I recently attended a MovNat Level 1 certification. Our instructor opened the weekend with a question: How do you MovNat? We proceeded to learn how MovNat uses natural human movements like crawling, climbing, balancing, lifting, carrying, running, and throwing to develop greater physical competency. He then asked the same question, but this time with a different emphasis: “How do you MovNat?”

I had no idea. The question caught me off guard, and that sent my type-A personality into a frenzy. Should I know? How will I know? Am I good enough to know? The thought of having to define my own movement path was overwhelming.

However, as we progressed into the weekend, I realized that my apprehension was self-imposed and I was staring at a chance to embrace fitness in a whole new light to reach a level of health that I never thought possible. I just needed a place to start.

We Need to Move

It is estimated that the average person spends 9-10 hours a day sitting, which is so much inactivity that even a 60-minute workout can’t counteract the negative effects. Considering that nearly half of Americans never engage in any vigorous exercise lasting more than 10 minutes per week, it is clear that most people simply need to move.

Developing your movement practice doesn’t have to be weird. Running around barefoot climbing trees certainly isn’t for everyone, but natural movement practice doesn’t have to mimic any preconceived notions of what you think it should look like. You make the rules. Don’t underestimate the power of your “weirdness” to inspire someone else to shift their view of what healthy movement looks like. Maybe your tree-climbing lunch break adventure will motivate someone to move, and that could trigger a domino effect to help make natural movement a more normal part of society.

If you need inspiration on how to get started with natural movement, give these activities a shot. If any of them speak to you, stick with it and see how your outlook on fitness and health changes or evolves. Movement should make you feel good, so start simple:

• Crawl for a few minutes a day.
• Do a few air squats while waiting in line for coffee.
• Try groundwork instead of traditional mobility work.
• Balance on a curb while walking the dog.
• Practice handstands.
• Sit on the ground while watching television.
• Walk barefoot in grass.
• Hang from monkey bars with one hand.
• Play catch with your friends in a park.
• Climb a tree during your lunch break.

A playground is an opportunity to play, explore, and tap into your child-like mindset. [Photo courtesy of MovNat]

Break Your Routine

Integrating more movement into your life doesn’t have to be complicated. Getting over the fear of doing something that society deems socially awkward is the hard part. Is it weird to sit in the bottom of a squat while you wait in line at the post office? Depends on your perspective.

Maybe something simple like balancing on the curb while walking your dog sparks a bit of playful joy in your otherwise mundane morning routine. Take that feeling and run with it. What do you have to lose? When you find movement that makes you feel good, lean into it and let your movement path unfold. Too often we become slaves to our fitness routine, pushing performance and under-prioritizing recovery.

How often do you tune into what your body really needs? Do you attend to the feedback your body gives you before, during, and after a workout? Do you honor your body when it craves stretching instead of a brutal kettlebell workout, or do you grab the steel and swing? Your body allows you to do amazing things, and it deserves to be heard. If you aren’t willing to listen and give back, you are inviting injury, stalled progress, and frustration.

Make New Friends and Keep the Old

You don’t have to divorce the barbell or quit CrossFit when you get into natural movement. If those activities bring you joy, by all means, continue. There is absolutely no reason to replace your first love. It’s not about sacrificing one for the other, but when you ignore the thousands of ways your body was designed to move, you miss a huge opportunity to expand your physical range to help you evolve into a more well-rounded athlete.

Natural movement is a complement to traditional strength training and translates across disciplines. For example, crawling is a safe and effective way to build shoulder stability and overall core strength. My physical therapist literally had me crawl my way back to health after a back injury. Climbing trees or hanging from monkey bars will do wonders for your grip, and having a daily conversation with your spine through basic articulation movements will translate into a better position for squats and overhead lifts.

Give yourself permission to explore movement without judgment and you might notice more breathing room opening up in other areas of your life, including your preferred fitness discipline. Let go of the self-imposed pressures, and let your fitness evolve naturally. Health doesn’t subscribe to periodized protocols. The journey is long, and when you remove the pressure from fitness, you may become more adept to handle life’s stresses with clarity and focus. Planning and organizing plus allowing results in balance, and a more fit version of you.

