I'm coming up for air, deeply inhaling sweet oxygen. Little stars are dancing at the edge of my vision, sparkling messengers of the effort put forth. My grip hurts and the calluses on my hand threaten to catch on the bar and tear. My hands are so beat up these days. Pushing those thoughts aside, I once again grip the bar and heave on it. For a second, it refuses to budge, then slowly I overcome it's inertia and deadlift it. I'm so aware of how heavy it is and that makes me feel a bit scared and intimidated. Can I keep lifting this for ten rounds? I push that aside, too. Those kinds of thoughts only lead to doubt and defeat. There is only one way to keep lifting this damn thing and it's to visualize doing it. I love Churchill's speech: "If you are going to go through hell, keep going.".
I find it's best to get in touch with my inner bastard and move the bar like I mean it. Clutching it weakly and entertaining thoughts of how hard it will be is like putting a spoonful of sugar in your mouth. The taste is sickening and it will leave you feeling weak. But strongly envision the obstacle giving way to you and setting micro-goals of making it to five reps helps. One. Two. Three. Unnngg! Four. Five. Fuuuck! Six. Seven. Jesus! Eight. Nine. Ten. Bang!
I love dropping the weights and walking away. See you soon, mutherfucker. Hopping on the rower is like a vacation after that. I'm using this 500 metres as a rest break and the rowing motion is helping my back stay limber between lifts. I can't believe I have five more rounds to go. Snarling, I grab that thought and wrestle it to the ground. You are not welcome here. Picking up the barbell again, and finding that it is still heavy, I fight on. I'm taking breaks at the 5 rep mark. I didn't want to do that but the alternative is to drop a few pounds off and I don't want to do that either. It's such a hard choice to make when you get into this position. Do I honour my commitment to the weight I started with, or do I back it off so I can do the required reps without rest pauses. I suspect the right thing to do is drop some plates off but I don't. The inner bastard has a strong ego. We're still working things out.
What do you do?
10 Rounds
250m row
10 Deadlifts 225lbs *last five rounds were broken into two sets of five
6 comments:
Ah, gotta love that inner bastard eh? This reminds me of our conversation over a beer last night....oh wait a second, it was probably that beer that caused you to break up the last sets...LOL
Good job buddy!
I'm sure it was. LOL.
hey Brandt, I agree with you. I go heavier even if it takes me a bit longer. Once again, awesome post.
Love your posts always. I say finish what you started, but remember you better pick that weight knowing you can not let your form suck halfway through. If your ego is gonna win the battle and your form is sucking you are just asking to be sidelined like Sterling. Go heavy with great form from start to finish, or start lighter with great form from start to finish. FORM IS EVERYTHING! :) just my two cents.
One more thing...I am not in any way implying you don't have great form. I just think the EGO can be a nasty little bastard sometimes. :)
I've been visiting Crossfit.com quite often to watch the exercise videos. Some of it is knowledge, and like you say, the other is dedication to doing it right.
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