resiliencia
Jan 18 2021
How can I improve resilience doing CrossFit?

Resilience is a psychological skill that has been growing in popularity ever since Positive Psychology stole the scene. Truth is, given its impact on mental well-being, it’s worth our while to dig into this concept and try to respond to the most interesting question it brings up: can it be improved?

What does it mean to be resilient?

Resilience has traditionally been used to define the ability of certain materials to recover its size and shape after deformation caused by an external force. Ever since positive psychology rolled around during the 90s, literature began to use this term to refer to this same condition applied to human behavior.

In this sense, resilience is considered a positive adaptation to a negative situation. Being resilient would be the ability to stay within stable functional levels both physically and mentally despite adversity (Moran et. al, 2014 in Gines-Silva, et. al, 2019).

But, don’t we all recover some sense of normality after a traumatic event? Yes, but the difference is how. Imagine we all have an energy bar that can be charged with positive events (good night sleep, proper stress management, etc.) or emptied by negative occurrences. These aversive events would consume a non-resilient person’s energy and, after a while, these levels would return to their initial state. A resilient person doesn’t suffer this energy deficit, but instead actually increases their energy levels.

Where does resilience come from?

Now, we need to know where this resilience comes from. Maybe we’re born with it, maybe it emerges from personal experience, or it could be a mix of both! That’s how we wind up with three lines of investigation to conceptualize resilience, depending on whether they consider it a trait, a result or a process (Hu, Zhang & Whang, 2015 in Gines-Silva et. al, 2019).

  1. Resilience as a generally stable personality trait would protect the individual in the face of adversity and favor personal growth. This concept would become evident through “protection factors“, as can be coping, self-efficacy, optimism or even a sense of humor (Grafton, Gillespie & Henderson, 2010).
  2. Other authors have conceptualized resilience as a dynamic process. Having frequently experienced adversity would develop certain tools for the person to use in future situations. This line of investigation understands resilience as a dynamic factor, meaning it can be learned.
  3. The third line of investigation posits that resilience is a resource that emerges naturally in human beings to face adversity and can be enhanced by external factors. This paradigm defines resilience as “an energy or force that pushes the person from survival to self-actualization” (Richardson, 2000 in Grafton et. al, 2010).

To satisfy my perennial desire of shying away from black-or-white mentality, let’s stick to this last concept. We all have the potential to be resilient under given circumstances. Great. So, how can I help jump-start this process?

What do I need to be resilient?

Discovering our potential ain’t going to happen looking outside. It all starts within. I know, it sounds like some hippy, acid-trip thing; but I’m actually talking about self-concept, motivation or self-efficacy. Having an answer for questions about why you’re here, how can you reach your goals or if you’re able to even reach them is the first step towards resilience.

However, we have learned that certain situational elements can help push resilience into existence. And the reality is that being in extreme conditions that undoubtedly call for this skill (life-death situations, sustained psychological trauma, etc.) isn’t as common as we might think. And we can’t be waiting for life to throw us tremendous curve balls to learn how to break into our resilience. So, let’s use what we got: CrossFit!

(left to right): Dani Horan, Katrin Davidsdottir, Carol Ann Reason-Thibault, Kari Pearce and Chloe Gauvin-David at the 2018 East Regionals. Source: CrossFit

“I have my gold medals somewhere in a box. I have my silver medal with me. We all need to lose.” – Katrin Davidsdottir

On her second place at Regionals in 2018 as the reigning Fittest on Earth.
  • Actively seek failure and be open for its teachings. Katrin is definitely on to something when it comes to dealing with failure. Losing can be the greatest master if we we’re willing to listen. Don’t protect your ego because you’ll be closing the door on resilience, and therefore increasing your vulnerability towards stress.
  • Anyone who’s deep into CrossFit knows that some WODs can make you ask the real questions. Midway through Murph, Chad or the 1,000-burpee challenge can drag you into a real dark place. There, you might be faced with the alternative to either use your inner force to persevere and grow, or let yourself crush beneath the adversity.





- Gínez-Silva, M. J., Astorga, C. M., & Urchaga-Litago, J. D. (2019). Resiliencia psicológica a través de la edad y el sexo. Revista INFAD de Psicología. International Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology., 4(1), 85-94.

- Grafton, E., Gillespie, B., & Henderson, S. (2010, November). Resilience: the power within. In Oncology nursing forum (Vol. 37, No. 6).
Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comments
dolor
Nov 18 2020
5 things you didn’t know about pain

Pain is an inescapable consequence of physical exercise. When we exercise, we agree to a conscious, self-inflicted damage upon our bodies. However, although we all share this burden, it’s never the same experience from one athlete to the next, not even within the same sport.

So, the goal of this article is to explain 5 aspects of exercise-induced pain you probably didn’t know, and of course, we’ll be using CrossFit as a vehicle to better illustrate these notions.

But first… what is pain?

