Battling the Mind (Breakdown or Breakthrough)

Battling the Mind (Breakdown or Breakthrough)

Posted by MiguelGarza on April 13, 2010, 10:58pm

Breakdown or Breakthrough? I’ve found that these are the two results of a CrossFit workout. Oddly though, these results aren’t a product of the workout, but rather a mindset established before the clock starts. Breakdown is the little guy in your head that tells you it’s too heavy, it’s too difficult, it’s too exhausting, or it hurts too much. Breakthrough is the little guy on your shoulder that tells you “I’m going to finish today, I’m going to try my best, and I’m not going to give up!”

Through observation and learned experiences, I’ve found that training the mind is just as important as training the body. This is because the body can only do what the mind allows it to do. Sit and think of a workout that you felt you could have done faster, or with more weight, and I’m sure you can remember the moment where you decided mentally that you weren’t going to push it. I know it happens to me every time I workout, I think to myself, why am I putting myself through this pain. The answer to this question determines how I finish.

You see, the mind is just like the body, it has capacities, and just like the body, itcan be trained to become stronger. After last year’s Regional, I knew there was something I was missing. I had trained my body to what I thought was it’s limit, but I truly hadn’t. Breakthrough, (remember the little guy on my shoulder?) hadn’t been found. Each WOD was a battle between my mental and physical capacities, and each time my mind won out and told my body to quit.

Don’t over think, take yourself lightly, and take a minute to realize that the work we do is fun. Everyday we struggle with one another to build each other up. As we continue to build our physical capacity, just take a breath to get your mind right, and you will be on track to achieve greatness. Breakthrough mentally.

Miguel A. Garza
G7 Athletics Co-Owner
CrossFit Austin Trainer