The Mind F*#k

This was a blog post I took from Freddy Camacho with CrossFit One World.

The human body is capable of amazing feats of strength and endurance. We’ve heard stories of normal people performing superhuman acts when faced with life or death situations. So why is that the last five reps are so hard... the last 400m run is so slow....five more burpees surely feels like it will kill you??? At some point during any given brutal workout, the brain makes the body stop. Lots of thoughts happen during those brief moments of reflection. Some people think of how much work they have left, or how much damn work they have already done. Some people think about quitting. Some people look at the dry erase board and hope the reps somehow became less. Some people stare at the weight and hope it is somehow getting lighter. Some people actually think that they are going to die. Obviously, the body has plenty left in the tank since we always seem to manage finishing any given workout, walk around afterward, chit chat and then drive home. Some people even do MORE work after a workout.

So what is the issue? It is the "mind fuck." You are suddenly at war with your own body. Intense workouts are very demanding of your physical capability, and let’s face it, they just plain suck to do and you know it before you start. Fatigue weighs heavily on your mindset, and your ability to push your body a little bit farther. Your body is capable, but mentally you are not quite there yet. The mind fuck happens at different stages for everyone, and there are some superhuman athletes out there who definitely don’t experience it as often or as soon as the rest of us mere mortals.

The brain and the body work together beautifully. The body has a great sense of self-preservation.We flinch when startled. We sleep when tired. We eat when hungry. When we begin to think we are unable to go on, the brain shuts down the machine. We simply cease to function and have to reboot the brain to get going again.

So, how do you remedy this situation? Keep training hard. Push yourself a little bit more everyday. Teach your brain that you are not going to die from any given workout. You train the mind right along with the body. In a recent post I stated, “How far are you willing to go to kick your own ass?” You will be willing to go farther as you get stronger both mentally and physically.

Courtesy of Freddy Camacho