mejorar en crossfit
Mar 26 2019
Cómo mejorar en CrossFit usando la psicología

Nuestro arma más potente está entre las orejas

Este deporte nunca se vuelve fácil. Te manda constantemente contra los leones pero, eso es lo que nos engancha de todo esto, ¿no? Hay momentos en los que sientes que has tocado techo. Te estancas en una RM, te es imposible enlazar más de dos muscle-ups, y así sucesivamente. Pero no temas porque aún te queda mucho por mejorar en CrossFit.

Igual que las raíces de los árboles sortean obstáculos hasta encontrar una fuente de agua, tu cerebro es el que se encarga de allanarte el camino. El objetivo de este artículo es el de explicar algunas formas que tiene tu mente para controlar el progreso en el CrossFit.

“La única forma de ser más listo es enfrentarte a alguien más listo que tú”

  • mejorar en crossfit

Está parafraseada de la película Revólver, una de las películas favoritas de mi hermano. Pese a que la película es un poco compleja – y nunca la llegué a entender del todo – esta frase se me quedó grabada. Aplicada al deporte en general (o al CrossFit en particular), viene a decir que debemos enfrentarnos activamente al fracaso.

Si algún atleta del box es ninja de la gimnasia, intenta seguirle cuando el entreno contenga ese tipo de movimientos. Si eres lamentable en resistencia cardiovascular, apúntate a la clase cuando el WOD contenga intervalos de remo. Si aún tropiezas con los saltos dobles después de años, practícalo más a menudo y no pares por la frustración.

Cuánto más te enfrentas a la adversidad, más habilidad adquieres a la hora de gestionarla eficazmente. Tu cerebro irá diseñando soluciones cada vez más sofisticadas hasta que encuentre la adecuada.

Confía en la metodología

Lo que más me gusta del CrossFit es que nunca dejo de aprender. Sus enseñanzas no son habladurías sin sentido, no, realmente funcionan cuando lo pruebas tú mismo.

1. Técnica – Consistencia – Intensidad

Estoy casi segura de que has oído hablar de esto alguna vez. Bueno, pues resulta ser clave para progresar en este deporte. Es, además, un método infalible para detección de errores. He visto a gente con sentadillas frontales horribles, poniéndose más y más peso encima en las series de fuerza; o atletas masculinos que pueden hacer tres clean and jerk con 60 kg como esfuerzo máximo y, aún así, decidir hacer Grace Rx; y siempre muero un poquito por dentro.

Si tu técnica de sentadilla frontal flojea (se te meten hacia dentro las rodillas, elevas los talones, etc.), haz terapia de sentadilla. Domina la técnica y, después, vas a por la consistencia. Si tu técnica de clean and jerk es decente pero no eres consistente con 60 kg para un entreno donde tendrás que hacerlo 30 veces, baja el peso. Busca la consistencia con técnica excelente y, después, buscas la intensidad.

Construye tus capacidades físicas sobre una base sólida y no trunques tu progreso desde el principio para mejorar en CrossFit.

2. Teoría jerárquica del desarrollo de un atleta

mejorar en crossfit
Teoría jerárquica del desarrollo de un atleta (pág. 29, Level 1 Training Guide)

Esto ha sido un descubrimiento reciente, en realidad. Si te fijas, la nutrición y el acondicionamiento metabólico suponen la base de la pirámide. Esto quiere decir que deberían requerir más esfuerzo y dedicación. Pero ese no es el caso para la mayoría de los atletas. Resulta que cada escalón sienta las bases para el escalón siguiente.

Lo comprobé con un ejemplo práctico (el mío). Este año empecé por limpiar mi dieta. Paso la mayor parte de la semana corriendo o haciendo gimnasia en el box, levanto cosas pesadas sólo una o dos veces por semana. Sin embargo, mis RM han subido en peso muerto, sentadilla y press y he mejorado mis tiempos en cada benchmark WOD que he probado hasta ahora.

Si quieres levantar más peso, haz más gimnasia. Si quieres correr más rápido, come mejor. Si quieres mejorar en tu deporte, ¡respeta el método!

Revisa tus vídeos

No lo uses sólo para Instagram. Dales una utilidad. Ben Smith ya dijo que él fue autodidacta para mejorar en CrossFit usando sus vídeos. Los comparaba con los vídeos de levantadores, gimnastas u otros crossfiteros. Los miraba, plano por plano, para ver qué fallos de ejecución que cometía.

