You know that feeling? The one where you are physically exhausted and you really want to stop? The one that's kind of uncomfortable?
I use to shy away from that feeling a lot. It is probably the main reason I've always gravitated towards endurance sports instead of power or explosive sports. I don't like that feeling. When my body gets tired, I want to stop. I've talked about this before in relation to the effort I put into a really hard workout. I put in a solid 95%. Yup. 95. Never 100. I would like to be stronger and I would like to be faster, but I've realized the only way I am going to make those gains is to get used to that uncomfortable feeling.
And that kind of scares me, but lately, I am finding that I want to push through it. Until Crossfit I had no idea how to push through that feeling or that I should even bother trying to. But the daily WOD is changing my perspective. I am now choosing heavier weights and completing the movements faster, making my workouts even harder than they used to be. Today was a perfect example.
This WOD was tough. I have never cleaned more than 55lbs before, so the idea of cleaning and pressing that amount of weight 40 times seemed impossible to me. But I wanted to try it. There...right there! That is a change in my mindset. I wanted to try it?! That was definitely Chris talking, haha (see 'Who is Chris anyways')! I was willing to push myself closer and closer to that uncomfortable feeling, knowing I would have to work with it for a while. Like a wave, I find the feeling builds and builds in an intense workout and I either have to stand up and ride it out or it will overtake me, as I submit to the punishment underwater. But the feeling when I ride it out is extremely powerful.
Today I cleaned and pressed 55lbs 40 times by choice, as part of my WOD. And I tried my best to maintain a fast pace through the sprinting. I was gasping for air by the end and for the first time ever I even understood why some people have wanted to puke during a workout. I wasn't going to....but I understood the desire. I was the last to finish and as a result I had the whole crowd cheering for me. My coach and another member even ran the last 200 meters with me and completed my squats alongside. I was touched.
But to convince myself to give this kind of effort is not an easy task. I struggle with this...struggle with accepting and even working with that uncomfortable feeling. How do you make yourself do it? How do you go into something with your full, 100% effort, knowing it is going to be awful and it may just break you? Amazingly, there are countless examples of people doing this everyday as they struggle to fight for their health, or compete against a personal record, or face a fear. I believe my training is slowly but surely preparing me for those moments, not just in the WOD, but in life.
But for now, I must just learn to ride that uncomfortable feeling for as long as I can.
How do you do it?
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