motivation
Jan 7 2019
Motivation in CrossFit

One thing that is pretty known about CrossFit is that it is generally perceived by its athletes as highly motivating. The goal of this post is to further examine the meaning behind this perception. To do so, we must start from the basics: what is motivation?

Motivation is the process through which a person becomes “energized or activated toward an end” (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Our brain activates a series of actions to satisfy a certain need. This ranges from grabbing a glass of water to satiate your thirst all the way to enlisting in the military to serve your country.

Although there are several ways to categorize motives, the one we’re interested in is the one provided by Deci and Ryan (1985) in their Self-Determination Theory. It distinguishes between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Simply put, “intrinsic motivation refers to doing something because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable, and extrinsic motivation, which refers to doing something because it leads to a separable outcome.” (Ryan & Deci, 2000)

Figure 1. Types of motivation and other factors

  Extrinsic motivation Intrinsic motivation
Related processes Ego involvement
Approval from others 		Enjoyment
Interest
Perceived control Somewhat external Internal

Adapted from Ryan & Deci (2000)

Extrinsic motivation (see figure 1), in one of its many forms, is guided by ego involvement. Ergo, their behavior is regulated by both external and internal factors. While goal achievement depends on setting the highest score, the reason behind this is to evidence their proficiency over others. Task involvement, on the other side, has to do with internal motives: working hard to complete the task, personal satisfaction and pure interest in the sport. 

Intrinsic motivation increases once we develop competence in the task and we sense some sort of control over this success. Naturally this betters our adherence to the sport. When ego involvement prevails, the athlete’s main concern is putting up the highest score. If the goal is not met, feelings of incompetence appear and may ultimately lead to abandonment of the sport.

How can CrossFit impact our motivation?

I can’t speak for everyone whose tried CrossFit but I will say that it’s the sport that has motivated me the most. It has both the benefits of group sports (sense of belonging, team work, social affiliation, etc.) and those of individual sports (developing mastery and competence, personal satisfaction, etc.) It faces you with different tasks every day, resulting in new challenges. Some of the movements require a lot of practice and once you start improving, you start thinking you’re capable of anything!

crossfit motivation

Affiliation, enjoyment and challenge

As we’ve seen, intrinsic motivation relates best to personal satisfaction and realization. Motives such as affiliation, enjoyment and challenge do a much better job at keeping us in the gym. These motives were seen more frequently in CrossFitters when compared to other formats of resistance training or personal training (Fisher, Sales, Carlson & Steele, 2016).

CrossFit is a great place to experience the magic of group-exercise because of the “community” aspect. The WOD is perceived as a personal challenge which is attacked in a group setting. Watching others go through the suck with you, is empowering and motivating in itself.

Helps point your motivation inside

Motivation processes are very complex, they are in constant flow and will be modified depending on internal and external circumstances. Although it may seem external motives are the bad guy, that is not entirely true. External motives such as social recognition may get you to step into the box for the first time. After that, the comradery, the method and the sense of overcoming obstacles may invert the direction of your motivation. It doesn’t matter what gets you into CrossFit, just make sure you stay for the right reasons – the internal ones –. 










Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New
York: Plenum.
Duda, J. L., Chi, L., Newton, M. L., &
Walling, M. D. (1995). Task and ego orientation and intrinsic motivation in
sport. International journal of
sport psychology.
Fisher, J., Sales, A., Carlson, L., & Steele,
J. (2016). A comparison of the motivational factors between CrossFit
participants and other resistance exercise modalities: a pilot study. The Journal of sports medicine and physical
fitness.
Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comments
Dec 12 2018
What makes Froning and Fraser so different?

So close, no matter how far… Mat Fraser and Rich Froning have dominated the sport of fitness during their time but they couldn’t have done it in a more different fashion. The point of this post – which is obviously based on my own opinion – is to establish the differences I perceive between them from a psychological stance.

mat fraser

 

Pacing strategies

This is the most obvious difference between these two athletes. Rich Froning is well-known for being a pace master in the sense that he always comes from behind. As would a predator, he slowly creeps up behind whoever is in front of him and snatches the lead all the way into the finish line. The only time he went ballistic through an event was the 21-15-9 complex at the 2014 CrossFit Games and still won (but those were other circumstances).

Mat Fraser, on the other hand, is a go-go from the start kinda guy. There is something Graham Holmberg once called “the suicide pace“, which is pretty self-explanatory. This strategy is pretty common among crossfitters since people often get caught up racing. However they forget that their fitness isn’t capable of sustaining those levels of intensity for the duration of the event. Not Fraser, though, and this is why he’s special. He’s somehow able to hold on for dear life from start to finish, at a ridiculous pace that no one is able to keep up with. 

Personality in competition 

Another blaring distinction between Froning and Fraser is the way they carry themselves in competition. What I enjoy most about this comparison is that they’re on opposing ends of a continuum: Froning is the more discrete athlete while Fraser is one with the crowd. Froning has made it abundantly clear on several occasions that he is not entirely comfortable in the middle of large crowds. However he is able to bring is A-game to every event because that’s just how competitive the man is.

