Dear CrossFit, Expectations and Turning Off The Brain
When today’s WOD appeared on Wodify, I have to admit that I threw up a little in my mouth. It looked awful. We are currently in a “test week” at the box, before embarking on a strength phase, which will be followed by retesting. Which means we’ll have to do this same WOD again in about three months. I am already feeling the bile return. But expectations may not agree with reality.
The WOD was listed as: 500m row for time. Okay, rowing 500m all out sucks, but it’s over pretty quick. Rest 2 minutes. Row 2k for time. Not so okay. Rowing 2k for time sucks, and it’s not over pretty quick. Rest 2 minutes. 20 minutes to find 1RM for both snatch and deadlift. Can someone please explain to me how we’re supposed to lift while lying on our backs in a puddle of sweat after rowing 2k for time? This was not looking good. But it didn’t end. I was certain the coach had combined two days of WODs into one. When I asked him he just smirked. So, after the lifting (assuming you were able to swim up out of your puddle of bodily fluids), there was four minutes AMRAP burpees, 1 minute rest, 3 minutes AMRAP pullups, 1 minute rest, 2 minutes AMRAP body weight back squat (I can’t clean my body weight yet so I knew this would be a 2 minute rest) followed by 1 minute AMRAP STO where you picked your own weight.
My expectations were that I would get about three or four tries at the snatch, but would seriously underperform after getting gassed on the rowing. Same with the deadlift. I’m approaching the mythical, unofficial, perhaps only in my own mind world record for the deadlift for ex-patriate Canadians living in Ohio with hip replacements whose names start with J, but I figured today would be an under-achieving day after the rowing and then flailing at snatches. Then the AMRAPS? Oh this was really going to hurt. Like the dentist ran out of novacaine and has the DT shakes hurt. So, as an exercise I decided today would be the day to experiment with “turning off the brain.”
Turned out that turning off the brain was pretty easy to do. The rowing handled it quite nicely thank you very much. Luckily there was someone else to help write down the numbers, which I am surprised, thrilled, and extremely confused to report were much better than I expected.
PR on the 500m row (1:42)
not a PR on the 2k row (8:55)
PR on the snatch (165, this was a split power snatch that got pressed out at the end)
not a PR on the deadlift (455)
well below expected numbers of burpees (30)
well above expected number of pullups (24)
as expected zero reps of body weight back squat (had to clean it from the floor, no racks).
1 STO at 185#. The room was still spinning from the pullups, so this wasn’t wise.
What’s the lesson learned? Your expectations can destory your performance if you let it. Turning off the brain may be just the thing to do when faced with the fear of your expectations.
The really sad, painful, and hurtful afternote to today’s WOD is that I hit a PR on the sntach after rowing and, given a few more attempts probably would have PR’d on the deadlift. Does this mean that I have to row to exhaustion before lifting from now on? That’s bollocks, total bollocks.
I wonder what tomorrow’s WOD will be…
