Workout willpower: Do you really need it?
In my pre-CrossFit days, I logged endless, uninspiring hours on the track, treadmill, elliptical, and weight circuit. There was no workout without willpower. I needed it to drive to the gym, to step on the machine, to ignore my tweaked knee, to crank out that extra mile. I had to convince myself that this workout - indistinguishable from the last and the one before - was somehow worth my while.
An unappreciated facet of CrossFit is its unique ability to capture the pre-willpower days of the grade school playground at recess; that sense of play, camaraderie, swinging from monkey bars, playing tag and healthy competition. No routine. Endless possibilities. No willpower necessary.
There's something magical about the combination of a great coach; a tight-knit community; and a short, intense, timed and scored workout that transports me back to that pre-willpower era. I would no sooner skip CrossFit than I would skip recess back in the day.
My only routine now consists of walking into the gym, greeting my fellow classmates and checking out the whiteboard. Today's workout: 10 minutes, 3 movements, as many rounds as possible. My heart begins to pound. Can I make it through 4 times? 5?
The coach leads us through warm-ups, skills (a lesson on how to land a jump "cat-like") and chalk talk. In the blink of an eye, 30 minutes have passed and I’m thinking about nothing but the present. I prepare my station – a box for jumping, a kettle bell for swinging and a space for push-ups. I consider strategy; can I sustain 10 minutes all-out, or should I pace myself? Today feels like an all-out kind of day. I catch the coach's eye and they agree wordlessly.
3-2-1 and the timer begins. I'm in the moment. Mind focused. All around, other people are doing what I'm doing: jumping, swinging, pushing up, each at their own cadence and with their own intensities. There is serious power being generated in this room, and I’m part of the machine. I need to do my part. I see a fellow classmate slow down and give them an encouraging shout.
I knock out a few more box jumps. Coach yells out “30 seconds, folks, let's bring it home!” I flash back to the closing bell of recess. Carpe Diem! I dig deep for three more push-ups until the buzzer sounds. I fall to the ground, chest pounding, awash in endorphins. Recess is over, time to go back to real life. Back in my office, I can feel the nice burn in my legs and back from all the work I just did. Just 24 hours until my next WOD, and I already can't wait.
No willpower to workout? Who needs it? We've got CrossFit.