Reprogram Your Fitness Worldview

Movement is so much more than reps, sets, and pounds. It’s not something you only do inside a gym on the count of 3, 2, 1. When you let go of the idea that fitness has to fit into a neat and tidy box, you reprogram your view of the world and uncover opportunities all around you to add movement and play into your life. Own your movement practice and own your individuality. Moving with intention has the ability to create freedom regardless of perceived physical obstacles.

Constantly demanding more from your body makes fitness unsustainable. Lasting health is about nourishing and connecting to what your body allows you to do in this moment. What is your priority?

Ready to Learn More?

Beyond GPP: The New Model of Performance Traning

The post Start Your Movement Practice appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Yes, that is a group of choreographed barbell dancers. The group is known as the Rush Chicks, and they performed the above routine at a recent Rush Club Nation event as entertainment that occurred in between men’s and women’s events.

Rush Club Nation is a slick and commercial functional fitness throwdown showcased on a premier stage. The event has attracted CrossFit veterans like Elizabeth Akinwale, Josh Bridges, and Annie Sakamoto who have participated in the intense, head-to-head competitions.

But even more impressive than the CrossFit heavy hitters are the adaptive athletes who grace the stage. Rush Club aims to “create and tell compelling stories of the human spirit…Stories about how people are tested, how they overcome enemies both inside and out.” The adaptive athlete division does just that.

Adaptive athletes are split into lower- or upper-adaptive categories, and do all of the same movements as the non-adaptive athletes – thrusters, muscle ups, squats, wall balls, pull ups, and presses – only they manage the added complexity of being in a wheelchair, having only one arm, or walking with a prosthetic leg. Their grit and determination comes through in spades, and their performances leave spectators feeling motivated to challenge their own physical capabilities.

Rush Club Nation strives to inspire and show that ability is not defined by perceived physical limitations. So why is their important message tainted by sexualizing the event with dancing eye candy? Aren’t the competitors’ impressive demonstrations of athleticism entertainment enough?

I get it, sex sells and it’s all a part of the spectacle, but in an industry that promotes strength as beauty, are booty shorts, strappy sports bras, or sexy dance routines truly necessary? The double standard is a real problem that needs attention so that our daughters, sisters, or nieces don’t grow up thinking that they have to look or act a certain way in regards to displaying their athletic abilities.

What are the odds that we’ll see something like this at the next CrossFit Games or GRID season? In all seriousness, we’re curious what you think about the Rush Chicks. Drop us a line in the comments.

The post Barbell Dancing appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

If so, Nerd Fitness was created just for you.

Is attending Comic Con on your bucket list? Are you glued to the television each week for the commentary on “After the Thrones?” Do you daydream about what your super power would be if you were a superhero?

If so, Nerd Fitness was created just for you.

Steve Kamb, a self-proclaimed “goober,” started Nerd Fitness in 2009 as a way to “help desk jockeys, nerds, and average Joes level-up their lives.” The idea is to treat life as a game, going on quests to not only improve your fitness, but also your life.

Nearly 300,000 people have subscribed to the “rebellion,” and community members can pay to become part of The Academy, an online fitness program that is designed like a video game. “Rebels” earn points to move up to the next level by successfully completing workouts or making smart nutrition choices.

More than 20,000 people from across the globe have joined The Academy and connect through active online forums and in local meet ups. In September, members can unite in Georgia for Camp Nerd Fitness for a five-day fitness, health, and wellness adventure.

The most striking feature of Nerd Fitness isn’t the creative platform, but the creation of the vastly supportive community for people who otherwise were fitness misfits.

In a recent Washington Post article, one member commented that Nerd Fitness is the “only online space where she hasn’t been body-shamed or bullied for being a woman who’s into fantasy and anime.”

Every game needs a cast of characters, and in Nerd Fitness, there is someone for everyone. The site identifies six role-playing style guilds based on athletic abilities.

For example, Assassins are into activities like parkour and people in the Adventurer Guild like to hike, rock climb, and travel. Online and at live meet-ups, members take pride in creating an environment that is free from judgment.

Kamb encourages members to design a life that feels authentic and fulfilling. He emulates this principle through his own “Epic Quest of Awesomeness.”