Fraser is a whole different story. He breathes in the energy that resonates through every fan. He interacts with them during events, firing them up with his non-verbal language or straight up talks to them (“I’m back motherf*@kers!”). Fraser puts on a great show and fans love him for it.  

 

Humility vs. defiance 

Something I’ve also noticed is that Fraser gives a lot more headlines than Froning. I must say that Fraser’s comments – paired with the magnificent editing skills that Heber Cannon, Mariah Moore and Marston Sawyers have – do a great job at keeping us fans on the edge. I’ll give you an example: “[about his competition at the games] I hope you play your cards right. I hope you are in the best shape of your life. I want a good race. I wanna feel good about this win.” Basically Fraser knows his worth and is not afraid to let it out. He knows how much better he is now and this allows him to just let it rip when the time comes. 

I’m gonna have to say I’m a sucker for Froning when it comes to this because I just love me some humility. This man has won 4 Games’ titles in a row, 3 Affiliate Cups and I have a theory that in 5 or 6 years he will get into Masters solely to become the only athlete in CrossFit history to have won a gold medal in every modality (Individual, Team and Masters), but you will never hear him speak highly of himself or directly defy his competition. The only positive adjective he’ll use to describe his strengths is “pretty decent”. I believe this behavior is due to a mix of two factors: one, he doesn’t seem too happy speaking of himself; and two, a particular versicle in the Bible, Galatians 6:14, which reads: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world“. 

 

mat fraser

 

So…which is better? 

I will certainly not be the judge of that, mainly because both personalities have proven to work wonders for them. It’s ok for us mortals to look up to these guys and try to mimic their attitudes and behaviors in competition but, honestly, they’re striving in this sport because they’re staying true to theirselves. Well, alright it’s probably because they’re gifted AF.

All jokes aside, the point I’m trying to get across with this is that there is no magic program, ideal personality or special life circumstances. More important than following Rich’s or Mat’s training program, nutrition plan or buying their training gear is finding your competitive fire. Who are you when you sit alone in your dungeon resting between lifting sets? Who are you when the buzzer goes off and it’s time to show your fitness? Humble or boastful? Timid or out-going? Steady or explosive? Stay true to that person – whoever that may be – and results will come in due time.

 

 

[Disclaimer: my view of their personalities, strategies or mental game has been constructed by watching their performances, interviews and so forth. In no case am I an expert or have a close relationship as to where I can confirm my theories at all. This is just a fan doing fan things.]

Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comments
mental game
Nov 15 2018
What is the mental game?

Rich Froning once said he was sure there were other competitors that were “physically fitter than him but mentally, it was different a ball game”. He also said that mental toughness should be included in the 10 general physical skills. Both of these comments were incredibly accurate and probably Froning’s most powerful weapon.

For whatever reason, these powerful insights never really resonated in the community. And I say this because even though this “mental game” concept is being thrown around a lot, do people really know what it is? 

Understanding the mental game

Simply put, “mental game” could be considered as one’s ability to enter a productive mindset when faced with adversity. This may apply to many areas in a person’s life but in relation to sports, a top notch mental game would enable a performance level that matches the athletes’ expectations. However, during this process, one must face external and internal obstacles.

  • External variables: other people’s expectations, performance of other athletes, weather, event duration, etc.
  • Internal variables: negative thoughts or emotional states (anxiety, fear), escape and avoidance behavior, etc.

Why isn’t the mental game trained?

Those who aspire to improve in the sport of fitness, will work on every physical aspect known to man. However, this multidisciplinary approach to CrossFit doesn’t seem to include Psychology. Sure, there are many coaches and athletes who know a thing or two about it but it’s not enough; you need a specialist. The same way Mat Fraser sought a track coach to learn proper running and sprinting technique, it would appear logical to find a psychologist to enhance mental and behavioral techniques.  

General CrossFit programming is usually good enough for gifted athletes to achieve some degree of success at the Games. But there’s a handful of athletes that never really live up to the hype they generate. So, when they get back home from Madison they change the duration, intensity and frequency of their training along with the content, they switch training partners or even coaches. With these drastic changes they hope to find better luck; and still they end up underperforming.

mental game

Sara Sigmundsdottir is a perfect example of this. She is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the most gifted CrossFitters ever to have stepped on the competition floor and she has never placed higher than 3rd place. She’s moved from Iceland to Cookeville and back, she switched coaches, programmed for herself and results don’t seem to improve. The problem is definitely not her physical prowess or training, it’s her mental game.

If it’s a game… that means it can be won

Maybe that’s the reason why I decided to start this blog. As a CrossFit L1 trainer and a psychologist specialized in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, I’ve suddenly felt the need to provide accessible and basic information about the psychological aspects that influence an athlete’s performance and how they could be trained.

  • How to modify and manage your thought process to ensure your emotional state is optimal leading up to competition?
  • How to adapt to every situation in an environment where tasks and objectives must continuously change in order to be successful in the sport?
  • How to recover from an unexpected curveball in training or competition?

These are but a few questions I would like to answer to provide you with the necessary tools to gain that extra edge over competitors, and win the mental game. What do you think about the mental game? Let me know in your comments!

Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comments