No Doubt

Wednesday Workout #2, 8:00pm @ CFC:

Didn't workout Tuesday, so did a double yesterday. Training multiple times a day isn't too bad physically depending on the workouts, but I find it to be good mental training in terms of being able to get excited/prepared for the second workout.

Strength/Skill:

Kelly mentioned to me that we'd have muscle-ups in our Sectional training workout on Saturday, and encouraged me to work on them. I still have only done one muscle-up in my more than 1.5 years at Crossfit. Two weekends ago I probably attempted around 50 times, and failed each time (and almost ripping my shoulder out on one fail), so I was pretty frustrated with these--I had almost made up my mind that if they came up in a competition I would simply just have to be unable to complete them. That said, last night I approached the work with a positive attitude.

I actually ended up getting 5-6 before I called it a day. Started working on trying to string them but the rings were a bit low and my feet kept hitting the ground. Was pumped about this, and although I won't be able to do them fast on Saturday, I at least have some confidence in them.

Metcon,
30-20-10 for time
Burpees
Box jumps
KB snatches (#53 KB)

Time: 8:44

The burpees and box jumps were pretty much unbroken, a few quick rests. Really haven't worked on KB snatches too much and it showed--did them all in 5s before I dropped the KB and sent it rolling around the room. Definitely a little fatigued from the morning's workout but was able to push through this one.

I was thinking about the muscleups I got last night, and what I did differently than the hundreds of failed attempts I've had over the time I've been in CrossFit. Considering my strengths, I should have no problems with the movement--I can do pullups and dips pretty easily. However, I've always had trouble with the transition of flipping over from the pulling phase into the dip phase--I'm usually tentative and find it awkward. Most of the times I've worked on muscle-ups, I don't usually think I'm suddenly going to get them, which probably defeats me from the start. Last night, when told that I'd have to do them in a workout that mattered, I felt a sense of urgency and just went for it. I didn't worry about what everyone around me would think if I failed, and I didn't worry if I even failed it. That gave me the extra momentum to finally make it past the transition.

I found that there are aspects of Crossfit that force me to conquer my doubt, and this has helped in other areas of my life. When getting under the bar or preparing for a PR weight on a lift, one's natural reaction is one of shock--"This sh*t is heavy, am I seriously going to lift this?" I've found that if I take too long to go for a PR, thoughts like these start to creep in--and once you're at the stage where you've approached close to your maximum effort, there's no room for doubt. Most PRs I've had, be it a lift or workout, is where I simply shut everything out and off, and just went for what I was trying to achieve.

I think this mentality has certainly helped with regards to life outside Crossfit. I've been pretty risk-averse in the past (and still am to some degree), but I've learned that sometimes you can miss out on opportunities if you don't take risks at all. Of course there's the possibility of failure, but from what I've seen failure doesn't necessarily leave you in a worse sitution than you were before--in fact, I'd argue that it puts you in a better spot since you've experienced something and learned for the future. To sum everything up, I think Crossfit has reinforced for me the principle that life is a balancing act--you don't necessarily have to shy away from every risk or uncertain opportunity that comes your way, but at the same time you don't have to go 100-miles an hour on everything that you do (you do actually have to pace some workouts...). Finding this balance certainly takes some time (perhaps even a lifetime), but it's an experience that I've enjoyed so far.

That concludes my serious comments for the day. Almost to Bears weekend, should be another good one.

Thursday PM: 1 hour hot yoga

Friday, 1/21

Active Rest Day

BS 3-3-3-3-3 / 195-215-235-255-265

5 rounds, not for time, rest as needed between rounds (~75% effort)
300 m row, 10 KBS (#53), 20 double unders