I know this sounds weird, but my best ideas always come to me in the shower. The other day, whilst (yes, I said, "whilst") suds-ing it up, I had a thought: I'm going to make it a point to shoot for a PR in something EVERY time I train; not just whenever I'm "feeling it". Not only when I'm having a great day and all is well. But EVERY. D@MN. DAY. It's only been a couple of days since I implemented this new policy for myself but so far it's been working as I bested my 2 rep max hang power clean by 20lb on Wednesday (275lb), totally pillaged and plundered at least 3 more full plates worth of Thanksgiving dinner this year than I've ever eaten on Thursday, and beat my previous best "Filthy 50" time by like 3 minutes today (18:24). I'm not saying that from now on I'm gonna PR on all my benchmark WODs or crush my record numbers on the primary lifts every day. But if I routinely make it a point to find something- anything- to improve on each day, I know I'm going to continue to see progress. L-Sit for time? Yes. Today I'm gonna beat my previous best time. Consecutive double unders? I'm jumping rope til my arms fall off. Squat 2.5 more pounds than I did last time? You betch'ya. And why not? Why not attack every training session with the mentality that I'm going to guarantee myself a victory somewhere, somehow? Whatever it takes. At my CF Football cert last year, CFFB founder, John Welbourne said something that has always resonated with me. He said, "I hate it when I hear people say they can't do something. Whenever one of my HS or college football athletes starts whining about how they just can't squat this or deadlift that amount of weight I tell'em, 'I bet you'd lift it if I put you in a cage, threw a padlock on the door, and said you can't come out until you've lifted it.' " Along the lines of this type of thinking, during my workouts I'll sometimes imagine myself having to fight for my life or lift a heavy object off of a loved one. Here recently, during the final 400m run of a hero WOD I actually imagined myself trying to escape from the enemy in order to survive. Trust me, it made me run faster. I've had people tell me this kind of emergent thinking isn't healthy because it elicits emotional stress. Poppycock, poopypants. Life is all about how you condition yourself to respond to emotional and physical stresses. I, for one, like the idea of placing a ton of pressure on myself in my daily training environment so that on game day or in an actual emergency, I'm prepared. My point is: Don't sell yourself short or cut yourself off at the knees by placing limits on your potential in any aspect of your life. You want to start winning? Start thinking like a winner, wiener. Don't think, "Gee, I hope I'm able to pick up that bar, run that mile, finish all 5 rounds, etc..." Rather, think, "I'm GOING to do it." B-b-b-b-but what if I don't do it?!? What if I fail? First off, stop giving yourself the option of failure. Secondly, whether it's right now, tomorrow, or three years from now, it's only once you've stopped TRYING that you have you successfully FAILED. Keep swinging, slugger...the greatest breakthrough's in life and in sport sometimes come right after the times of greatest adversity.
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