What’s “Can’t”?
Remember the scene in Peter Pan when Robin Williams, seen here, proclaims that he does not believe in fairies? Then, sadly (insert sarcasm here), Julia Roberts starts to choke and falls down the steps in the dollhouse. His negativity kills and so can yours!
Can’t can hurt you.
When I was in college, one of the greatestĀ motivationalĀ piecesĀ I was given was from one of my Seminar/Public Speaking Professors. He would always tell us to never lead a conversation/debate/presentation, with self -depricating expressions. For instance, “I know I’m not good, but….”, or “I probably have no reason to say this; however,….”. We tend to use these starting points so that if we fail at something, we can always come back and say, “See, I knew it.” Let me give you an example of how it translates into CrossFit (This is what I said verbatim, just the other week when I was testing a lift): Right before my last attempt at a 1RM Front Squat, I looked at the bar and the bad voice broke through and exclaimed “This is a huge jump, so if you don’t stand it up it’s ok.” What do you think happend next? My elbows came forward, knees rolled in and the bar dropped.
This is horseshit and it needs to stop. Part of having passion for something is being able to maintain the idea. Most times the idea happens in a moment of shear excitement, but shortly after fizzles out. I have fallen victim to this numerous amounts of times. So how do we combat it?
1) Know you are a badass. You CAN do anything.
2) If the “can’t” makes it way in during a WOD or lift, remember what you are doing this for, remember your goals and get excited again for the progress.
3) Take 5 HUGE breaths. Exhale.
4) Stop being afraid of what other people might think of your conviction or performance. This is YOUR time. Be selfish.
Anytime I hear anyone in the gym use the word “Can’t”, it’s an automatic 10 Burpee penalty for the entire class, including myself (hmmm, I may regret this one). I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend. Get ready for a tough week!
-This next piece is in regards to the picture above. It wouldn’t fit in the caption for some reason. Notice Jaime’s awesome form!
[After the Clean, and right before the Jerk, notice how the elbows are high and the bar is resting on the front of the shoulders. This becomes efficient as we dip and drive, as the bar will move in a straight path right off the shoulders into the overhead locked out position.]
Strength
Overhead Squat 3-3-1-1-1-1
WOD:
3 Rounds
500m Row
7Ā Ground-to-OverheadĀ (135#/95#)
14 Pistols
ā„ Jaime! ā„
Mmmmm…..Yosh I needed to read all these words today. Twice. Thank you. Succeeding in CF such a metaphor for succeeding in life.
Can’t wait to come in and kill it with my besties. š
Great post, Yosh! I went off Paleo today for the first time in 22 days. I am one sick, irritable bitch (my poor boyfriend!) I can’t believe a couple slices of bread and candy could make me feel so awful. Yah for CF and my getting back to eating clean tomorrow.
Gluten can really get you hard if you reintroduce it after you’ve been free of it for a while. One day last year I tried eating a couple rolls, and they got me so sick I considered missing work the next day.
Great post Yosh – good to think about as I gear up for my favorites, overhead squats š
Love the pic!!
Thanks for the words of inspiration Yosh, as always. As for tomorrow’s WOD, I can’t wait! Oops, I said the naughty word….
So how does one scale pistols? I just tried doing some and ran out of strength with my thigh still about 30 degrees above parallel, but scaling all the way back to a regular air squat seems kinda wimpy.
Hey friends, I love this post from Yosh. I wanted to share an email I sent to he and JT a bit back about wanting to shut off the negative currents in my brain. See you guys tonight!
Dear Coaches,
Weāre asked to think about our goals a lot at CFSV. In the blog, on the whiteboard; the bar we set for ourselves is ever-present.
The list we penned on the whiteboard only dates from January, but already peopleās goals are being crushed. Itās amazing to see.
This weekend at the Open, I was lucky enough to cross out my second goal- just the elusive ā one single pull-up remainsā. It seemed only fitting to replace old goals with new ones.
The newbies are of a different ilk- theyāre not about reps or pounds or poods. Theyāre simpler and maybe a bit trite but demand more constant effort.
#1- Change of vocabulary.
I want to throw the word āenoughā- in many of its uses-out for good. Enough. That simple word can be a total bastard that messes with your mind. You know, those wicked voices in your head wondering if you are ā _____ enoughā ? Skinny enough, strong enough, pretty enough, smart enough, rich enough, sexy enough, and on and on. For good measure, I also want to rid myself of its comparative cousin ā thanā i.e ā All those women are skinner/ smarter/ sexier than I amā. Itās all bullshit. Toxic bullshit that does nothing but make us question ourselves and get in the way of progress.
#2 Cut the shit.
