Dear CrossFit, 13.2 = Keep Moving, And Don’t Rupture Your Achilles

13.2 is going to produce carnage.  Based on last year’s bloodbath, as many as 3% of the competitors are going to rupture or injure their Achilles tendon.  Don’t be one of them.  You are allowed to step up, you are allowed to step down.  YOU ARE ALLOWED TO STEP DOWN!!!!

13.1 had clear step boundaries built in.  We all knew what we could and couldn’t do.  Even though there were 17 minutes, many of the athletes, nearly 50%, were done after 40-30-30, somewhere around 10-11 minutes.  Another huge % were done after 40-30-30-30-20.  13.2 has no such boundaries.  We all get to suffer for all ten minutes.

5-10-15, AMRAP in ten minutes.  This is one where every rep really will count, and where every rep will count the same.  But where every rep will get harder and harder and harder.  Your body can go for ten minutes.  You know it can, I know it can, CrossFit knows it can, your coaches know it can, even Bob Dole knows it can.  You can move for ten minutes.  But will you….?

This is one where mental control and toughness is the key.  Yes the 115/75# is going to get heavy after a couple rounds.  Yes that 24/20 is going to start looking like Mt. Everest after a few rounds.  Mentally you are going to want to drop the bar.  DON’T DROP THE BAR.  Mentally you are going to want to take extra breaths between the box jumps (or step ups for me).  DON’T.  This is the WOD to see how hard you can go for ten minutes.  Can you control your internal dialogue in a fashion that will allow you to keep moving for all ten minutes?

Here are some ideas about controlling your internal dialogue so that you can keep moving.  You need to have three swing thoughts: one for the shoulder to overhead, one for the deadlift, one for the boxes.  These need to be positive swing thoughts. (“Swing thoughts” is borrowed from when I used to teach golf, where mental control was essential.  You had to have ONE thought in your mind for each type of golf swing.  Just one).

Here are some example swing thoughts:

shoulder to overhead, 5-4-3-2-1.

it’s simple, it’s counting down so you can see the end, and it focusses you on just the shoulder to overhead.  One excellent way to get through ten minutes is to get through each member of the triplet without thinking about the next triplet.

deadlifts: hold onto the bar, hold onto the bar, hold onto the bar

it’s simple, and it keeps your hands on the bar.  if you need to breath, do it with your hands on the bar, if you need to puke, do it with your hands on the bar.  keeping your hands on the bar will cause the ten reps to be condensed into one item to be completed instead of ten.

boxes: up and straight, step down, up and straight, step down, up and straight, step down

This is a little more complicated, but then again you have 15 to do per round.  You don’t want to do 16, so that’s why there is “straight” in the first part.  You absolutely want to make sure you stand up straight while you are on the box.  The mental impact of a no-rep is crushing.  Unless you are an elite athlete who knows they can rebound, STEP DOWN.  Today is not the day to try to find out if you can rebound.  Today is not the day to have your Open end because of an Achilles injury.  STEP DOWN!!!!

These are just some example phrases that you can have in your mind during your ten minutes of 13.2.  You know you have internal dialogue when you WOD.  You know you make mental deals with yourself when you WOD.  By pre-programming your internal dialogue you can make the deal come out in your favor.

I’m interested in hearing how you control your internal dialogue when you WOD, and what your “swing thoughts” are going to be for 13.2

I wonder what tomorrow’s WOD will be…