“Unless you know who you are, you will always be vulnerable.”
– Dr. Phil
Can you believe I’m quoting Dr. Phil? I can’t. But I do love that quotation, and I do believe it’s true. Lately I’ve been dealing with some personal issues (who isn’t?) and an injury, and frankly it’s begun to affect my ability to remain focused on what I need to do. I’ve had more brat attacks in my training lately then I care to admit – kicking the ground, throwing things, the double stomp, wall kicks, you name it. Failed lifts and crappy performance will do that to you as an athlete.
Sometimes Life Gets to You
Combating a hand injury coupled with being overwhelmed in work and personal life makes training with a purpose a damn struggle. I can’t focus. I can’t get my mind into my lifts, which is completely not like me. And that makes everything worse. I feel like less of “myself” when I feel disconnected from my training. So on top of my personal stress and my injury, failed lifts and simply “going through the movements” in my workouts make me feel even more disheartened, like I’m becoming a really bad version of myself.
I know we’ve all been there. All of us. There’s just no escaping those periods in your life when you are distracted, disconnected, or let down by an inability to focus on your goals or to perform well in training. Sometimes staying centered is hard.
Maybe you are dealing with an injury. Maybe someone did or said something hurtful. Maybe you have been left alone, are feeling ignored, or are struggling to figure some things out. Maybe you’re struggling with your diet or your training. Maybe work is getting to you. Maybe your life is shifting. Maybe you feel stuck or under pressure. Maybe you feel judged, rejected, alone, or invisible.
I’ve come to realize no matter who you are, sometimes life gets to you. Even if you’re an athlete and your training is your life. Even if you think you’re immune to it, any and all of these circumstances can upset your personal self-belief and disrupt your focus on your goals.
What’s the Solution?
So what the hell do you do? I’ve found self reflection works best for me. Take yourself away from the personal stress, the work pressure, the need to feel like you’re hitting certain weights, losing fat at this speed or that, or hitting certain training goals. Just step back, take a deep breath, and get your center back. It works. Trust me. I’ve been doing it the last few days, and I already am starting to feel better. I feel rejuvenated and centered on doing what I need to do to be my best. So if you feel off, take some time to get back in touch with yourself and find your center. Take a step back and a step out and reconnect with who you are and why you’re doing what you’re doing.
At the end of the day, things can’t be perfect all the time. Training through personal struggle or adapting around an injury is simply part of living. We can be overjoyed when life goes our way, depressed when it doesn’t, or we can establish a sort of steadfast peace with which to approach all of life’s circumstances, both good and bad.
Knowing yourself helps establish that peace. If you know who you are and you believe in your abilities, then life (whether good or bad) can’t do much to upset that. Circumstances affect us only if we allow them to. Injuries only hold us back if we refuse to adapt around them. No one can shatter our self-belief without our permission, and life can only rock you if you are standing on unsteady ground.
So be strong in yourself. Be firm in who you are and what you want and confident that you already have what you need to succeed inside you.
“Do you know who you are? Don’t ask who you are – act on who you are. Action alone delineates and defines you.” – Witold Gombrowicz
Training Log
5:30am Training Session
20 minute AMRAP
- Bike .25 mile/rest 30 seconds
- Row 200m/rest 30 seconds
- Sprint 200m/rest 30 seconds
(I made it six rounds plus the bike and row of the seventh round.)
- 3×5 Dragon flags
- 50 V-ups
- 50 Supermans
P.M. Training Session
Aerobic:
- Run 1600m @ 80% with 20 second pace bursts every 60 seconds
- Row 1600m @ 80% with 10 hard pulls every 60 seconds
- 50 L-hangs
Mobility: Lat warm up, kettlebell halo to get my shoulders going, bench T-spine, inchworms, lunges with a reach, some foam rolling, PVC pipe dislocates, banded shoulder work.
Weightlifting:
- Power clean + Push jerk @ 75% 1-1-1-1-1
- Snatch from low blocks to heavy single then 80% of that for 2 Snatches + 1 OH Squat x5
- Clean with pause at knee @70%, @75%, @80% x4, @65%, @60%
- Snatch @ 65% EMOM 3x
NO MISSES!
Strength:
Strict overhead press 6×2
EMOM x10:
- Even minutes: 4 Strict pull ups
- Odd minutes: 6 weighted pistols (3 each side)
Conditioning/Capacity:
A. 400m Farmers walk with dumbbells and a weighted vest. Weight to be at least half your bodyweight, which for me is 62.5lb. I only had 40lb dumbbells, so I went with 80lbs. I wore a 25lb weighted vest. Everytime you set the weight down, 5 burpees. (This was hard. I realized my grip sucks!)
B. “Karen’s Got Issues”
3 Rounds:
- 10 Wall balls @ 20lbs
- 15 Wall balls @ 14 lbs
- 25 Wall balls @ 10 lbs
(Begin again with the 20lb ball)
Accessory:
- 100 double unders for time
- Tabata L sit 15:15, 8 rounds
- Bent over barbell rear delt row 2×10-12
- Banded face pull 1×50
EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to the athlete journal of Allison Moyer. Allison is a nationally ranked NPC Figure Athlete, nationally and internationally published fitness model, an avid CrossFit athlete, BSN, C.P.T, C.S.N, C.N.W.C, and owner of Alli Fitness Systems and Predator Diet. Read all about Allison’s unique approach to training and diet every other week.
