Giving Up

Which came first?

Giving Up

Bailing out. Missing a lift. Saving your skinny little chicken neck.

In weightlifting, it is so necessary to correctly fail that dumping a barbell should be simultaneously taught with how to successfully make a lift. Also very necessary is to know when to cede to a workout or give up on a fatigued movement.

Which came first, the failure or the lift? The concept of "giving up" creates such a negative connotation that the motivational nonsense spread through life nowadays gives the impression that anyone willing to give up is a failure. Weak, inadequate, and/or inferior.

No better than a shivering chick... a wet newbie peeping for its mama hen.

Quite the contrary can be said when we look at making or failing a lift, whether it be a power lift like a Deadlift or a Squat, or an Olympic lift like a Jerk or a Snatch. It is those athletes that know how to bail out that keep themselves safe, healthy, and strong.

Those athletes that have trained the correct bar path in order to efficiently make a successful lift know this. When something goes wrong, when a movement is incorrect, even in the slightest, failure means you live to lift another day.

Plus, heavy squats are always the go-to fix for chicken legs. So the skill of dumping a barbell helps to correctly use the progressive overload principle.

For those who haven’t failed, their potential in whatever endeavor they seek in life has not been fully realized. They haven’t tested the upper limits of their capabilities. In weightlifting it's knowing how to safely fail that shows strength through intelligence.

Like a smart, egghead brainiac, strength can come in many forms.

Similar to weightlifting, if a gymnastics movement or other bodyweight exercise starts to lose efficacy, if the body is shutting down to a point of inefficiency, then giving up is a necessary evil. Sure, there are times to drive ahead, to push through fatigue and complete a workout as it was written. The mental gains are particularly worthwhile in this regard, so long as the movements are still safely executed. But the moment where one puts themselves at high risk for injury, at risk for overtraining or under-recovery, this is the time when a workout becomes completely negotiable. At this point, the decision to end a session early is not weak in any regard; it is not incompetent or pitiful. Instead, it is mentally strong. It is egotistically impressive, actually. Realizing that range of motion is breeched and safety is compromised is in fact a very, very strong attribute.

Know when to fold 'em. When it's time to "snuff the rooster." This is tricky, for sure, but highly necessary in strength and conditioning.

Dan Maggio has done such a great job at succinctly highlighting the specifics of intentional bailing from a lift that it deserves reprinting here to his credit on how to implement this into your training.

How to Miss a LiftWhen teaching/coaching weightlifting related lifts, the FEET MUST ALWAYS MOVE in order to get the base of support out from under the falling bar. [Source: The Importance of Missing Lifts and Bailing Out]

• Bailing out of the Back Squat: Release grip on bar, push chest and head UP to pop the bar off your back, JUMP feet forward to avoid the bar hitting your heals if you land on your knees.
• Bailing out of Front Squat: Release grip on bar, drop the elbows as you simultaneously JUMP your feet back and push your hands to the ground. Not jumping your feet back can cause the dumped bar to crash on your thighs and knees. (This bail is the same as bailing out of a Clean.)
• Missing the Snatch (in front): Actively EXTEND arms forward. JUMP your feet backwards.
• Missing the Snatch (behind): Actively EXTEND arms backward (as if giving “Jazz Hands”). JUMP FORWARD quickly to avoid the bar landing on shoulders or back. It is vital to extend the arms backward fully to create more space and avoid collision.
• Missing the Jerk: If the barbell is already moving forward, JUMP the body back while pushing the bar away. Similarly, if stability is not maintained and the barbell drifts backward, JUMP forward away from the weight.

Someone's gotta work on their 10 components of fitness...

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall... As far as "giving up" goes, we're on the topic of succumbing to a lift or movement in a positive, thoughtful way. Not just being lazy or unmotivated.

In reference to being smart with a conditioning workout or to avoid overtraining/under-recovering, some specifics have been highlighted in past articles. Check "MetCons" and "Progress" to get the full explanation.

Our basic concept is always to pursue lifelong fitness. If we're looking to stay healthy for years to come, then one day does not make or break a workout regimen. However, one day can turn into a week, then a month, and so on. So therefore, since a longer term view on fitness best serves our ever-aging bodies, then pushing to a point of immense fatigue is a slippery slope. Particularly dangerous is exercise addiction.

All the king's horses and all the king's men can't put an addict's fitness together again.