La mejor manera de saber qué estás haciendo mal, es verlo tú mismo. Una vez detectas el fallo, asegúrate de introducir esa corrección en tu diálogo interno para la próxima.

Finalmente…confía en tu intuición

mejorar en crossfit

Como coach y como atleta me he dado cuenta de que hay algunas cosas que sólo pueden aprenderse haciéndose. Me bombardean las secciones de noticias de mis redes con consejos de atletas como tú y como yo. Cómo hacer cleans o flexiones de pino o muscle ups y no me suelen servir.

No quiere decir que estén mal sus consejos, lo que pasa es que las soluciones que ofrecen pueden no ser útiles para el error que estás cometiendo. Cada uno tenemos nuestros propios fallos de ejecución y se resuelven de forma distinta.

Para nada quiero decir que seas un lobo estepario y no escuches a nadie. Sólo quiero que entiendas que, en última instancia, tú eres el que ejecuta el movimiento. Escucha a tu cuerpo y te revelará el fallo.

Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comentarios
getting better at crossfit
Mar 26 2019
How to get better at CrossFit using Psychology

The most powerful instrument we own is between the ears

I’ve said it many times before. CrossFit never gets easier and it will constantly toss you into the flames. But hey, that’s why we love it right? However, there’s times where you feel like you’ve flatlined. You’re suddenly stuck in a PR, you’re unable to link more than two muscle-ups, yadi-yadi-ya. Do not fear, for your brain is here.

The same way a tree’s roots finds its way towards a stream of water, wherever it may be, your brain is the one that’s going to get you over yet another obstacle. The whole point of this article is to explain a few ways your mind can control your progress in CrossFit.

“You can only get smarter by playing a smarter opponent”

getting better at crossfit

This quote is from the movie Revolver, among my brother’s personal favorites. Although the movie is quite complex – and I never really got it – this quote stuck with me. When applied to sports in general (or CrossFit in particular), this basically means you need to deliberately set yourself up for failure.  

If a buddy from the box is a gymnastics master, try to follow them if the workout involves gymnastics. If you suck at endurance, sign up for the class when the WOD calls for rowing intervals. If you still trip during double-unders after years in the box, practice them more often. Get busy trying!

The more you face adversity, the more skilled you become at dealing it with efficiently. You brain will inevitably come up with more sophisticated solutions until it finds the right one.  

Trust the methodology

The thing I love most about CrossFit is that I never stop learning. Its teachings are not just non-sensical babbling, no, they actually make sense once you try it for yourself.

  • Mechanics – Consistency – Intensity

Pretty sure you’ve read this in your box or heard someone mention it. Well, it’s key to progress in this sport and an invaluable troubleshooting method. Too many times have I seen people with terrible front squats, throwing on more and more plates in their strength sets or male athletes who can clean and jerk 60 kg for three reps as a max effort, doing Grace as Rx’D. And every time, I’ve died a little inside.

If your front squat is terrible (you cave your knees, lift your heels, etc.), work on your air squat first. Master the mechanics and then go for consistency. If your clean and jerk mechanics are decent but you’re not consistent at 60 kg for a workout with high weightlifting volume, lower the weight as to where you can rep out 5 with excellent mechanics. Then, you move on to intensity.

Build your physical capabilities upon a solid foundation. Don’t blunt your progress from the start.

  • The theoretical hierarchy of the development of an athlete
getting better at crossfit
The theoretical hierarchy of the development of an athlete (page 5, Level 1 Training Guide)

This was a recent revelation, actually. If you notice, nutrition and metabolic conditioning come first and foremost, meaning they should take up most of our time and effort. But that’s not the case for most CrossFit athletes. Each step is the foundation for the next and I’ve only realized that by seeing it with my own eyes.

This year, I’ve been focused on cleaning up my diet for the most part. I spend most of my time running and doing gymnastic work in the box, lifting only once or twice per week. However, my strength numbers have gone up in the squat, deadlift and press, I’ve PR’d every benchmark WOD I’ve attempted so far and I feel more athletic than ever.

If you want to lift heavier, do more gymnastics. If you want to run faster, eat cleaner. If you want to improve in your sport, respect the method!

