The Head Case

Sleep: 8 Hours

Food: Breakfast - Coffee, Heavy Cream, cottage cheese, fruit, flaxseed/ Lunch - Spaghetti and meat balls and water x 8oz/ Dinner - Chicken Lettuce Wraps 8 oz water and 1 skinny margarita.

The Head Case

You walk into the gym and your stomach is already sick. You look at the white board twice, just to make sure you saw it correctly on the Internet. The warm up is over and you are still questioning your performance. Positive reinforcement from everyone bounces off like wooden arrows to a metal shield. Under the bar you hold your breath, attempt your lift... FAILED!

Does this sound all too familiar? Even though I am referring a CrossFit workout, this can happen to anyone no matter what their occupation or hobby is. What am I talking about? "The Head Case."

The Head Case can appear in many different forms in CrossFit. You can usually see it when someone is scared or unsure about the exercise going to be performed. Others have it from doubt or low self esteem. In any case, the Head is a key factor if trying to achieve that one rep max, or getting a faster time on those Thrusters and Pull ups. I am going to list off some ideas that I have done to help keep my head clear and reach that goal that I am trying to achieve.

1. Be positive about your performance. No matter what the end result is, you gave it your all and will attack it again at another time.

2. Stop the wheels from turning. Your coach will cue you on how to correct yourself to get a better result. Listen to what they say, but don't be over critical on yourself. If the coach is only using one or two cues to help your performance, don't rearrange your entire movement to accommodate the change. Unless they take you back to square one, keep your movement exactly with what you were doing before, and tweak only the fixes.

3. Be aggressive. Sometimes I have found myself taking out my rage on the bar during my max lift days. If you are feeling sluggish, lethargic, exhausted, etc. chances are you will not be able to reach a PR, or even close to it. Frustrating as it may be, you have to get pumped and/or mad to move pounds around. Getting mad is a way to raise intensity levels, and if you've ever been to a Level 1 Cert, you will know that Intensity equals Power (Force x Distance / Time = Power).

4. Feed off your Peers. I remember when competing at the CrossFit Games I would hear my team cheering me on, or see some of my friends on the side lines watching and waiting to give the support. Feed off that energy because it will give you confidence and assure you of your performance. I know the class settings thrive due to the comradery that prevails during workouts. It is human nature to make or break performance based upon our teammates or supporters. Depending on the mind set of that individual, sometimes negative reinforcement can excel performance due to anger and/or proving a point.

5. Leave your drama on the curb. When entering a gym environment, use that facility to be a zen garden for emotional release. It doesn't matter that you had a bad day at work, or your fish just died. The gym is a way to kill all the demons in your head from the outside world and use it as a purge for emotions. Very seldom do you find a Negative Nelly wondering around the floor only looking to decrease other peoples performance. However, if you find yourself overly upset and cannot control your emotions, you may cause harm to you or those around you during a workout. Bad tempers and heavy weights usually are a recipe for disaster.

I'm sure there are a ton more reasons to attribute to becoming a Head Case, but always remember that you are in control and you will set your own goals. Keep your head clear during workouts and you will find that you can push yourself to limits that you thought were not possible.