As i locked out the weight high above my head i staggered forward a little, steadied then gained control and stood tall. What a great feeling achieving what only a few minutes earlier seemed out of reach. It was the first time i had snatched just over 60kgs, under competition conditions… my first crossfit open, some 6 years ago.
How is it we can often perform at our best under real pressure, to be able to push a bit harder, find a little extra or achieve the unattainable ?
First of all you need to have a go, set a goal and be prepared to fail… sometimes publicly fail ! i think this is the reason many people will not try… failure ! many of us fear failure.
Moving forward, aiming high, setting goals however you wish to describe it, is important otherwise you are sitting still or maybe even going backwards.
Lets stick with sport for now … when i first decided to have a crack at triathlons i easily identified my biggest weakness, swimming. This would hold me back make it difficult, so i had to work on it. Firstly in the pool i built up to 1k or more, then in open water gradually improving, then rough water and once again at least 1k. Once i achieved my first triathlon i adjusted the goal and built up to 1.5k ocean swim which is much harder.
This is a longer term achievable and maneagable goal, you work towards it over time but what about when its forced upon you ? suddenly you need to step up you don’t have much choice, this really takes you from your comfort zone.
One of my first comps was in melbourne in a masters category amongst athletes similar age to myself. Thursday night i packed my gear ready for travel friday and saturdays comp, but as i got on the the web page and scanned through the info of the first workout as it was released i just felt flattened. The very first exercise was handstand pushups, standing on your hands against the wall arms fully extended, lowering until your head touches the floor then extending the arms to lockout. 12 was the number but what the hell i couldnt do any, sure i could do them with my feet supported but balancing against the wall was the problem… and this was a lifelong phobia as i really struggled with vertigo when upside down so this was difficult. I just felt like staying home it was like somebody had just shifted the goal posts and made the task impossible.
Fortunately the next day i refocussed and convinced myself that it was worth a try, just maybe i could do it. Saturday morning after some coaching from my colleagues and some clumsy attempts it was comp time and when the buzzer went off sure enough under pressure i achieved my first handstand pushup, in fact from memory i pumped out 8. A real joy to be able to celebrate amongst my friends but there were many people at the comp, spectators and athletes so failure also would have been seen by everybody. There is nothing to fear in failure and in this environment i know i wouldnt have felt humiliated.
My mate gaz and i competed a few times together in partners comps with our best result being 2nd at our local comp where we had worked hard through a number of workouts to be well placed for the final. We were too far behind the leaders to win but 2nd or 3rd was possible. A few months earlier we had led a comp going into the final but in the end crashed out and performed poorly to miss the placings completely.
Is this failure or just a lesson in growing stronger ? probably both !!
The final at our local comp i knew when the workout was released it would suit me, i was up for it and extremely focussed as i said to Gaz “we must make the podium” i knew we made a good team. However a few minutes in i could see he wasnt having a good final, this happens, sometimes it doesnt go to plan … i had to refocus and step up, do more. And that i did, we came in 2nd after a powerful finish, in fact our judge later congratulated me on my efforts how i stepped up when needed. This is teamwork … Gaz had carried some load earlier then when he was flat i had to step up, nobody complains we just do it.
Th crossfit open i mentioned right at the start is a worldwide comp over 5 weeks where everybody competes and logs their score online with the best in the world going onto the worldwide games.
My first year was where i snatched just over 60kgs the first time, i have now lifted heavier but at the time it was an achievement and ive seen this many times where people have stepped up through a need. A need to complete a task to move on in the comp… i had snatched 30 reps at a lighter weight but still had plenty of time, so to advance i needed to lift the heavier weight.
This is a regular occurrence for many athletes where the workout when released has something they need to do that is out of reach, but through a need and determination they get it done.
Its very rarely a fluke, they have completed the training and worked on technique, its just they sometimes need that little extra incentive. Or maybe its because their peers are there to cheer them on, it makes a difference. But with so many people around there is also the real possibility of failure ….public failure.
You need people around that will help you progress, training with athletes in their twenties and thirties pushes you harder, they dont understand you cant do it, they cant see a reason not to attempt something, to go beyond your comfort zone.
Others, in fact many around us will stifle us bring us down, they dont understand… i guess the real strength comes from managing this situation. Ignoring the negatives and moving on to better. Better than we were previously.
Average Jim 