Releasing the animal inside while fighting 295lbs for a new back squat PR
A month ago I used to live in a place where I thought I knew what I was capable of. This place was comfortable, there were very few unknowns. My limits were defined, defined by me, and defined me. Little did I know that due to this perceived "knowledge" of my abilities I was inadvertently hindering my own progress. The realization that I was bound to the perils of stagnation by none other than myself hit me like the proverbial "ton of bricks". (see Mind Control from a couple weeks ago for more info on that)
Over the last three weeks I've immersed myself in a new way of thinking. My current outlook could be defined the same as that of a blank slate, an empty cup, and a large slice of humble pie. This open mind perspective with regards to what's possible has led to several PR's and a few surprising performances. Nothing else has changed significantly enough to attribute these minor successes to. Nutrition, sleep, and training have remained relatively unchanged. My mental state is the only thing that has been modified. Sure, it could be that I have just gotten physically stronger. OR, maybe these results are a product of mental gains and should be chalked up in the mental PR's category, not physical.
Too often we get caught up in numbers, theory, and projections of what will happen that we never experience what could happen. We sabotage ourselves by giving up too early and not fighting hard enough. When one thinks they "know" something, this self limitation tends to happen more often. Our mind plays tricks; "I shouldn't use that load because it's too close to my limit", or "this pace is too fast in relation to my 500m pr so even though I feel good, I should slow down", and worst of all... "I should rest now so that I can go harder later, it's better to pace myself for the finish".
Don't get me wrong - often times strategy is good, knowledge of self is unequivocally important, and we all need to learn more about who we are and what we're capable of. Just don't let this introspection and analyzation make the path to our potential even more elusive than it already is. The video above demonstrates this point: it didn't matter how much I knew, what the weight was, or how much sleep I got the night before. All that mattered in that moment when gravity began to take over and progress came to a halt, was that I didn't give up - and wasn't planning on it. If failure was going to join the party it wasn't going to be invited by my mind. True physical failure was going to have to occur. I was determined to not let my brain be the weak link. Failure would have to overcome my body in order stop me and prevent completion of that lift - and on that day, it wasn't strong enough, I was.
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