In addition to fitness-related goals like complete five strict muscle ups, Kamb’s bucket list includes “Rock Star Goals,” like write and record an original song, and “Business Goals,” like become a published author, which he recently completed.

Nerd Fitness is a refreshing approach to the traditional workout mentality. When people can find an activity that puts a smile on their face and gets results, their method doesn’t really matter.

Like I’ve said before, life is too short to not have fun with fitness. Find your tribe and own your weirdness.

The post Nerd Fitness: Own Your Weirdness appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

According to the International Data Corporation, the fitness-tracker market has seen a triple-digit growth this year, up 171.6% from 2014.

Glassman continued, “There’s some incredible technology. It’s amazing to have a wearable that knows what workout you’re doing and what reps you’re doing, but it turns out I know what workout I’m doing and what reps I’m counting, too.”

While Glassman may be aware of his daily activity level, many others are not. If a device that encourages an otherwise sedentary person to choose stairs instead of an elevator or go for a walk during lunch, is that reason to doubt the utility of the product?

Athlete empowerment is a powerful thing. CrossFit has always encouraged its Level 1 trainers to “grab a broomstick and go train your neighbor.” This is an empowering concept, but empowerment starts with the self. The more an athlete understands about him- or herself and the workings of his or her own training, the better position that Level 1 trainer will be in to help others.

If empowerment is too conceptual for you, consider this. The core of CrossFit’s marketing talks about “measureable, observable, and repeatable” results, and the fact that the “the CrossFit program is driven by data.” So why is Glassman eschewing devices that provide these objective pillars?

What do you think? Are wearable fitness trackers a worthwhile trend or a waste of time?

Headline photo courtesy of Vernon Chan via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

The post Are Wearable Fitness Trackers a Waste of Time? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

I am no mobility expert. In fact, at my CrossFit L1 certification years ago, I was the victim called out in front of the group for having an immature squat. I was warned that my poor position would take years to fix. They were right.

I’ve spent the past five years chasing a perfect squat. I have worked through every hip and ankle drill in the Supple Leopard. I’ve banded up, flossed, and smashed. Progress has been frustratingly slow at times, admittedly because I hate banded distractions, flossing, and smashing.

I know what you’re thinking. If I’m not doing what the experts tell me to do, then I can’t complain about my sub-par position. Well, yes and no. All of these mobility techniques work to free up restrictions, and I’ll suffer through them because smarter people than me say I should. But lately I’ve started to wonder, do I have to suffer to feel successful? There has to be a better way to reclaim and own the space in my body by doing something that makes me feel good.

The impetus for this shift came from integrating MovNat groundwork drills into my daily routine. Notice that I didn’t say daily “training.” With twin toddlers and multiple jobs, formal training isn’t a priority in my life right now, but feeling healthy is. Every day I’ll spend five minutes exploring different lower-body positions and joint configurations in my living room before my family wakes up, and I’ll do the same a few more times during the day.

These movement snacks make me feel like I’m taking care of myself, not like I’m trying to fix a part of my structure that’s wrong. And nothing has done more to improve my squat position.

If you enjoy banded distractions, flossing, and smashing, get after it. But if you don’t, that’s cool, too. Groundwork doesn’t have to replace your current routine, but it is a worthwhile addition to get more movement into your life. You might even notice that after a few weeks, your traditional mobility work is more effective.

Once I stopped trying to force myself into a position from a book, I found my perfect squat.

The post Daily Groundwork for a Stronger Squat appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research recently published the first longitudinal study to compare performance improvements in hip thrusts versus squats.

Hip Thrusts Develop Sprinting Power

Researchers hypothesized that barbell hip thrusts would be better than squats for improving horizontal force production, thereby enhancing performance in athletic movements requiring a horizontal force vector, such as horizontal jumping and sprinting.

According to the study’s first author, Bret Contreras, squats poorly activate the hamstrings and do not maximally activate the glutes, which are critical muscle groups for powerful sprinting. In a squat, the glutes are fired up during the concentric action – when you explode out of the hole. Glute activation decreases near the top when the athlete is in a more upright position, which is characteristic of applying force into the ground while running.

