Thsnks to Michael Brian Photography for the pictures!

Today’s guest post comes to us from Jon A., a team member of the Dirty 30s, who had his first experience competing at the most recent Summer Shakedown.  Read on for Jon’s competition strategies/tips:

So now that I am a seasoned veteran of 1 competition, I feel the duty to impart my overarching wisdom to others that may be competing in the Intrepid Games coming up. The Summer Shakedown was my first actual competition, and for those that didn’t make it out, it was incredible! I grew up playing competitive baseball, and this was the first time in a long time that I was able to experience that spirit of competition again. There were great athletes, awesome music, and a strong family feeling knowing that like minded individuals were coming together to do something they love. Aside from the external excitement surrounding the event, there were quite a few internal epiphanies that are worth sharing:

1. A competition will expose your weaknesses. It’s easy to fly under the radar during the WODS at the gym each week, but a competition will expose your weaknesses, both mental and physical. This is a good thing, and arguably the best thing! Albeit uncomfortable, putting yourself through that discomfort will help you face your weaknesses, and motivate you towards overcoming them. I started Crossfit a little over a year ago, and was (willingly) peer pressured into competing in the Crossfit Open; needless to say, I got crushed by the workouts. BUT, that provided fuel for my fire and signaled that I wasn’t working as hard as I thought I was during the WODs. This helped elevate my training by changing my mindset from just showing up to the workouts, to showing up with purpose and intention to improve. Each day is now a chance to get better and keep pushing the goals higher and higher. Aaaaand, speaking of goals…

2. Have goals and work consistently to accomplish them. You don’t magically learn how to do muscle ups or pistols on competition day, so don’t expect miracles. It is consistent, methodical training that will make you successful.

3. You can’t control what others are doing around you, you can only control yourself. This is not an excuse to not try hard, it is a reality. Don’t worry about beating the person next to you, because if they trained better than you, they will beat you. Good for them. Focus instead on performing to the best of your abilities and beating yourself (and your last performance). Try to push through the preconceived mental barriers that you’ve already set for yourself, and you will always surprise yourself!

4. You will get an adrenaline rush. It’s gnarly. There is this phenomenon in competitions that people PR all the time. What I love most about it is that the adrenaline rush doesn’t make you superhuman, it makes you forget to think your usual negative thoughts. It shuts off that part of the brain that keeps telling you “My arms are sore” or “my tummy is a little uncomfortable” or “You’ve never done this many reps before, you should stop now”. You instead focus solely on the task at hand, and get into “Do” mode… “Do 10 pullups” or “It’s only 5 more thrusters” or “Just do 50 double unders”. Can you imagine what it would be like if you operated in this mode? Or, for that matter, have you ever operated this way?

5. Don’t throw form out the window, it will hurt you. I did that. It’s not fun. When you get tired, it will be tempting to just make that anguish face and do whatever it takes to move the weight, but always keep proper form in mind.

6. Celebrate! Woot, you finished a competition! Time to treat yo self! Seriously, make sure you plan something awesome for Saturday night, like a pizza and beer night. I loooooove pizza and beer together. They should get married. I looked forward to Rock and Brews for 2 weeks straight, and even deprived myself of pizza and beer for 2 weeks so that it would be even more rewarding after the competition. Go big Saturday night to celebrate.

Lastly, never forget that these competitions are so much better when shared with family, friends, and loved ones, so make sure to invite others to cheer you on! And if you’re not competing, show up to support others! There is quite a bit of down time in between heats, so spend time getting to know the people that you see for an hour each day but don’t take the time to talk to. Happy training, I will see you soon!

WOD 09.19.2013 

Mobility: Glutes and hips

Skills: Free time for CFI Games skillwork

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