Feel like your fitness is hitting a wall? Want to get better? Find a way to push through your comfort zone and reach the next level.
CrossFit is not an easy sport, is it because it’s hard physically, mentally, or both? Your mind is a powerful thing, it can help you get through the tough times, or it can cause you to fall apart. Those who continue to succeed and see results are those who learn to control their mind when it is telling them to stop. The fragile let their mind take over and defeat them.
As a coach you often hear me say “Push through at the end, this is 
when you get better.” We can all work hard when we are rested; you have to train your body to continue pushing when you’re tired. If you never push past your comfort zone your conditioning your body to stop when you feel the slightest bit tired. Try to develop strategies to break through that mental barrier of defeat. Here are a few strategies to consider…
Tell yourself to get just one more rep. When your mind is thinking “put down the barbell” or “get off the bar,” you fight back with one more rep. Completing just one more rep when everything inside of you is telling you to stop is a sure way to grow your mental muscles, next time you might do two more reps. Over time, this builds and you begin to push just a little further in each workout.
Create small goals that are reachable during workouts. Before I even start a workout I break it down with small goals. Small goals overtime will add up to big goals. For example, if my workout calls for 30 heavy front squats, my first goal might be to get to just 5 front squats. When I get to 5 and still feel good, I start thinking, “good, I’ll do 5 more without rest,” and when I get to 10 and start to feel fatigued I might just talk myself into “two more.” But at 12, I might use the “one more rep,” and then do it again. After a few “one more rep” goals, I am at 16 or 20 . . . and all of a sudden I might be close enough to 30 to either take a quick break and knock out the rest in one set, or even finish it off by chipping away on more rep at a time. If we are always putting the bar down when feel the slightest bit of fatigue, when does it ever become easier?
When it’s time to break through that wall don’t quit. If you ever hear me say, “Find that dark place, and keep working.” It’s because as long as your mind tells your body to keep moving, your body won’t stop. Find a dark place meaning push out of your comfort zone and keep moving! If you are doing wall balls, running, rowing, burpees, air squats etc. these are all mental movements. Meaning, as long as your body continues to say keep going we should physically be able to push though without failing a rep. Your body can handle more than your mind thinks it can. Don’t let that little voice in your head beat you!