The study was comprised of male teenage athletes and consisted of 2 training sessions per week for 6 weeks in a periodized fashion. One group performed only front squats, and another group performed only hip thrusts. Pre- and post-test performance measures included 10-meter acceleration, 20-meter acceleration, vertical jump, maximum isometric midthigh pull, 3-rep-max front squat, and 3-rep-max hip thrust.

Results showed that among teenage male athletes, hip thrusts are more effective than front squats at improving sprinting acceleration, max isometric mid-thigh pull force, and max hip thrust strength. However, front squats are more effective than hip thrusts at improving vertical jump max and front squat strength.

In addition, athletes who performed the hip thrust gained half as much front squat strength as those who only performed front squats, and vice versa. This is an important finding, as it demonstrates that hip extension exercises transfer to other lifts and points to the possibility that strength in one lift can be maintained during times of injury by performing assistance lifts.

Limitations and Future Directions

Researchers note that different periodization protocols and training durations, other movements like back squats and deadlifts, and additional performance outcomes should be tested to add to the literature.

This study may lead coaches to consider making the hip thrust a more prominent component of a strength-building program. Contreras suggests that results could support periodizing training around maximizing vertical and horizontal force production performance.

More research is needed to duplicate the findings on athletes from other sports or female trainees, but this is the first study of its kind to put evidence behind anecdotal theory. In sports, fast equals strong. For performance-based athletes, consider making the hip thrust, along with the squat, a staple in your training routine.

Headline photo courtesy of Craig Marker.

The post Improve Your Performance: Squats or Hip Thrusts? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Somewhere along our journey we stopped paying attention to our natural human abilities, needs, desires, thoughts, and actions.

Intuition is a phenomenon that weaves through every segment of our lives, perhaps most notably in the kitchen.

We were born with an innate wisdom to listen to our bodies. That gut feeling you just can’t ignore. But for a society that is so hyper-connected, we are incredibly disconnected from the world around us, and also with ourselves.

Somewhere along our journey we stopped paying attention to our natural human abilities, needs, desires, thoughts, and actions.

Intuition is a phenomenon that weaves through every segment of our lives, perhaps most notably in the kitchen.

The concept is simple: Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. But if you have a history of dieting or follow rigid food rules, this can be rather difficult.

As a culture we believe that rationality should be the driving force behind our decisions.

Stifling our intuition in favor of what society views as “right” clouds your ability to recognize the clues your body is giving you about what you actually need.

Sure, eating chocolate cake daily may not serve you well, but if you enjoy something that society views as “bad” because you honestly want to, own it.

You don’t need to “start over tomorrow,” or “make a better choice” at your next meal. Embrace your choice and figure out how those choices can aid in creating non-judgmental relationship with food.

Consider these questions:

• What would happen if you threw away every preconceived notion about nutrition that resides in your head?
• What would happen if you gave yourself permission to enjoy food for more than its macronutrient profile?
• Can you eat in a way that honors the feedback you get from your body and allows you to continue to move in a positive direction to meet your goals?

You won’t find answers to these questions here. Chalk them up to personal life work.

Peel away the layers and explore how the answers have potential to shift the way you view food.

This work may not be easy, but putting in the effort might cultivate a richer existence with food. Your body gives you the signals if you are willing to listen.

The post Intuition in the Kitchen: Are You Listening? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

What if you could give yourself an edge to succeed just by rearranging a few words when you talk to yourself?

The Question-Behavior Effect

That’s what a team of scientists recently discovered by analyzing more than 100 studies spanning forty years of research on the “question-behavior effect.” The phenomenon shows that people asking about doing a certain behavior influences whether or not they do it in the future.

Consider these two statements:

• “I will eat vegetables today.”
• “Will I eat vegetables today?”

Which one has more impact on whether or not you will eat vegetables that day? If you chose option two, you’re correct.

With the question-behavior effect, asking instead of telling causes a psychological response that can influence your behavior. Asking not only reminds you that eating vegetables is good for your health, but it can make you feel uncomfortable if you skip your daily dose of plant-based vitamins. As a result, you become more motivated to eat your greens to alleviate those feelings of discomfort.

