Monday 3.25.13

So, I have this friend. You don't know her, don't worry. This friend is a CrossFitter who usually works out on her own, and when we talk about her workouts, things are going GREAT. She feels better/stronger/faster/positive adjective than ever, and training is going outstanding. Inevitably, there comes a time when she chooses to participate in a competition - whether it's a regular CrossFit event or this years CrossFit Open - and all of a sudden nothing goes right. She has a million excuses about why she didn't get more reps, how the workout was stupid, or how the judge was all wrong. Every time. You know what it is? There's nothing wrong with the workout or the judge or her training - it's her perspective. When she starts comparing herself to others in a competition setting, all of a sudden her best isn't good enough. The day before she felt better than ever, but as soon as she's in a group setting she starts looking around at what everyone else is doing instead of focusing on herself. Well it's a competition - you're supposed to compare youself to others....right??? Or how about within our own gym: the scores are on the whiteboard for a reason....right? Yes and no. The problem occurs when we are unable to celebrate our successes because we're comparing ourselves to the performance of someone else instead of our own. "Great, I got my first double under, but it's still not 30 in a row like Josh." Or, "I power snatched more in a workout that I ever have before, but it's still not as much as everyone else did today." I caught myself doing the same thing after Open WOD 13.3. I got 5 muscle ups this year and I was PUMPED after the WOD. A year ago in the same workout, I wasn't even close to getting 1. However, after my score was posted and my ranking kept dropping because girls were posting scores of 12, 13, and 20+ muscle ups, I started thinking, "Man, I wish I had done better. My score wasn't even that good..." THAT'S THE PROBLEM. 

"Have you ever been in the middle of a workout or a race and you see someone else going faster than you or lifting more than you and you think “Man I should be able to do that”? What happens next is your mind goes into overdrive about why you can’t do what they are doing, you doubt yourself and question why you even bother because you don’t get anywhere etc. your mind goes right away from the one thing it can control…….. Your performance....This happens everywhere in our life, whether it is the job you have, the relationship you’re in or whatever. We have been taught over the years to compare ourselves to others to judge how good we are in our life." Read here:  "Run Your Own Race" 

Three Amgios"

0 minute mark:
10 power snatch (95/65)
10 ring dips
10 minute mark:
10 thrusters
30 double unders
20 minute mark:
10 T2B
10 HR push ups