By Christina Annunziata

I’d say I’ve trained hard, put my time in and eaten pretty well… but I still haven’t gotten to the place where I’d like to be in my CrossFit career. I can continue to develop strength, skills and technique but at times I think I have really just hit a plateau. But I don’t think it’s my training that is holding me back, I think it’s mostly the voice inside my head- it’s my biggest hurdle.

After watching the athletes at Regionals across the world, the ones at the top and the ones at the bottom all have something in common. They have the mental strength needed to get through three long grueling days of workouts. I have always known that one of my biggest obstacles in my performance is in my head, the negative thoughts telling me I can’t. Well you know what, I know I can… and this is where I will start my preparation for the year to come.

Dawn Fletcher from Hella Life recently wrote a blog about mental performance training. In the article she lists a number of strategies used by very successful Crossfitters, a few stuck out to me:

–       Develop and practice specific preparation routines

–       Don’t worry about other competitors or uncontrollable factors

–       Identify and reverse negative self talk, staying positive and confident

–       Quick to recover and refocus after a mistake

–       Use dissociation and ignore bodily sensation of fatigue

–       Create balance in their lives outside of the box

–       Know all they can about themselves and seek coaching

As she stated, these strategies can be learned and trained, just like the movements we all work to perfect. So again, this is where I’ll start, and I don’t think I’m alone in this- it’s time to get over this mental hurdle! “You can only go as far as your mind will allow you to.” – Dawn Fletcher