The study also suggests that turning a statement into a question can greatly influence behavior for more than six months after the original question was asked.

Your Words Have Impact

Word choice is an important part of constructing questions that impact behavior. When I was in third grade I had a teacher who, when asked, “Can I go to the bathroom?” by a student, would reply, “I don’t know, can you?” Her grammar-police answer was snarky and annoying, but it was effective.

Starting a question with “can” or “could” implies that the question is about ability rather than action. “Would” is a worse choice because it’s conditional and implies possibility more than probability. When you start a question with “will,” you tend to be more successful because the word implies ownership and action.

This technique can be used to influence many areas of your life, not just nutrition or fitness. When you make the effort to re-train your vocabulary, you empower yourself to take control of the actions that bring you closer to your goals.

Will you transform your internal dialogue?

Headline photo courtesy of Mohamed Ashour.

The post Ask, Don’t Tell: The Question-Behavior Effect appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

It has become tradition for CrossFit communities to gather each Memorial Day and complete a grueling workout called “Murph.” It is arguably the most famous hero WOD and consists of 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, and 300 squats sandwiched between a pair of one-mile runs.

The intention of hero workouts is to remember those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom. “Murph” is named after Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy. Murph was a SEAL who was killed June 28, 2005 during a fierce firefight that ensued after a botched operation in Kunar province, Afghanistan. Though he was already wounded, Lt. Murphy moved to open terrain to call for evacuation, while continuing to return fire on the enemy until he was mortally wounded. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.

The men and women to whom these boots belonged deserve more than sweat and high-fives once a year. [Photo courtesy of Pete Hitzeman]

To Honor the Fallen, Take Action

The workout named in honor of Lt. Murphy, along with all other hero WODs, should be so much more than a precursor to drinking beers on a Monday afternoon. These men and women gave all of their tomorrows so we can enjoy our today. When you approach squat number 237 with legs on fire and chest heaving, are you thinking about those fallen warriors? Or are you simply doing the workout because you’re a CrossFitter, and it’s just what you do on Memorial Day?

Remembering them is good, but action is better.

If you want to truly honor the fallen, take care of their surviving brothers and sisters. Millions of veterans suffer from mental health issues that permeate every aspect of their lives. The suicide rate among veterans is 50 percent higher than the general population. It is estimated that 20 percent of the 1.3 million veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression.

Organizations across the country work tirelessly to develop and sustain programs that support the needs of our veterans. They battle every day for those who suffer in silence. This Memorial Day, my community at CrossFit Evviva is taking action by collecting pledges for “Murph” to make every rep count for a local non-profit, American Hero Adventures.

“The greatest way to honor the fallen is to pick up the mantle of selflessness and carry it forward.”
-Rodger Deevers, USAF Veteran, CrossFit Evviva.

How You Can Help

Action doesn’t have to take a monetary form. Take a look at your community. Chances are you already know people who have served, and the possibility that they battle demons is very real. Reach out. Find out if they’re struggling, psychologically or otherwise. You may not be able to identify with their experiences (and don’t pretend you can), but you can let them know they aren’t alone, and that you are aware and you genuinely want to help.

If you don’t know anyone who has served, seek out and volunteer with one of the more than 20,000 organizations that support soldiers, veteran, and military families across the country. You can support troops and veterans by packing care packages, volunteering at a local VA hospital, or working with a local military nonprofit. There is work to do in your home town, but it’s up to you to find it. When you do, rally your CrossFit buddies to go with you.

Through awareness, education, and action, we have the power to turn simple bodyweight movements on Memorial Day into a vehicle for change. “Honor” is a transitive verb. If you aren’t doing anything, you aren’t truly honoring our fallen.

Learn More, Then Go Do More:

The Meaning of a Hero WOD and Those Who Must Not Be Forgotten

The post Actions Speak Louder Than Workouts appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Whatever you don’t like doing is probably what you need to do.

Statements like these drive me crazy because they are not true. Before you leave an angry comment about how important it is to challenge your physical and mental capacity to develop resilience and overcome training obstacles, hear me out.

Prioritize your health and your happiness with a crew that knows how to have fun.

