Mental game

I got into a pretty in depth discussion with not one but two of my ladies last night about mental game. About psyching yourself out before you do something, and getting so scared the fear almost (or in some cases, does) keeps you from doing something that you have gotten excited for. A friend of mine who is looking to try Cross Fit is so freaked out to try she has to do deep belly breaths. I have invited her to watch a WOD so that she can get an idea of what we do, with the rationale that your brain can often imagine things are way worse than what reality is. My other friend, who went through Elements with me,

It's a fine line between excitement and fear, believe me, I understand. Maybe because I expect things to be difficult, I go into a workout (in the case of my discussions last night) knowing it's going to be hard. And what is the worst that happens? I don't finish it as prescribed (or RXed)? I fall over and get back up? I have strangers cheer me on to get that last swing/rep/push up/stride?

Doesn't sound that awful to me.

The importance of mental fitness is one that was echoed in the daily blog from my box, which was all about mental game (visit http://cfsilverspring.com/wordpress/ to read it). I couldn't agree with this more. Your body is capable of a lot of stuff, more than you'd ever imagine; your mind that is often the limiting factor. And if you go into any activity, including Cross Fit, looking to better yourself and not measure yourself constantly against others, you're going to win the physical and the mental game.

I know a lot about negative self talk. I used to beat myself down mentally all the time. It kept me from speaking up for myself in relationships, friendships, at work, and at school. It kept me from trying all the crazy things that I have been yearning to do for years. It made me super depressed until I got a small piece of advice from a health care professional (yeah, I went to therapy. For years. And I aced it!): Would you talk to a friend, or even a stranger, the way you talk to yourself? I mean, would you really? Not out of spite or anger after a fight, but in every day conversation if they told you their goals and what they were doing to reach them? Would you ever say "Oh that's insane, you can never do that. Don't even try, it's just going to be embarrassing."

No.

Almost NO ONE WOULD. So why do you talk to yourself like that? Because we are all our own worst critics. And while that will probably never go away completely, you can catch yourself in those moments and decide to think positively. Just like anything else, it will become habit, and you will find yourself mentally and emotionally more fit.

If that doesn't work, find an "MB" in your life. I use myself as an example because apparently people find my energy motivating, and not in a way that is too irritating. I am much better at cheering on and motivating others than I am at motivating myself. If I get to the activity I am going to do, I know that I will be motivated by the people around me, whether verbally, or just energy-wise. And I feel like it is my duty to also motivate those people, not only to cheer them up but to push them forward. I'm happy to do it, I get a lot of joy out of it, and it helps me realize that support goes both ways, especially when you're doing crazy feats of physical fitness.

Like planking with a 25 to 45 lb plate on your back for 25 seconds at a time.


OH! And I almost forget.  My first callous:

His name is Josh. After the owner of my box.

Hehe that sounded dirty. Happy Tuesday all!