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Jeff B suffering the mind f#ck…talking to the bar won’t make it any lighter buddy!
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Got this little tidbit from Freddy Camacho (CrossFit One World) about today’s topic:
The human body is capable of amazing feats of strength and endurance. We’ve heard stories of normal people performing superhuman acts when faced with life or death situations. So why is that the last five reps are so hard… the last 400m run is so slow….five more burpees surely feels like it will kill you???
At some point during any given brutal workout, the brain makes the body stop. Lots of thoughts happen during those brief moments of reflection. Some people think of how much work they have left, or how much damn work they have already done. Some people think about quitting. Some people look at the dry erase board and hope the reps somehow became less. Some people stare at the weight and hope it is somehow getting lighter. Some people actually think that they are going to die.
Obviously, the body has plenty left in the tank since we always seem to manage finishing any given workout, walk around afterward, chit chat and then drive home. Some people even do MORE work after a workout.Â
So what is the issue? It is the “mind f#ck.” You are suddenly at war with your own body. Intense workouts are very demanding of your physical capability, and let’s face it, they just plain suck to do and you know it before you start. Fatigue weighs heavily on your mindset, and your ability to push your body a little bit farther. Your body is capable, but mentally you are not quite there yet. The mind fuck happens at different stages for everyone, and there are some superhuman athletes out there who definitely don’t experience it as often or as soon as the rest of us mere mortals.
The brain and the body work together beautifully. The body has a great sense of self-preservation.We flinch when startled. We sleep when tired. We eat when hungry. When we begin to think we are unable to go on, the brain shuts down the machine. We simply cease to function and have to reboot the brain to get going again.
So, how do you remedy this situation? Keep training hard. Push yourself a little bit more everyday. Teach your brain that you are not going to die from any given workout. You train the mind right along with the body.
Post your thought / experiences with the mind f#ck and even better yet how you get over it!
Workout of the Day:
1-1-1-1-1
- Clean - Get as heavy as possible
Then:
21-15-9
- Sprawl Ball 20lbs / 15 lbs
- Overhead Squat 75lbs / 55lbs
- Sidewalk Sprint (approx 170m) after each round
Feel free to post results to “Comments”
August 6th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Thanks Kim.
I can’t quite remember when this picture was taken, but it must have been a killer WOD.
Its funny that you posted that particular picture though…one of the things I’ve been trying to work on lately is to stop ‘Gazing’ as you put it in one of your older posts. Just to keep going and get it done…
August 6th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
It’s funny……when it comes to a met-con WOD, I can push till I break. When it comes to a purely strength based WOD I become a victim of the mind F#CK every time! There are certain exercises that trigger it for me personally…TGU’s, Manmakers, and any overhead ballistic movement. I know that it is all mental…..like Freeddy said,” you have to train the mind and the body will follow” I guess.
August 6th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
When our kids were 5,3, 18 mon and newborn, I ran alot and then flipped in to triathlon. It was in some of those long events where my mind could really go crazy, but I remember thinking - “I can keep running or go home and be with the kids”… and suddenly running wasn’t so bad:)
August 6th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
I definitely got that yesterday, the weight I did lift seemed pretty easy but anything heavier seemed impossible. If I knew how to fix the problem, I would have done it a long time ago.
August 6th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
The mind-f#ck is something I’ve been trying to work on, because it gets me way more than I would like it to. When I reflect on my performance in a lot of WoDs, I often feel like I had more in the tank that I really should have utilized.
Honestly, I think I am terrified of running out of gas. The little voice in my head is constantly telling me that if I don’t pace myself properly, that I am going to gas out, tap, out, and be thoroughly pissed and embarrassed for doing so.
So then I get myself into situations like wall balls during Chuck, where I’m doing them in groups of 5 so I don’t “burn myself out”. Was I winded doing them? No. Were my legs killing? No. So why am I doing them in groups of 5? I don’t know!
I think the only sport where I don’t think about it is hockey…and I somehow manage to not gas out in my games.
haha, thanks for giving me yet another something to think about Kim!
August 6th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Seriously Teresa I just laughed my head off! That totally sounds like something my wife would say.
August 6th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
The whole mind f#ck thing is something that gives me nightmares! Especially when I finish just behind someone over and over again (*cough**cough* jonny).
I look back at the WOD and say to myself I should have went faster here or rested less there. But of course thats easier said once you are done.
I suppose the best thing to do is to shut off, tell your brain “f-you I’m not done yet!” There are a few good quotes to help with that too: “pain is the feeling of weakness leaving the body” or “you can puke, passout, or die but you can’t quit”
August 6th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
“Pain is the feeling of weakness leaving the body”
I love that quote.
I can side with Graham on the thoughts about small little breaks that you didn’t need in hindsight of the WOD.
Personally, I’ve left the gym a little upset with my effort on a WOD. Not only is the program at Spark or any Crossfit workouts physically demanding, it’s mentally draining too. Yet, day in and day out you come and gas yourself and I commend all of you for that.
I’m not expert of the mind f#ck…you’ll see me keeled over a bar or gasping for air…all you can do is show up, clock in, and know that every second you are working is a second closer to making sweat angels on the gym floor.
Graham, why do you have to be such a liar…you kicked my a$$ today!!!
August 6th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
i love this article! i am getting better at the mind f#ck. and i too have left workouts upset, because i know that i could have done so much better if i just stopped staring at a barbell, or just turned my mind off!! i like to think that the faster i get through that workout, the faster i get collapse onto the floor and do the “bacon sizzle.” But i must admit, if i stare at that bar, and one of the coachs or someone else in the class yells “come on jenny!” it makes me pick up that bar a whole lot faster with just that wee bit of motivation.
But i must applaud everyone that comes to spark, everyone pushes through those workouts, and comes back for more the next day!
August 7th, 2009 at 9:25 am
I just have to look in the mirror naked and that’s pretty fu^#@ing motivating,,,, right after I puke
August 19th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Jeff B….that pic is from the Fight Gone Bad fundraiser….I’m pretty sure that was the only time I wore those shorts at the gym, and if it was….talk about a Mind F**k…all you can think in that workout is:
IS THIS F**K**G MINUTE OVER YET?!!!? lol
February 14th, 2011 at 10:50 pm
…
Funny, I was discussing this factor with my older sister the other day, now I’ll have one more argument in my hand when it’ll appear to confrontation once once more….