The Perpetual Quest for More

These fitness clichés encourage us to shame ourselves into doing things we think we should do. When we adapt our lives to programs, diets, and routines, we force ourselves into a one-size-fits-all mold that may feel tight and uncomfortable around our waist.

For someone with an all-or-nothing personality, this kind of dedication is often misguided stubbornness that hinders the ability to admit that maybe his or her style is a little less CHANEL and a little more grunge. The polish of a plan may look flattering on the runway, but when you try it on for size, it may make you want to stay in the dressing room.

Let me be clear: I don’t advocate quitting a program simply because one hard workout leaves you feeling slightly defeated. But if you find that over time, your motivation slowly wanes or you feel like you’ve lost your training mojo, step back and take a serious moment to consider, “Am I having any fun?”

The Training Program Trojan Horse

The allure of a training program is enough to light a fire from the weakest flame. The promise of PRs is the apple in our barbell Garden of Eden. We hold the plan in the highest regard, as if it holds the magic key to unlock our performance potential. We structure our lives around reps, sets, percentages, and macronutrients. It’s like we’re kids on Christmas Eve, eagerly waiting to unwrap the gifts Santa has left under the tree.

But after a while, the hype of the program often fades and that shiny apple loses a bit of its luster. Sometime between calculating percentages and rest intervals, you realize your training has morphed into something you think you should do instead of something that you want to do, and you’re no longer having any fun.

When you find yourself wanting to deviate from your plan, how do you hit the reset button without feeling like a complete failure?

Movement Is More Than Exercise

Strip away the program, the gear, the diet, and the expectations. Force yourself to take an extended rest period and allow yourself to just be. A week or two off from your typical routine won’t kill you. If the thought of skipping a few workouts makes you freak out, that’s exactly why you need to take a break.

Use this time to figure out what makes you happy on both a physical and emotional level. Think about the last time you were active without the sole purpose of exercise. Maybe you were on a hike with friends or shaking your ass on the dance floor. What was it about these activities that made you happy? Reflect on how the environment and the social interactions influenced your level of fun.

When you take stock in identifying these positive emotional connections, you can find ways to support those feelings through movement.

Perhaps the missing piece in your training puzzle is a day off from the gym to take a hip-hop class at a local dance studio to step out of your comfort zone. Maybe you need to hit the trail on your mountain bike to rekindle your love of adventure, or play on monkey bars at a local park to feel carefree and youthful. Sometimes all you need is one small shift to reroute your attitude and return to your programming with a refreshing appreciation for fun.

Hitting the trail may take more effort than heading to the local gym, but it’s worth it.

Find Your Fun

So before you jump head first into a popular training program, figure out what the healthiest version of yourself looks like and make that your training goal. And I’m not talking about body composition. Prioritize your health and your happiness.

When you find what makes you happy, do it. Movement should make you feel good, and when fun is the focus, it doesn’t really matter what you do. Choose a path, follow it without guilt, and don’t make excuses. Life is too short for fitness to be so serious.

You’ll Also Enjoy:

• Don’t Let the Fitness Industry Tell You What to Do
• Your Brain on Movement: Challenge Your Nervous System
• Why Do We Train: Finding Purpose in Movement
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photo 1 courtesy of Jorge Huerta Photography.

Photo 2 courtesy of Dave Silver via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Are You Having Any Fun? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Certain workouts reveal these qualities more than others, like a descending ladder of thrusters and burpees. These workouts are like a freight train en route to the pain cave, and unless you’re Superman, there’s nothing you can do to slow it down.

The athletes who choose grace are mesmerizing to watch, with their stone-cold composure and trance-like movements. The chaotic athletes are also fun to watch, but mostly to enjoy the show as they flop on the mat after the final rep in a dramatic display of defeat. So why do some athletes stay cool, calm, and collected for the entirety of the workout, while others freak out two reps in? Their mind. The difference lies in the ability to shut out extraneous noise and focus solely on the task at hand.

If you think mindfulness is a bunch of hippy-yoga-nonsense, think again. Learning how to control your mind in stressful situations will harness untapped strength that you never knew existed.

When conditions are less than ideal, can you ignore the distractions and focus on the task at hand?

