The Mental Dread of Counting Down From 3
MAY 12, 2021 | WORDS BY FRANKIE RUSSO
Oh those dreaded words – 3, 2, 1, GOOOO!!!
How can four simple words hold so much power over us?! When I was in college at Gonzaga University we had a sports psychologist come and talk to the rowing team. He talked to us about how our brain can stimulate our bodies minutes, hours, days, or even a week before a big race. Some people thrive in this stimulation and it appropriately prepares their bodies to perform at peak efficiency while others have the opposite effect…they are not able to perform because their body is exhausted from being in this constant state of stimulation.
He also talked about the power of positive self-talk. We’ve all heard someone loudly say, “Oh god this is going to be horrible,” just 10 seconds before the start of the workout. Hell I’m guilty of saying that, but maaaaan does that set such a challenging tone for everyone in the room. They hear one person voice their negative-self talk and it in turn makes our internal dialogue louder and louder until we have lost the mental battle.
So before anything has even happened, you have put yourself at a disadvantage. You are telling yourself that this is going to be hard and that you are not going to have a good time doing it. Mentally the battle is lost, and without your mind on your side the body will not perform as well as you want it. It is OK to acknowledge that a workout is going to be tough, but giving it a positive spin can help you get over the mental hurdle of your own self-doubt.
The Positive Spin
Instead of: “This workout is going to suuuuuuuuuuuck!”
Try: “Alright, this is going to be a long grind. I know the Push-ups and Run will slow me down so I need to conserve a little more energy before those movements so I don’t get bogged down.”
Instead of: “That’s so many Pull-ups, I don’t think I can do that many and they will be even harder after the Deadlifts.”
Try: “Dang, that’s a lot of Pull-ups, but Deadlifts are my freaking jam. I think if I blast away at the DL’s and break up the Pull-ups into set’s of 5 I can maintain a good pace.”
Instead of: “I don’t know if I'll be able to finish this workout.”
Try: “I’m going to get as far into this workout as possible and get as close to finishing as possible!”
I know it might be easy to roll your eyes at these examples and dismiss them and that is because THEY ARE HARD TO PUT INTO PRACTICE.
It is so much easier to listen to that inner voice that’s telling us how hard this is going to be instead of saying to that negative voice, “That's gonna be a no for me dawg, I’m looking for that positivity.”
I challenge all of you to listen to that inner voice telling you this will be hard or you won’t be able to complete the workout and meet it with the understanding that while yes you will be challenged, if you frame things in a more constructive and positive light you will be more successful then if you just gave into the negativity.
Get after it NCFIT.
