Pain
by Frank DiMeo
We hear many clichés about pain in the fitness industry, like the old standby, "No pain, no gain." Even people who never workout know that one.
Since so many people talk about it, why do so few handle it well?
Maybe some confuse pain with hard work, and they don't like either one.
Others may find pain, even a little pain, something to be feared and avoided like the plague.
Now don't get me wrong, if you love pain, you've got issues we can't cover in this message.
So what is a wise and relevant manner to deal with pain?
In Marcus Luttrell's excellent book, "Lone Survivor", many difficult things are discussed, including pain.
One of the points made in the book was to not let your mind focus on how bad things will get later; deal with the pain or difficulty you are facing at that time and get through it.
Then deal with the next one.
That can apply to many things in life as well as in CrossFit training. Many new people look at a CrossFit WOD (workout of the day) and shake their heads in disbelief. I mean people can't really do that, can they? Well, okay, maybe they can but I never could . . .
Guess what, you're not alone on that. Most people take a while before tackling a CrossFit WOD. If the truth be known, any workout is "do-able" if you break it down in to manageable chunks. Don't fear the future pain of the workout, simply do what's immediately in front of you as good as you can. Then, move on to the next part.
Dwelling on future pain only makes the present effort even more difficult, and some will avoid even attempting it.
So whether you train in CrossFit or not, the principles are still true.
I've heard it said that "the worst things in my life never did actually happen" but the fear of those things did, though.
So get your brain on track concerning future pain; you'll get a lot more done!