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a cognitive behavioral treatment designed to teach people how to change the pattern of unhelpful thoughts. Originally formulated to treat individuals with impulsivity, self-injury, substance abuse, and personality disorders, DBT has expanded into the sports arena as a way for athletes to build positive mental capacity while under pressure or in uncomfortable situations. It’s the difference between having the mental composure to nail a buzzer-beating shot or choking under pressure.

There are four main components to DBT:

• Mindfulness: The ability to take pay attention, non-judgmentally, to the present moment. Mindfulness is the ability to control your mind instead of having your mind control you.
• Interpersonal Effectiveness: The ability to express your needs without damaging your self-respect.
• Emotion Regulation: The ability to regulate your emotions by understanding the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and actions.
• Distress Tolerance: The ability to get through a tough situation without making it worse.

How many times have you been deep in a workout and the burning sensation in your legs from a monster set of wall balls becomes almost too much to handle? The negative self-talk creeps in, and instead of facing the workout with vigor and mental toughness, you let unhelpful emotions get the best of you. In the end, you leave the gym disappointed with your performance.

The Teflon Mind

One component of DBT used by many athletes is to develop a “Teflon mind.” In this state, you allow thoughts and feelings to come into your mind in a non-judgmental way. Then you let them slip right out, without allowing yourself to react and get stuck to them. This mindset helps people cope with intense feelings and remain in the present moment without losing perspective.

With a Teflon mind, you have the ability to stand up to the mental challenge that lies within each grueling workout without breaking down emotionally, and subsequently, physically.

Creating a Teflon mind requires more than positive thinking. It takes practice, just like getting a bigger back squat requires continued training. But that doesn’t mean it has to be overwhelming. Like all aspects of training, it’s about the quality of your effort. The next time you are at the gym (or in your living room), give this DBT mindfulness exercise a shot.

1. Find a quiet spot and sit in the rock bottom of your squat.
2. Set a timer for 10 minutes.
3. Let your arms fall over your knees and close your eyes.
4. Focus your attention on your breathing.
5. Pay attention to what it feels like in your body as you breathe slowly in and out.
6. Become aware of whatever thoughts enter your mind. Notice how they enter your consciousness, develop, and then let them float away.
7. If you get immersed in a thought, notice what took you away from your previous state of calm observation, and try to shift your attention back to that state.
8. Stand up at the end of 10 minutes and shake out your legs.

This exercise should open your eyes to how you react when your body is placed in an uncomfortable situation. How does your body feel when your ankles and legs start to get tired? What thoughts enter your mind? How do those thoughts impact your feelings?

Were you able to let thoughts float in and out of your mind when your body began to fatigue, or did you feel overwhelmed, unable to stay calm and present in the moment?

Either way, if you want to develop a Teflon mind, you have to train yourself to notice the discomfort that comes with working out, without reacting to it. You want to achieve a state where that monster set of wall balls doesn’t phase you. Commit to practicing these skills every time you train. Start small, perhaps during your warm up, and progress to longer and more involved workouts over time.

Worrying about grip strength won’t do anything to help you hang on.

Attitude Is Everything

So much emphasis is put on building physical strength, but spending three months on a Russian squat program won’t do you any good if you fall apart emotionally every time you go for a personal record attempt. Winning the mental game is what separates the good athletes from the great ones. It’s rare to see someone like Rich Froning crack.

Learn to recognize when your mind is wandering, and quickly shift back to the present. Dwelling on the negative will break your confidence. Manage mental chaos by concentrating on one rep at a time, and block out everything else. When you dial in your brain, your body will follow.

More on Mindfulness:

• See It, Do It, Win It: Charge Up Your Visualisation
• The 6 Steps to Building Mental Toughness
• Meditation 101: Why and How to Start a Meditation Practice
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Headline photo courtesy of J. Perez Imagery.

Photos courtesy of Jorge Huerta Photography.

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Technique in Olympic weightlifting is an art, and your style of lifting will become as individual as you. Some people drive the bar off their hips, some don’t. Some bend their arms to hit the power position, others won’t. There is more than one way to get a barbell from the ground to overhead, and I’m not here to debate the intricacies of proper technique – I’ll leave that for you and your coach.

