Can you improve your WOD times by improving your mental game? Camille Leblanc-Bazinet thinks so and her three tips are straight forward enough for both the beginner and experienced CrossFitter to implement in their next workout. Hmmm, you say, sounds good but I could come up with three tips too and they wouldn’t be worth the interweb they were printed on. Does Leblanc have any credibility? I don’t know, how about going from completely unknown to a 2nd place finish in the first WOD of the 2010 CrossFit Games (and eventually taking 9th overall). Is that enough cred for ya? Boom!
Camille’s three rules for keeping intensity high and her mental game sharp during a WOD:
1. As you transition from one exercise to another force yourself to start the first rep immediately. For example, if you are performing Cindy, once you complete the last pullup, immediately perform the first pushup. This avoids the tendency to take relatively long breaks between movements and prevents you from succumbing to mental traps (if you already did one rep then the old “I’m not ready to start the next exercise” excuse doesn’t really cut it. Wuss.)
2. Run, do not walk, as you transition from exercise to exercise. This will help you stay focused on the task at hand. Do not take a detour to check if anyone texted you, I already checked for you, all your friends are too busy watching Friends reruns, eating cheetos, and wiping that nasty orange stuff on the bottom of their couch cushions. Run! Once you arrive at the next exercise see step one above.
3. Stay positive. Alright. I know what you’re thinking. This is one piece of advice I didn’t really need Mr. Sunshine. Maybe, but Camille’s take on this was very specific to moving heavy weights. Since, she weighs about the same as the average kindergartner, I’d guess this is a mental challenge she faces on a regular basis. So when prepping to attack a weight which is going to test you, remain positive, don’t rush into it, and get yourself positioned and set up perfectly before starting the lift.
Take these three tips to the bank, and if you don’t, you better know the guy standing next to you, your CrossFit arch enemy, has probably read this post too…
3-2-1 Go!
You can hear the entire interview with Camille Leblanc-Bazinet on the CrossFit Radio Podcast Episode 163
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