“If you want something, focus on shifting the baseline first, and the best possible result will unfold automatically. If you want to be really strong, focus on moving, living and thinking as a really strong person. That’s a high-quality existence that leads to strength. It should be the first focus. You cannot get all the way there by obsessing over what you can lift now, versus what you think you should be able to lift.
If you want to connect with someone and teach, start with what you are. What you fear. What you feel. What you actually know. Talk about challenges and how you’ve dealt with it. What you have learned from the process. You are human. If you can connect with yourself first, honestly and openly and without conforming, open ears and hearts will find their way to you because humans are hardwired to appreciate such a thing.”
Chris Moore – “Get Change”
Well, it’s been 8 months of doing whatever it is that I’m trying to do, and the last few weeks have felt like I’ve been pushing a rock uphill. It took my old heavy ass quite a bit of time to recover from our competition physically and mentally, and I’ve had a hard time building confidence from one workout to the next. Between shaking off soreness, mobility issues, and some underwhelming WOD performances lately, I feel like my progress has stalled a bit. I did however see the scale slip to under 300lbs, which was definitely a big deal for me (the obligatory “after” photo will be at the end of this post), but I haven’t been able to gather much steam after that victory. I’ve made a point to be mindful of the bigger picture, and try to be aware of what is REALLY going on, and that’s the point of today’s post…. MOMENTUM WORKS BOTH WAYS.
I’ve been noticing that momentum is really the main driving force in what I’ve been working on lately. Trying to eat better, get in better shape, and be a happier/more positive/mindful person gets easier with each small victory. Every time my willpower holds up and I string together another week of clean(ish) eating, it makes it that much easier to keep it locked down for another week. Every time I’m able to really blow it out in the gym and leave myself on the floor in a puddle of chalk and sweat, I’ve moved the needle forward a bit. It raises my standard, and that makes it easier to consistently demand more from myself. Each action adds weight to those behaviors, and keeps that ball rolling downhill. However, taking shortcuts, making exceptions, and unintentionally laying out some 80%-effort workouts seem to snowball into habits as well, making it easier and easier to repeat. It seems like it wears a pathway in my brain and turns those behaviors into my default setting, and it takes a real conscious effort to get back off that path.
Honestly, I’m still working on it. But I heard a quote the other day on an episode of Barbell Shrugged from guest Julien Pineau of Strongfit that really clicked……
“Burn the questions.” he said. He then went into detail about how important it is to learn how to push yourself, regardless of motivation or justification. Powerful stuff.
For me, the questions have begun showing up along with the nervousness in the few minutes leading up to a WOD…..
“What the hell are you doing, Tyler?”
“How long do you think you can keep doing this?”
“You’ve already lost 50 pounds, why don’t you just keep eating better and quit all this?”
“Don’t you know Zumba is free at the YMCA?”
My inner monologue tends to be a bit cynical. But I’m really gonna try to focus on Mr. Pineau’s words (which I believe is in reference to a Heidegger quote that I’m too lazy to search for).
Burn the questions…. I like it.
It’s a more elegant way of saying, “Fuck it.”…….It doesn’t matter WHY I do, it only matters THAT I do. Stop rationalizing things, don’t expect some magical answer to pop into your head and light a goddamn fire.
” Just Fucking Do It.”
-Nike
That takes care of that. But I’ve also noticed that crossfit is engineered in a way that can help anybody find something that works for them. Not every WOD has something that I like, but when I get a movement I can crush, that confidence carries me for weeks. Everyone has movements that they hate. Everyone has at least one movement that they like (or hate less than others). What is really incredible is the amount of diversity that crossfit can support. Everyone has their own specialties. Whether it’s due to their athletic background or simply genetics, each person has a unique set of skills that can give them the confidence to get that ball rolling when they get the opportunity to be excellent. I posted a survey a few weeks ago and our community was generous enough to respond in strong enough numbers to give me a statistical idea as to how well the system works. I asked four questions:
1-What is your favorite crossfit movement (not necessarily your best, just your favorite)
2- What is the movement you are BEST at?
3- What is the movement you HATE the most?
4- What is the movement you are worst at?
Click Here To View The Survey Results
There’s no reason for me to break down all of the numbers, as the results speak for themselves. But in short, even the most universally hated movement (burpees, obviously), were a couple member’s favorite movements. Some people hate the olympic lifts, while they’re many other’s favorite movements. The people that hated the overhead squat hate it so much that there were all caps and exclamation marks after many of their entries, while other people named it as their absolute favorite movement. The other interesting thing I noticed, was how few people chose their best movement as their favorite, and the same with their worst. Only 17% of the the crossfitters surveyed said their worst movement was the one they hate the most, and the same low percentage said their strongest movement was their favorite. I think that diversity is the main thing that gives all of us the opportunity to find something that works for us, and build confidence while enduring the things that would be considered our weaknesses.
Build on the positive, ignore the negative, and be excellent. Burn the questions. Powerful stuff.
I suppose it’s time for a photo update. This is 8 months of crossfit. 349lbs to 299.
Thanks for reading, and please share!
Eat The Damn Sandwich 