The demon clock glares downward, shifting its red lights at a sadistically slow pace. Seconds bend seemingly into minutes and minutes into hours. Between the mad gasps for air and the trickles of sweat, the athletes peek over at the evil tyrant of time. There will be no mercy and not a single soul will be spared. And yet…
And yet despite the hellish nightmare present, despite the torturous turning of time, these men and women, stout of heart and full of ferocity, are demonstrating that it is not Time that holds sway over these parts. These brave souls are the real kings and queens of Seconds.
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In the sport of , how an athlete governs his or her time makes and breaks a performance. Rush through that first pull of a snatch and chances are the barbell will revolt against your efforts to heave it over your head. Rest too much between movements in a WOD and your opponents will assuredly defeat you. It is, however, not the seconds spent in the competitive arena that guarantees a quality performance. Rather, it is the collection of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years of carefully focused work in the gym that determines successful outcomes.
These gains simply do not apply to the sport of . Herein lies the beauty of all of those wall balls, pull-ups, and deadlifts. Here is the lesson behind every soul crushing WOD and 1 Rep Max attempt: teaches us how to make the most of the precious few seconds we are graced with while our lungs breathe and our heart pumps.
- It teaches us focus. During workouts, the body will scream “I can’t!” teaches us that a still mind is essential for overcoming adversity.
- It teaches us bravery. Confronting nasty workouts prepares us to confront our own self doubts and other stressful life situations.
- It teaches us patience. One cannot rush success, much the same one cannot rush through a set of 50 thrusters.
- It teaches us resiliency. Some days we will feel absolutely worthless. We struggle to master a new technique. We hit plateaus in our training. Defeat is a part of training as much as it is a part of life. To achieve success in anything we must learn to recognize when we are defeated, pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and then get back at it.
- It teaches us the value of friendship. Training with a group of like-minded individuals bent on improved health and performance is important to lasting success. As we suffer together through workouts, we grow together. Those relationships are important to help us during those days where we struggle, be it with the barbell or our significant other, our job, or other personal demons.
- It teaches us self-respect. All action begets change. The better we are at taking care of ourselves with ample exercise, nutrition, and sleep, the better our performance will be inside and outside of the gym. The more we pump ourselves full of crap food, alcohol, cigarettes, and/or negativity, the better chance we have at living a life riddled with poor health.
- It teaches us self-love. We are all not born with the same bodies. Some of us are blessed with better genes than others. teaches us to celebrate our own respective successes. Never base your worth on the opinions or abilities of others. Rejoice in even the smallest of victories, be it conquering double unders or getting your first strict pullup without a band. Savor every challenge as a chance for growth. Love the journey, not the destination.
Learn how to become a master of your time. Start training at Steelworks today! Email Brian at [email protected] and start an exciting new journey towards improved health and performance.