If you are a beginner, there are a few things you can do that will put you miles ahead of your counterparts. Start here if you’re looking for ways to improve your lifting today.

Practice, Don’t Train

In the sixth grade I took up playing the trombone. The first time I pulled the shiny brass pieces out of the case, I screwed the slide on backwards. I didn’t even know how to put it together, let alone play it. So naturally, I practiced daily (oh, my parents’ poor ears), and in time found myself holding the first chair of my junior high jazz band.

What does playing an instrument have to do with Olympic weightlifting? I doubt you’ve ever heard someone say they needed to go train the guitar, because that sounds weird. It’s hard to train something that you don’t know how to do. You have to practice before you progress to training. Weightlifting is like learning to play the guitar. It takes years of fine-tuning to find your groove.

Approach each lifting session with the intent of practicing your craft. Get comfortable with the fundamentals before you rack on the weight. Your opportunity to train hard will come in time. When you reframe the way you think from training to practice, you learn to understand and value a huge piece of the weightlifting puzzle: patience.

If you worry about going hard and heavy too early, you’ll only hold yourself back.

Narrow Your Focus

In a sport that’s so technical, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. To some extent, you need space to figure things out on your own. Too many cues can be confusing, which is why I encourage you to pick one thing to focus on and hammer that for the entire session.

One great place to start is to focus on the first rule of Olympic lifting: keep the bar close. Draw a line on the floor and imagine that a kitten will die if you cross the line. If you feel frustrated by information overload, remember to keep it simple. When lifting is approachable and fun, you’re more likely to celebrate the small victories, which will stoke your fire to learn more.

Don’t Think, Feel

There’s no better feeling than flowing through a snatch with the grace and precision of a ballet dancer and the speed of a cheetah. It’s a sensation that is hard to put into words, but you’ll know it when it happens, and it’s…awesome.

Before you get lost in the intricacies of technique, learn to pay attention to what a lift feels like. Can you feel your feet drive hard into the ground on the first pull? Do you notice when your back angle changes? What do you feel that is different when you make a lift versus when you miss? Being able to communicate what you feel to your coach is an invaluable skill, and will give him or her a better opportunity to provide specific feedback and direction.

Identify Mobility Roadblocks

Almost everyone has some sort of mobility issue that is holding them back. No matter how hard you work on technique, if you can’t lock out the top of a jerk or find a comfortable position in the bottom of a squat, your lifting will never progress. Ankles, hips, shoulders, upper back, whatever it is, identify the roadblock and get to work.

I get it, mobility work isn’t glamorous, and can feel daunting. But if you want to be a successful weightlifter, you’re going to have to suck it up. Don’t let mobility be a source of frustration.

Addressing your mobility issues early will allow you to progress much more quickly than trying to train around them.

Create Your Weightlifting Ritual

Watch any high-level lifter closely, and you’ll notice the OCD-like quality to the way they address the barbell. Establish your own consistent routine that puts you in a frame of mind to succeed. Grip the bar in the same place each time. Place your feet in the same location under the bar. Take the same deep breath before you initiate every lift. I ask my lifters to approach each session with intention. Step up to the bar every time with purpose. Visualize what your perfect lift looks like, and execute. Eventually, what you see in your head will become reality.

I’m not saying you can’t play around with different foot or hand placement to find what works best for you, but pay attention to what you are doing. If you are random with your set up, you success will be random. When you walk into the gym, block out the noise of the day and focus on the task at hand. Breaking bad habits is excruciating, so it’s best to never form them in the first place.

Don’t Rush Your Progress

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was an Olympic weightlifter. Becoming proficient in Olympic lifting is a long process of trial and error that will teach you how to face and overcome both physical and mental challenges.

Mastering the lifts takes determination, and implementing the above tips will pay huge dividends in your journey. Practice patience, establish good habits, and you will develop into a confident and competent lifter. 

More for the Weightlifting Neophyte (and You Experts, Too):

• World Champion Weightlifters Are Just Like Us
• A Roadmap and Game Plan for Your Next Weightlifting Meet
• CrossFitters: Stuck in a Strength Rut? Implement These Strategies
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of CrossFit Empirical.

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