Earlier theories established a causal explanation between a mechanical strain of some sort and the experience of pain. But that failed to explain events like phantom-limb pain or athletes performing to the best of their abilities while withstanding some sort of injury.

Nowadays, pain is defined as an “unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with potential or actual tissue damage” (1979, in Roessler, 2005). Two things stick out to me: the emotional component and pain existing with or without actual tissue damage. That solves both the phantom-limb pain and the seemingly unbreakable athletes.

The subjective aspects of pain can be described on three dimensions: on a sensorial basis (“it burns”), on an affective basis (“it’s punishing”), or as a relative quality (“it’s unbearable”). The common thread between all three is that they depend entirely on individual aspects (this will be important in just a second).

1. There’s a door to pain we choose to open or not

Have you ever torn your hands in the heat of battle and it’s not until the buzzer goes off at the end of the WOD that you see the blood on your hands and it suddenly starts to hurt like hell?

Well that probably didn’t happen to Melzack but he was kind enough to come up with the most predominant theory in pain research: the gate control theory (1973). This model posits that there is a “gate” in the spinal cord that allows pain impulses to reach higher cerebral levels.

Opening the gate and letting all hell break loose ultimately depends on subjective factors like fear, concentration or awareness. So, basically pain doesn’t exist until we make it real by acknowledging it.

2. Certain situations have a differential effect on the experience

Picture two athletes performing a CrossFit Open Workout. One of them is vying for a top-20 spot worldwide to fulfill the lifelong dream of competing at the CrossFit Games; the other is doing their first Open ever. Once they hit that wall, one will keep pushing against it and the other will slow down to get rid of it. Guess who’s who.

Some authors argue that the experience of pain is a function of the meaning of the situation (Litt, 1988). If the circumstances surrounding the experience are somewhat significant for the individual (qualifying for the Games) this may result in an increase or a decrease of the perceived pain intensity.

3. Pain can be viewed as an end goal or the means

Many athletes indulge in sports as a form of self-realization. They purposefully search for their bodies’ limit out of curiosity or pure desire (Roessler, 2005). For some, looking for one’s physical limit may even become the expression of one’s identity. Pain serves as an indicator that said limitation is close, therefore it is deemed a positive sign.

For other athletes, pain is a by-product of sports. The classic “no pain, no gain” situation. The athlete believes that the only possible way of achieving their goals is through pain. Enduring incredible amounts of physical and mental beatdowns during training will prepare them for competition.

pain

“I don’t love doing rowing intervals or max out squats. That sh*t hurts. But the day you show up and you put up the top time, that’s the feeling I chase” – Mat Fraser

Interview for CrossFit HQ

4. Perceived control is a major key

Perceived control is one of those psychological variables that loves meddling in every other process. It so happens that it does just that when it comes to dealing with pain.

Control can be defined as the belief that one has at one’s disposal a response that can influence the aversiveness of a situation (in Litt, 1988). Two types of control could be of relevance here: cognitive control, processing the information in such a way as to make a potentially threatening situation less stressful; decisional control, having the opportunity to choose among various courses of action.

Sam Briggs qualifying for the Games at the 2015 Regionals on a broken foot or Scott Panchik finishing 6th worldwide at the Games that same year with a severe case of plantar fasciitis are perfect examples of how perceived control can moderate the experience of pain.

5. Some coping strategies can help alleviate pain

If it works on mental stressors, it seemed sensible to try and test the effectiveness of some coping strategies on physical pain. If you’re looking to improve your pain tolerance, you can work two possible routes:

  • Attempts to alter appraisal: this has to do with the circumstances that surround the painful event and also the meaning we give to pain itself.

    For example, some people (me) have always feared pain way too much. I enjoy it, don’t get me wrong, but I was always kinda scared of going too far with it. It wasn’t after I did 1,000 burpees for time that I suddenly realized that pain is just that: pain. I’m not going to die if I run a little bit faster, or I do one more rep. My vision has changed to the point I don’t avoid it when it comes my way and somehow me being fully aware makes it more tolerable.
  • Efforts to distract yourself from it: this is probably the most classic coping mechanism applied to pain. When you’re doing sprint intervals of any kind or a long, grueling chipper that never seems to end, one can use attentional devices to stray away from the painful input our body is receiving and learn to focus on, well, just about anything else.

    For example, things I’ve used: counting the amount of people that are in the park (my home gym is on a terrace right above a park), counting 10 breathes before I check the monitor, counting my rest in between reps (I’m just now realizing how mind-absorbing counting is for me). Whatever works, right?








- Litt, M. D. (1988). Self-efficacy and perceived control: cognitive mediators of pain tolerance. Journal of personality and social psychology, 54(1), 149.
- Melzack, R., & Wall, P. D. (1965). Pain mechanisms: a new theory. Science, 150(3699), 971-979.
- Roessler, K. K. (2005). Sport and the psychology of pain. New Approaches to Sport and Exercise Psychology, 30, 83.
- Ryan, E. D., & Kovacic, C. R. (1966). Pain tolerance and athletic participation. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 22(2), 383-390.
Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comments
sobreentrenado
Aug 16 2020
Are you at risk of being overtrained?