One must ask some important questions: "Am I working hard because this will gain me the necessary muscle breakdown and/or cardiovascular stress?" vs. "Am I doing this because I'm stubborn and masochist and want to prove something to myself?" Be honest.

In other words, be cautious of forcing a conditioning workout if you crash and burn. Once you bonk, die... lay an egg.

Finish what you started if you can, sure, but only if is still safe in the realm of total work. For example, is the run mileage just too high? Burpee reps too many? Barbell weight too heavy? Plus, will you be sore and out of commission for the rest of the week? Time to be smart and give in.

A full week of quality work is more beneficial than one day of feigned glory.

As I've stated before, if a lifting session or post-workout skill work aren’t going well, then a new PR or your first muscle-up probably won’t happen on your 20th, 30th, or 100th attempt. Being persistent is one thing, being stupid is another. Stop. Cut your losses. Look ahead to the next day.

This is a plan of action where giving up is actually moving forward.

So off you go with brains and brawn. Never be chicken to check yourself before you wreck yourself.

- Scott, 6.22.2015

Weakness

Weakness

Oh, how we love to succeed.

If you've ever gotten even somewhat good at anything, you realize this-- be it a sport, a hobby, or any other skill out there. Cooking or playing guitar or throwing bags onto a slanted wooden box for points... whatever. Success is an instinctual desire. And when we get good at something in life it then becomes easier to do. It's therefore more likely we keep going in this progression to improve little nuances of that ability.  It becomes a strength. A talent.

The flipside of this is that we hate failure. We avoid weaknesses, at almost any cost.

Take your favorite lifts or exercises in CrossFit. But more importantly than those you like (because you can enjoy something you're not actually good at), focus on your strengths for a minute. The moves that just seem to come to you. What is it that allows you to be good in those areas? Are you simply built for that move? Is it similar to a movement you grew up doing? Two huge factors in looking at physical skill are genetic predisposition and exposure at a young age. Both brain development and physical development play an important role. You have been given certain traits inherent in your DNA, and you either had a chance to hone some skills while developing as a child... or you didn't.

So are you good at rowing because you're tall? Do push-ups come easy because of shorter arms? Are you a natural runner? Have a good deadlift frame? Strong legs for no apparent reason?

Now think about your least favorite lift or exercise movement. Your "goats," as they are called. Is it something you can do, but not well-- like squat, snatch, or row? Or is it something that you can't really do at all and always seems to elude you-- like pull-ups, handstand push-ups, or muscle-ups? Either way it doesn't much matter, but wrapping your mind around why it's a weakness can help. Insight to your lack of ability.

Think things through: why is it that you suck?

I know, I know... some of you are sitting there thinking you're not good at anything within CrossFit. A clumsy, uncoordinated mess handling a barbell like an ogre without thumbs. This may be true, mostly if you're a newcomer, but probably isn't the full truth. If you think you need to work on everything, realize we all do. Even if it's a declared strength. The best can still get better. And that's the beauty of a strength and conditioning program like CrossFit.

If you ignore the major items involved, you're destined for failure. And not the good kind. No excuses; look at the facts.  Maybe you're not so good at squatting because of your mobility issues. Maybe you're just not strong enough yet for muscle-ups.  Maybe coming to the gym only 2 to 3 times a week just doesn't allow you to develop time under the barbell in a snatch or overhead squat.

Or maybe, and this is only maybe, you're just trying to fool yourself and you haven't actually bothered to try to attack any weaknesses. You're just coasting. Hoping weaknesses don't pop up in your weekly workouts. Or worse, ensuring that they don't.  You tell yourself "I just can't do ____________." You're a little scared... or your ego gets in the way... "____________ are just hard, you know."

The path of least resistance is so easy to follow, it's like a slide.

So how do you rid yourself of those chinks in your armour?

Recommendations:

