Mental and Physical

I think the theme of tonight's post will be on the mental and physical aspects of Crossfit, as demonstrated by class tonight.

So the last week or so, my mind just hasn't been "all there" with the workouts because I HAD been feeling kind of "blah," but now I'm back! While I was "blah," we did Crossfit Total, and it was a pretty poor showing on my part. My loads didn't go up by much, and I was sort of disappointed in myself only getting to deadlift 180# (I tried like 3 times at 185# and just couldn't get my head in the game!). Just goes to show how mind AND body are connected in Crossfit. Well, I sort of got a "redo" at my deadlifts in the warm-up tonight.

Warm-up:
1-1-1-1-1 Deadlift

I was able to do: 165 / 175 / 180 / 180 / 185, and 185# was actually "too easy" according to my peers. I definitely felt it working my legs, but I guess it looked like a barely broke a sweat and my buds kept urging me to do more - next time guys! On to the workout.

10 rounds for time:
15 Deadlifts (135# / 95#)
15 Push-ups

So I must have been a little slow on getting my weight set-up because I barely had a chance to breathe before Tyler called "hands on" and counted down the clock. ACK! I didn't get any practice rounds in to make sure the weight felt good - 95# it is then! It actually was super easy, at least for the few rounds, then I had to start working a little harder. I guess because I was still in "lift 185#" mode, I ripped the weight off the ground and kind of surprised myself. Also, I remember back in July 2009 when I did my first CF WOD with JDP at Central - "Diane" (21-15-9 Deadlifts / Handstand Push-ups) with just 75#. How far I've come since then!

I did the first 3 rounds RX'd, even on the push-ups (no knees, no band). I started struggling with the push-ups and my buddies started lapping me pretty quickly, so Tyler suggested I knock the push-ups down to 8 reps. Eh, I'll do 10, I said. I finished the last 7 rounds with a 15 / 10 scheme and got done in 16:14. Pretty decent score for almost RX'd.

After the WOD, we had a really great discussion about the "best" way to break up reps if you're struggling. Some people are pattern-seekers and like to do 5 / 5 / 5. I recommended that you try to "one up" yourself every round. So if you get in the habit of 5 /5 / 5, jump on the bar the next time around and go for 6 / 5 / 4. That didn't make a lot of logical sense to Ian (who's a "mathemagician" - he does actuarial science stuff); he said that if you started out breaking it up by doing just 1 rep before resting, that'd mean by your 10th round, you'd be doing 10 unbroken reps. And by the 10th round you're too tired and don't want to do 10 unbroken reps.

Ok, so I revised my strategy. I said I also like to "get over the hump" and do one more than halfway or third-of-the-way. In others words, don't break it up in logical numbers. Ian didn't like that either. Ultimately we agreed that whatever "pattern," logical or illogical you decide upon, you have to mentally urge yourself not to over-rest. So, if you have to break it up, don't just lolly-gag, strategically rest and mentally prepare yourself to get as many more unbroken reps in as you can.