It seems like the more we know about what it looks like to be overtrained, the less we know about its beginning. Many studies have shed light onto the symptoms associated to OT and the relationships among them; but the same can’t be said about its risk factors.

We already covered the basics of overtraining in another article but today we’ll be talking about some of the internal and external risk factors that may help you discover if you’re overtrained.

Individual differences

Among the individual differences that could play into having a higher risk of suffering OT syndrome, these would appear to be more relevant:

  • Competitiveness: a stronger desire to outperform other athletes could influence not only pacing during competition but also training. Outtraining your rivals can be the product of a high level of competitiveness by the following logic: if I train more than you do, I’ll be better than you.
  • Achievement motivation: this type of motivation leads to one of two achievement-related attitudes, task-involvement or ego-involvement. The latter implies that the goal the athlete seeks is to demonstrate superior abilities (Butler, 1999), i.e., becoming the Fittest on Earth. If being the best is the primary goal, training more often could be deemed necessary to maintain self-worth and avoid failure.
  • Perfectionism: as discussed in another article, perfectionism is manifested by concerns and efforts. Both of these can influence the appearance of OT: excessive worrying can lead to higher anxiety levels and a significant increase in effort expenditure can cause physiological overtraining.
  • Perception of programming: during an interview I had with Tim Paulson (3x CrossFit Games competitor) we discussed the importance of finding a training program you trust. It dawned on me that athletes who doubt their programming in any way could be driven to adding “junk volume”, switching programs way too often or simply feeling “trapped” by it, possibly increasing risk of being overtrained.
  • Past experience: competitive outcomes (whether positive or negative) can also affect the risk of overtraining. For example, Sara Sigmundsdottir lost the championship title on the last day of competition in 2015 and spent the next year training like a mad dog so that wouldn’t ever happen again. This lead to her being overtrained by the time she made it back to the Games in 2016.

Anxiety & stress

OT, otherwise known as “unexplained underperformance syndrome” (Budgett et. al, 2000) could be precipitated by a simple idea: what if I’m falling behind? This seemingly harmless thought could be at the very core of a well-known process called anxiety.

Cognitive anxiety is commonly verbalized through what-ifs, and these represent an excessive worry towards a threat (whether real or not). In the case of athletes – usually at the elite level -, they tend to question if their training is up to par with the rest of the field. While this worry is quite common, it can become hazardous if it’s too intense.

And of course if we’re talking anxiety, we have to look into stress processes as well since they tend to go hand in hand. In relation to the previous what-if, the athlete can believe they’re training at the same level as others, but the follow-up concern could be: what if my training is not enough to be the best?

Stress responses are initiated once the athlete perceives their resources are not enough to complete a certain task. The body will then work towards enhancing these resources in order to adapt to the challenge. But if the athlete continuously gives unrealistic appraisals of their resources, the stress process becomes chronic, unleashing a manifold of psychological and physical symptoms.

Sport characteristics & athlete’s environment

Every sport has its characteristics and paired with the effect of the environment we could be looking at the following risk factors associated to becoming overtrained:

  • Sport-specific culture: one of the strongest paradigms in CrossFit is that you cannot have a weakness. And of course, competitive athletes tend to take this to the limit. Fraser rowing 5k a day for an entire year or Heppner practicing rope climbs everyday during 2015 are perfect examples of this.
  • Sport modality: it’s been proven that OT happens more often in individual sports, among professional athletes and in endurance-type sports (Budgett et. al, 1991).
  • Social pressure: the expectations set by family and friends could also be a factor. If the pressure perceived by the athlete is too high, this could influence their desire to increase the intensity, duration and frequency of their training in order to meet those expectations and avoid disappointment.

Why should I be aware of these risk factors?

overtrained
Jacob Heppner pushing a sled. Source: Jacob Heppner

Both sport-related anxiety and stress are very common – especially among elite athletes -, so differentiating a normal concern from the initiation of a mental disorder become a serious task. That’s why it’s of utter importance to stay alert and keep track of your mental well-being throughout the season.

Not every athlete will present the same vulnerabilities and, therefore, one must be on the lookout for the earliest symptoms. If you ever catch yourself worrying about not training enough or starting to feel helpless, don’t belittle these thoughts and reach out to your support system. However common these feelings may be, they can still precipitate an OT syndrome.











- Budgett, R. (1990). Overtraining syndrome. British journal of sports medicine, 24(4), 231-236.
- Budgett, R., Newsholme, E., Lehmann, M., Sharp, C., Jones, D., Peto, T., Collins, D., Nerurkar, R. & White, P. (2000). Redefining the overtraining syndrome as the unexplained underperformance syndrome. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 34(1), 67-68.
- Butler, R. (1999). Information seeking and achievement motivation in middle childhood and adolescence: The role of conceptions of ability. Developmental Psychology, 35, 146-163.
Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comments