• Get in early, stay late. It doesn't have to be anything extremely time consuming... in fact, too much time working on goats is unnecessary. But it does need to be multiple times a week. Putting in some time before or after the WOD will do the trick. Either/or-- both are a good idea, but pick one. Beforehand means you're fresh and not mentally fatigued from a workout. Afterwards is also good in order to work through a movement while tired. A few quality minutes on the pull-up bar or with a PVC pipe hitting mobility will go a long way. Focus on form; move correctly.
• Limit frustration. If you have a chance to create your own workouts, put your weakness in the spotlight about once a week. But create workouts that will give you some success. For instance, pair a weakness with a strength in a conditioning couplet... this way you limit frustration, which can be mentally draining and counterproductive. If you don't write your own programming, then be sure to really embrace the days that focus on your goat. Don't cherry pick.
• A weakness might always be a weakness. In some cases, goats can be turned into a strengths for people. But usually, if a person has a movement that they struggle with, it'll be something they need to stay tuned in to for a lifetime. Know this and be okay with the fact that unlike other athletes you may always need that extra focus on certain movements. The work never stops.
• Build on previous sessions. Simple, but true: it's not going to happen all at once. You won't suddenly hit a #300 snatch or jump on the rings and nail an iron cross. Think in baby steps and build upon the previous goat session. Small steps backwards may even happen, but keep at it. Oftentimes something as skilled as double unders or rope climbs seem to evade people for a while, but take a look at how often you've worked at the move-- if time spent with the movement isn't happening, then of course a set back occurred. (See the first two bullet points.)  Use small successes in technique, mobility, etc. as stepping stones and soon you'll see a shift away from absolute hatred of your goat. Choose the wrench.

So, as the Words of the Week articles come to a close for Summer 2013, I hope you'll take this into consideration now and always-- Embrace your strengths, attack your weaknesses.

I wish everyone good luck in becoming better than yesterday in all that you do. And thanks for taking the time to read this summer.

- Scott 9.1.2013

Attitude

Kicking Ass

Attitude

We've all heard the quote, "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't-- you're right."

But what if that's wrong? What if we're wrong?

The quote represents how powerful the mind can be-- how important attitude is-- but it's not exactly that simple.

Sure, all that positive self-talk can overshadow negatives. You're in the middle of a workout or hitting a challenging lift or movement, and mentally you embrace it... the difficulty, the suck. You reject the possibility of failure. You succeed on the edge of defeat.

But sometimes you think you can, and you still fail. And there are other times you think you can't, but you were wrong. You actually could. And you did.

In past articles, we've examined nutrition, recovery, and much needed mental health time with friends and family. We've examined reasons for such success, some of them including commitment, motivation, and even embracing failure.

Yet another item to consider is one's attitude... how a positive outlook can overcome small speed bumps in training, but how a backhanded slap of reality is a useful tool as well.

Let's face it, not everything can come up roses each week in your fitness journey.

Telling yourself "That wasn't good enough" here and there can have its merits. Not accepting anything less than your best, and being able to call yourself out at times, can be just the thing your mind and body need. A swift kick in your own ass. Yes, admitting defeat here and there is fine; knowing when it's smart to throw in the towel, at least for the time being, is an overlooked attribute. Yet there's that fighting attitude that has to accompany it-- going home beaten, but pissed off.

"I may have had an off day but, dammit, I'm getting after it next time around."

Calvin knows

You can't teach this with coaching cues, really. It's not easy to sell... to explain to someone, "Get some aggression!" or "Fight through... stick with it!"  It even looks silly in writing. But it is a learned behavior. Skill and strength development can foster this attitude; it can grow in conjunction with experience, in 4/4 time with confidence. Once the mechanics of something like a lift or a gymnastic element are learned, we can see that glimmer in the eye... that fight festering behind pursed lips. It's this attitude that exposes itself during PRs, during that gritty time of a workout where the lungs are panting no way but the mind takes over.

And to go to that place, to reach that feeling of "I got this," it simply can't be understood by others who have never been there. It's a drive so natural yet so difficult to attain.

Magical? No. Just hard work and a fierce appetite for accomplishment.

It's when a shared attitude, a shared vision exudes in the gym that personal empowerment becomes a common characteristic. Drill-after-drill, rep-after-rep, this stuff matters. Evolved into the group attitude of such a community is an unrelenting lifestyle of devotion.  It's contagious, remember?

The Little Engine That Could

That said, let's make sure we differentiate having an attitude that's gritty and determined from one that's self-deprecating or even attention seeking. That type of behavior is draining for a community, and isn't fair to yourself in the long run. Cut out the negative talk when it's not necessary. Stop searching for validation if it's really not required. Put in your best, week after week, and it becomes increasingly apparent when your self-talk should be positive and when you need to simmer that smile and get down to business. Raw and unadulterated hard work breeds self-awareness.

So dive within. Find that flowery, positive thing to focus on when necessary. But check yourself in case some steel-toed hell is needed instead. Stay positive, and a little pissed, and reap the mental gains.

Positively pissed... it's there you can't go wrong.

- Scott, 8.18.2013