Review your own videos

Don’t just use them for Instagram. Give them a more useful purpose. Ben Smith is known for teaching himself how to do CrossFit and how he did it was simple (but it requires a great deal of commitment). He would watch his videos alongside those of Olympic lifters and compare them, frame by frame. That way he sectioned the movements into its smaller parts to see where he was derailing.

The best way to know what you’re doing wrong is to see it for yourself, especially if you’re not a great listener. Once you spot the flaw, make sure to include that verbal cue in your internal monologue next time.

Follow your intuition

getting better at crossfit

As both a coach and an athlete I’ve realized that there are certain things that can only be learned through action. I’m bombarded with tips on how to clean, how to do handstand pushups or how to do muscle ups and more often than not, I’ve found these tips useless. Not that they’re wrong, but they may not be a solution for the kind of mistake you’re committing. Everyone has their own flaw and they solve it differently. What works for others, will probably not work for you.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen to tips or advice from others, just know that ultimately, you’re the one who’s performing the movement. Listen to your body and it’ll probably reveal what’s going wrong.

Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comentarios
types of leadership
Mar 20 2019
The best type of leadership for a CrossFit coach

It goes without question that a good coach should have many valuable assets in their toolbox. They must be physically and mentally capable. But if I had to choose the most essential skill, I’d probably go with leadership. It’s the most relevant psychological skill when managing groups.

Regarding its definition, we haven’t reached common ground just yet. But, personally, I enjoy the definition given by Shaw (1981) and, especially, two characteristics: a leader as the most influential person and generator of a higher number of communications; and a leader as the person who receives most support from the members of the group and has the ability to influence them in a positive manner.

What types of leadership are there?

If there’s a million ways to define leadership, there’s a million ways to categorize them. For the purpose of this article, I’ll consider two types of leadership: the leader focused on emotions and the leader focused on task. The former would be the one that is able to identify emotional and collective emotions that surface in a group setting. This leader intends to build affective bonds between the members because, as we learned in the previous article, it enhances performances.

The leader that focuses on the task, on the other side, is the “typical leader” in the sense that they give most orders, communicate more frequently and organize collective and individual action to achieve the group goal. They always know what to do and they also know how to transmit the information to their followers. Their level of commitment is insurmountable.

Why should a coach be a leader?

And a good one, too. Ideally, we should focus on the task and the emotions. In a certain way, a coach is a captain for all their athletes. Every class is a small team that comes in with the goal of bringing forth their best version. Our focus as a coach – and a leader – should be for all of them to reach their goals.

We should focus on the task in the sense that we must guide our athletes in order for them to practice CrossFit in a secure and efficient manner. We must excel at identifying execution errors and proceed to correct them following points of performance. Also, we must know how to transmit to our athletes the stimulus and goal behind the WOD. Giving them purpose will peak their motivation and will also increase their fitness levels.

types of leadership
The athlete performing coaching cues is a useful tool.

We should also be emotional leaders because we can’t forget we’re working with human beings. Every one of us has their own emotional baggage and we must keep that in mind. They may have feelings of fear, self-doubt or helplessness. We must be able to identify them and show acceptance towards their feelings.

Careful with thinking of emotional management as the death of emotions. We don’t want our athletes to stop feeling sad or scared in certain moments. We want these emotions to exist without preventing our athletes from moving forwards. An athlete that’s scared of trying the handstand shouldn’t feel inadequate because of it. We want them to accept their fear and battle it by advancing in little steps marked by the progressions we set up for them.

Become a superleader for your athletes

Sims & Lorenzi (1992) speak of a type of leadership that wishes not only to fully maximize their followers’ potential, but also to transform them into self-leaders, giving them the tools for them to grow. They call it “superleadership”.

This is the kind of leader we should all become. Our greatest goal is to maximize the fitness levels of our athletes to protect them from developing diseases. If we don’t want them to lose their functionality as they grow older, we should aspire to build a solid foundation in our athletes. 

Shaw,
M. E. (1981). Dinámica de Grupos. Psicología de la conducta de los pequeños
grupos. Barcelona: Herder. 
Sims,
H. P. y Lorenzi, P. (1992). The New Leaderships Paradigm. Newbury, CA: Sage
Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comentarios