Super Sabotage

Why is it when one part of life becomes difficult I try to make things "better" by making other parts worse.  Example, lately work has been stressful and difficult to say the least.  To combat this I have started eating the worst possible food and allowing myself to let soda creep back in.  As a result of both the extra seat time at work and extra crappy meals my workouts have been way off too.  This has lead me to not wanting to work, eat nothing but sweets, drink nothing but soda, and sit on my butt, not to mention the fact that everyone around me starts to get brought down into the same quagmire that I'm in due to my now super wonderful attitude. 

Interestingly I already know the solution.  If I actually take control over the parts that I can, like diet and exercise, the other parts will seem more in order. 

Failed attempts

Per my goal I attempted some muscle ups tonight.   Felt pretty good with my effort, I'm just entirely too slow.  I don't have a solid kip on the rings so that gives me something to focus on.  Hands are pretty shredded after 14 attempts.  No muscle ups tonight.  It was a failure but absolutely nothing else negative.  Need to just keep doing them to get the movement down.

Fear of Failure

I've been thinking about this topic for a while.   However after reading an article this morning on the Again Faster site, I realized that I needed to put my fear out there.  https://www.againfaster.com/en/blog/2012/04/13/fear-anonymous/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_term=link&utm_content=fear%2Banonymous&utm_campaign=article

Similar to the author of the article, I've realized that I have a fear of Muscle Ups.  Before I even start the movement I've already pictured me failing.  In my mind I can't get one so in real life I rarely do.  I've made excuses, complained, "attempted" to get better, but have never truely tried to tackle the fear.  I can see the movement being done with perfect form, but it is almost always someone else.  I have taught the muscle up to numerous people and can see flaws that can help them get better.    I've worked on getting stronger at pullups, and dips and handstand pushups.  I've talked about getting better at muscle ups.   It is simply an unrealistic fear that even keeps me from wanting to try.  

In order to get past my fear, I need to take that first step.  I'm guaranteed to fail at everything that I don't try.  In this case it is less about "trying" and more of simply DOING.  I know I will not get every muscle up that I attempt, but I will certainly never get any better without an attempt.  My goal for this week is to get 1 muscle up each day.

I need to put fear in it's proper place and realize that failure isn't something that I need to be afraid of. 

Minimum Effective Dose

Almost everything in life is best if used in a certain dose.  Anything from sleep, to food, to medication are best used in the proper amounts.  Too little sleep or food leads to feeling tired and rundown while too much can make you fat and sluggish.  Medication is even more obvious, too little is completely ineffective, while too much can literally kill you.  Excercise most certainly falls under the same guidelines.  Too little movement will make your joints seize, and lead to general sluggishness, not to mention the potential for extra fat.  Too much excercise can be just as bad.  This typically leads to at best little adaptation over time, and in the worst case too much improper movement can lead to injury.  The right balance between intensity and rest is key to maximizing adaptations.

Most people when they first start CrossFit don't understand the relationship.  They see for the most part short workouts surrounded by "warmup" and skill work.  Initially the weights are light and the intensity is specifically low to help teach proper movement patterns.  The people who come from a "standard" gym environement initially feel that more is needed.  While intensity during CrossFit workouts is low, this is fine.  The problem is people rarely see when to stop the "extra" workouts until it is too late and injury or burnout has set in. 

The elite athletes can also fall into this trap.  They are willing to do almost anything to get to the next level including 2 and 3 WODs a day.  On occasion that can be a great way to shock the system, but certainly can easily get out of hand if proper rest days aren't near by. 

In the end, good form, consistency, and high intensity seem to be the best perscription for CrossFit.   If you feel you need more, spend some time working on a skill.  It is amazing how doing a movement better makes it easier in the end.