PAIN -- PERCEPTION VS REALITY

Due to the intensity of CrossFit workouts people often make impressive improvements in their fitness very quickly. The overweight become lean, the weak find new strength and the de-conditioned become resilient. Of equal importance, hesitance is replaced by competence and confidence. Novel challenges become fun opportunities to express fitness rather than obstacles. Along the way people often come to the realization that limits are more mental than physical. The mind will often limit one’s potential before the body’s capabilities are fully taxed.

To truly succeed in CrossFit one must balance self-preservation versus self-annihilation. This is analogous to redlining the engine in your car. If you push your car too hard and too fast the engine will blow out rendering your car unusable. If you push your body too hard, too fast, and too often, it too will break down. To become an elite level athlete you must push yourself hard enough to improve but at the same time be cautious enough to avoid injuries.

Too often experienced athletes start managing their workouts and become guilty of “sandbagging” -- performing below maximum capacity in the name of self preservation. Interestingly enough this does not happen with less experienced CrossFitters as they have yet to learn what 100% effort really feels like. With experience comes the realization that maximal efforts are associated with physical discomfort. If working out is comfortable then the stimulus is insufficient for improving fitness.

Humans are hard wired to avoid pain for survival purposes. However, the pain referenced in this case is different. In CrossFit we are asking athletes to endure the pain in order to improve their lives and limit subsequent suffering. On a short term basis this requires over-riding the same signals in our brain typically associated with danger. Your brain is largely responsible for keeping you alive. It collects internal and external stimuli and formulates an appropriate response, sometimes known as “fight or flight.” Unfortunately, the brain has a tendency to over-react and err on the self-preservation side and this can be detrimental in CrossFit. To truly reach the upper echelons of athletic performance you must be able to ignore this signal to hold back or quit prematurely. Most athletes are nowhere near their breaking point and have plenty of room to grow and perform.

During intense exercise the brain tends to be blank and receptive. While there is often little conscious thought there is ample room to focus on the task at hand. Such focus will prevent the brain from registering potential discomfort. Try counting repetitions out loud as this will keep you focused mentally on overcoming key thresholds during your workout. Count the number of breaths you take during rest breaks to avoid prolonged pauses in the middle of your workout. Try limiting the number of breaths to five or ten at time and get right back into the mix, every repetition done is one less to go before the pain ends. Set your sights on the finish line and hold yourself accountable to your own fitness.