Why I’d rather people didn’t cheer for me.
Ian and I throwing it down on the final day from Potomac Crossfit Raw on Vimeo.
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This weekend is the mid Atlantic hopper challenge. I’m competing in it, and had some thoughts on cheering/coaching during a competition.
The hopper challenge on Saturday isn’t my first Crossfit competition. As I do more of these things, I have come to a strange realization. I’d rather people didn’t cheer for me. Before you go and call me an ungrateful bastard, let me explain.
People screaming and clapping is nice. It fires me up (particularly before the WOD starts), and adds to the overall atmosphere of the competition. But to tell you the truth, I don’t really hear them as soon as I get moving. Running up the sandbag hill in Aromas, with a couple thousand people six inches from me, was an interesting test. During the run, my mind totally clicked off and was focused on the task at hand. I was thinking about my energy level, my grip on the bag, and how much juice I had left in my quads. People were 2 feet from my face screaming at the top of their lungs and I couldn’t hear a thing.
Here is what I do like. Strong, simple coaching and information.
I can still remember Chef yelling “BREATH!!” or Mike R yelling “RELAX” during my double under/deadlift WOD at the qualifiers. As soon as I heard those cues, my entire body relaxed and I was able to get into a nice rhythm. This type of cheering is very valuable.
I also really like a coach there to count my reps and tell me what numbers I have to hit. During the FGB fundraiser, part of the reason I scored well was Aaron standing next to me counting. He was telling me what numbers I should be hitting in order to hit my goal score. I wanted to break four hundred, so his verbal cues helped a lot. Things like “Pick up the ball, do 11 reps, take 3 breaths, and then do 8 more” or “Come on Jon you gotta get 50 box jumps here”. When stated like that, I just listen and do it. I don’t have to think, he is doing it for me.
There is a balance here. You don’t want you coach to undersell you and over-analyze the workout. Sometimes you just gotta pick the F*cker up.
Conversely, your coach has to know you well enough to set reasonable goals for you. They have to be able to look at you and know when you honestly can’t do another rep, or when you just need a little prodding. In the 3rd round of Fight Gone Bad, your coach has to know that you probably aren’t going to get 50 Wall Balls so to ask for 2 sets of 25 is counterproductive.
Everything written above is totally thrown out the window at the end of a workout. I want you to scream your lungs out for me when I’m on the 9 and 9 during Heavy Fran. No more posturing, no more analyzing, just a shot of adrenaline and a final sprint. In conclusion, here are some things I like to hear and things that I don’t like to hear when competing in a Crossfit event.
So-So:
“Come on Jon, you can do it”
“Great job Jon, keep working”
“Keep your shirt on Jon, that’s embarassing”
Better:
“Ok, get 4 reps here and get right on the pullup bar”
“You gotta go hard on this run, he is right behind you”
” Active shoulders”
“Your shoe is untied”
9 comments
Best:
“Milton Friedman called and said the government could do more reps than you.”
I hear if you take Milton Friedman’s name in vain, he appears out of a cloud of smoke and beats you to death with a copy of Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations”
What did the five invisible fingers say to the face?
“SLAP! Just helping you pursue your own interests because that benefits society as a whole.”
How about “swim further out you’re in a riptide” so you could finish the swim in your Liberty to Liberty competition
Jon, you have a typo. I am pretty sure Boston Mike said (while shakin’ his shirt), “Jon, take it off baby and make em scream!”
This video brings back nightmares. I couldn’t watch past the first round of 21. But, even though I disagree with your skewed economic viewpoints, I agree with your comments about what types of cheering is helpful. Best of luck at the hopper.
That hurts Ian, that hurts a lot. “Skewed economic viewpoint” You better be careful, or else I’ll ration your health care.
I know exactly what you’re talking about, Jon. When I was wrestling, my Mom/sister/girlfriend would always ask: “Did you hear us cheering?” Umm… no.
I’m also a fan of terse coaching in commandment form: “let go of the ankle”, “cut him loose”, “fresh start”, “10 seconds”. But I even had a tough time hearing those commands sometimes, which would piss my coaches off to no end. Eventually, I got to a point where I knew when I needed coaching and would momentarily listen for commands or even look at my coach.
There are few experiences as enjoyable as having such absolute focus that you lose all awareness of the surrounding world. That’s my definition of being in the zone. Check out my link for a cool example of someone deep in the zone.
That all said, I have to admit that I still like when people cheer for me, even if I only hear it later on the video.
[...] My regonals is in three days out in Ohio. I’ve written about competition several times. [...]
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