Fighting For Strength

As I have said before, CrossFit Club is a Mental Game. I say this because most of the time, despite the pain you may be feeling, your body is very capable of doing the workout, you just need to convince your mind that you can do it. There are two reasons why I decided to bring this up again, the first is that the post that I titled “Workout Club: A Mental Game” was about the deck of cards workout, which we did again today with some variations. The second is that I need to do a better job convincing my mind that my body can do it.

For the past couple months I have had knee and elbow pains that have made working out difficult. I was forced to go easy for a while and stop whenever I thought I would injure myself more. It may not be true, but I think it may have set me back a little. Meaning that I lost some muscle. Practicing good form and gradually increasing the amount that I do has helped me to build enough muscle to compensate for what I lost and the weakness in my joints. The times that I have to stop due to pain are growing farther and farther apart. 

Now that my body actually is capable of completing the workouts, I need to convince my mind that it is. I have been trying to do this, and have found two strategies so far. The first is to do everything with the end in mind. Meaning that you say to yourself, “the sooner I do this, the sooner I am done.” The second is thinking about the difference each lift or rep will make; thinking about how much stronger each rep will make you. I definitely haven’t mastered this yet and still struggle, but I will keep trying to find effective ways to make me work harder each day. Through CrossFit, you not only make your body stronger, but your mind too. Doing CrossFit with friends is great because you can help each other go harder and reach a higher level of fitness.

All we do is win, win, win,
no matter what what what
We got fitness on out minds
can never get enough
(lyrics thanks to josh)