mindset. At CrossFit Invictus, they have a rule against "postures of defeat." Do any of these positions look familiar?

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Please name one good thing that is happening in this position during a workout. Nothing. The answer is nothing. Some of us think that this is actually a good resting position, to which I say: when was the last time that you wanted to rest, but didn't want to breathe? Not only has this guy put himself in a position to collapse his lungs and contract his abs making it more difficult to take deep breaths, but he has put himself in a position to effect his mindset. The rules at CrossFit Invictus are that you must tackle every workout with your chest up and your eyes open. Have you ever watched two athletes in the gym and just by their body language you can tell the difference between the mindsets of the two? One guy is grimacing, hunched over, clearly having trouble going on, while the other looks calm and confident. They are both surely experiencing discomfort, but are handling it very differently. What do you think that body language is doing for each of their performances? For the guy who's hunched over, it's just the beginning of a downward spiral of negative self talk and feeling sorry for himself. It allows his focus to become the pain, rather than looking ahead at his barbell - the task at hand. This week, I challenge you to keep your chest up and your eyes open during your workouts. You might be surprised what a difference - mentally and physically - your posture can make.

WOD
2 min row for calories
2 min KBS (53/35)
2 min row for calories
2 min burpees
2 min row for calories
2 min anchored sit-ups

Endurance
Against a 3 min clock:
Run 400m, then
round 1: ME KBS (53/35)
round 2: ME box jumps
round 3: ME burpees
round 4: ME box jumps
round 5: ME KBS 
rest 2 min between rounds

 
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