Let’s face it, doing a met-con has many emotions that come along with it. First you look at the workout, you become excited and terrified in the same moment. Some workouts look “fun” on the board when others look intimidating and challenging. Sometimes those are the days that you are “sick” and don’t go to class! During a Met-con your mind goes through a lot of emotions. Some of us thrive off of competition and the 3,2,1 GO !! Others just workout for social or just to have fun !! All reasons are great but maybe you can identify yourself with one of these mental stages:
1.)The IDEALIST: I will DO this UNBROKEN !!! You are the one who sees a workout, watches a video to break it down and attends class ready to kill it !
2.) The OPTIMIST: Watch me WIN this ! You look around, find your “mental”opponent, hear 3,2,1, and BEAST MODE happens.
3.) The REALIST: WOW, this just feels heavy today. You have that reality check with yourself, realizing that maybe you are biting off more than you can chew with the weight you choose. You change your scheme of going unbroken and now just want to get through it.
4.) The POSITIVE thinker: “Life is Beautiful”, you try to make light of the situation that you are feeling like you might die but chose to think of eating brownies instead.
5.) The PESSIMIST: I just want to CRY! Yup we have all been there. You are in the middle of the workout and just break down. It happens.
6.) The PHILOSOPHER: I will separate me from the ego. You start to convince yourself that it’s just you vs. you. That little voice inside your head starts to repeat mantras to get you through the wod. You try to make peace with yourself that maybe choosing to go unbroken was a bad idea.
7.) The WOD VICTIM: I am officially dying. You hit that motivational wall. You see black, your lying on your back thinking you can’t move and do anything else. You now became a victim to that wod however you are not dying you are just exhausted.
8.) The RATIONALIST: You are not dying you are just fatigued. As you are lying there in a victim state you realize your not dying and you might be capable of doing more. You slowly compose yourself and move again.
9.)The NEW HOPE: YES the final round is in sight. Your second wind kicked in and you feel confident that you can move forward and finish strong ! You use the motivation from within and now rise to the challenge.
10.) The SURVIVOR : You made it through. Now you reassess the current situation. You did not die however you felt like you would. You ask yourself WHY you would do this to yourself and then show up tomorrow for another beat down!
WOD DONE !!!
Now ask yourself where you fit in this ?? How does your mind work during a met-con and how can you start to change your mindset to become a better WOD master ? Find that inner beast mode and just go for it !
Resources
http://www.boxrox.com/10-mental-stages-of-a-crossfit-metcon-workout/