I want to stop sand-bagging and stop saying I canāt do something. Canāt lift something, climb something, accomplish something. Too often I look at the task ahead and tell myself I canāt do it. I take myself out of the race before it begins. And I have to listen to Yosh tell me I can do it. Itās amazing to have that kind of encouragement and support but itās total fucking garbage that he is the only one in the room that believes in me. Shouldnāt I always be in my own corner? Iām intensely self-critical and hate failure ( a foolish statement in and of itself- who loves to fail?)- but I have to stop letting the fear of failing, of embarrassing myself, of not being the best- to get it the way.
I worked myself into a panic on Friday night, thinking about the Open. Box jumps, push presses and toes to bar. 2/3 of that work out is my nightmare, and Iād never done a toes to bar. I came in Friday during the day; practiced and practiced. Failed and failed. I was sure that I wasnāt going to make it through a single round, and my mood was rotten. I was dreading it, dreading embarrassing myself as the only person who couldnāt pull off simple movements in a room crammed with total ballers. I got in my own damn head so bad I couldnāt sleep. My round was last and I wanted to tuck myself into a corner so no one would watch me hang uselessly from a bar for 16.5 minutes. Some of the motley crew of CFSVers were there, cheering me on, telling me to just get one. Just one. And it happened, over and over. It wasnāt fast or pretty but it happened. When it was over, I was furious with myself. Furious that I had let the cancer of self-doubt gnaw at me. I decided- No more. Itās time to cut the shit.
This stuff aināt easy. But itheyāre my goals for 2012 version 2.0- and I wanted to share.
Thanks guys,
Erin
your T2B may not have been linked together, but i wouldn’t call them ugly. the fact that you made it through so many of them made them beautiful! same with your double unders on the wall ball/doubles/muscle up workout!
I love this Erin – thanks for sharing! Especially the part believing in yourself and being in ‘your own corner’ – having encouragement from other is awesome and inspiring but really I’m never going to realize my true potential unless I encourage myself…
<3
i feel like this post was written specifically for me. this one and the one about the voice telling you you’re tired. the evil voice that tells you ‘no’ is my WORST and biggest enemy.
OHS: 100#, PR! I couldn’t even rack jerk 105#, but, after i failed the first time, the voice got in my head and got in the way.
WOD: 16:51 Rx. I had a few glorious fails on ground to overhead and pistols today. good stuff.
and sorry, i NEED to point this out. the alt tag on the picture of jamie is entitled ‘jamie’srack’ and i just guffawed over that. haha, sorry yosh, i have the maturity of a 12 year old š
I didn’t even realize that. I had multiple pictures of you guys and Jaime’s position was the best, so in my father’s laptop it’s labeled “JaimesRack2position” figures it would have cut off the last bit! My sincerest apologies Jaime!
No apology necessary Yosh! And thank you for your kindness, patience, and enthusiasm. CFSV is such a positive influence in my life and I am grateful for it. See you tomorrow!
Nice Rack Jaimie!
Thank you! I’ve always wanted one š
well said, Yosh.
OHS: 165#. It says 175# on the board but I went through it again in my head and realized I only had 165 on the bar on my last set. So, I guess I know what I need to get (at least) next time!
WOD: 13:06 w/ red band pistols. definitley feel like I’m getting closer to unaided pistols…
OHS: 135#
WOD: 13:07 at 115# and a little cheat plate under the heel for pistols. Went a lighter on the C&J so I could keep moving and not destroy myself with the Rx weight. Still need that cheat plate on pistols to keep my balance; ankle flexibility is lacking. Great race to the finish Ben!
Terrific post Yosh, and thanks for sharing Erin! We are all way more powerful than we can even imagine, and just showing up every day is the first step to unlocking that potential. http://vimeo.com/33935044
also, as if on cue: http://www.crossfitnyc.com/2012/04/04/don%E2%80%99t-make-my-mistakes-the-10-things-i%E2%80%99ve-learned-from-doing-crossfit
thanks for this! š
OHS – legit 105, almost 115. Yosh said it counted technically, i felt like it was a cheat.
WOD: 15:12, 95#, squats not pistols.
115# OHS. I was pretty stoked (this is an understatement). The best part was when I felt the voices coming on at 105# and was able to look around and KNOW that everyone else was feeling just how I felt and that together we could win – then i did that and more. OK – maybe Yosh standing right there always saying exactly what I need to hear helped, too. š
18:35 wod w/75# (havent mastered cleaning from the ground…still deadlifting and then cleaning…i bash my knees every time otherwise). pistols to a wallball target.
That was AWESOME Lynn!
Yeah that was pretty awesome. I was fired up
OHS – 85# which was a huge PR for me. OHS are not my BFFs and the first time I did them with the 15# bar I was pretty sure that I was never going to move to a higher weight so I’m pretty psyched š
WOD – 14:30, 65# & air squats