This weekend myself along with 5 good friends from Crossfit 8035 headed out...6 hours out...to Decatur, Illinois for the D-Town Throwdown. We were one of 16 teams in the Rx'd division (the division where you do the workouts as they are written, no modifications). We completed 3 workouts on Saturday and 2 more on Sunday. The workouts ranged from all 6 of us completing individual workouts as fast as possible to just the 3 women then just the 3 men completing as many repetitions as possible of one movement within a set time.
No matter how well I have prepared, there's always nerves. There's always the fear that my best won't stack up or that a weakness will be exposed to the point I'll bring my team down. No matter how many times I exhale, high five my teammates, get a reassuring smile from those who know I need it most, my heart rate spikes and my head spins as soon as that clock starts. I'd say most of this is normal...everyone experiences nerves, especially when their performance on is on display for all to see and people are counting on them. However, my big take away from this weekend is that nerves can be channeled and your inner voice can prevail.
During one of the workouts I stepped up to the bar for my turn doing an individual workout as fast as I could. It was 30 power snatches at 95#. During my warm up I told myself to get to 10 before I took a short rest. Then I hoped I could do 5 at a time until I hit 30. However, I was the 4th person to go and my team was slightly behind. I knew I had ground to make up. I was incredibly nervous. As soon as I finished my 1st repetition I found myself repeating the same line over and over again, "Smooth and steady, yes you can. Smooth and steady, yes you can." As I lifted the bar from ground to overhead 20 times in a row I drowned out my teammates yelling, the crowd's watchful eyes and just stayed calm thinking only of that phrase. I finished all 30 in my best time ever.
Not everyone participates in Crossfit competitions or any competition for that matter, but we all have moments in our life where we are put in the spotlight. Our weaknesses are exposed for all to see and our nerves can take over. This is where negative thinking can find it's way in and produce negative results, no matter if it's at the gym, at work or at school.
My goal for clients and for anyone who reads my blog or participates in my group classes is not only for them to move better and eat better but to THINK BETTER! Remove the stinkin' thinkin'! Channel the inner voice that tells you YOU CAN rather than the one that says you can't.
I've heard many people say you don't know what you're capable of unless you try. I'd say, you don't know what your capable of unless you believe you can.
Oh...we finished in 1st :) It was an awesome weekend and couldn't have asked for better teammates!
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