Fear of Failure

One of the most common things you'll hear in a crossfit gym is the slamming of the weights during a workout.  Your pushing yourself as much as possible and don't want to waste energy bringing down the weight slowly.  Sometimes the weight your using on an overhead squat, press, or any Olympic lift is just too much that you'd be risking injury trying to lower the bar down quietly.  If your going for a heavy single, or even triple, and don't drop the weight that you just used your whole body to get overhead you end up using just your arms and shoulders to bring it down.  This can lead to serious injuries.

Other than the physical reasons for being able to drop the weight there are mental reasons as well.  If you miss the lift, no big deal you just let it go.  If you jerk 300lbs over your head and need it to come down, no big deal let it drop.  That security and reassurance that it is ok to fail and ok to drop the weight is monumental to your performance.  This is why working out at a facility where you can drop the weights is so important.

I did not have this luxury.  I workout at a "Globo" gym most of the time and a few months ago they changed ownership.  We had bumper plates that we would drop all the time.  The new owners did not like this.  We tried our best to not make noise as much as it sucked.  I thought knowing that I couldn't fail would have a positive effect on my performance, but it was just the opposite.  Every time I attempted a lift I was focused more on not dropping the weight then hitting the lift.  A few weeks ago I attempted a 300lb jerk.  I got it up, locked it out, but my feet were all over the place and I couldn't hold it.  Instead of letting it go I tried to catch it like an idiot (I almost did, which would have been pretty cool).  The 300lb came crashing down on my legs.  Luckily I didn't break or tear anything, I just had a huge bruise and some discomfort for about a week.

Recently my friend purchased a squat rack and we have been working out in his garage.  This week I attempted the 300lb jerk again and it was easier than your bowel movements after Doritos Locos Tacos.  I whole-heartedly believe I nailed the lift because I wasn't afraid of what would happen if I fail.  There was no pressure.

That's the beauty of working out in an environment of a Crossfit gym or an Olympic lifting gym, it's ok to fail, it's ok to slam your weights.  If you have the privilege of working out in this sort of environment great, but if you don't and your doing Olympic lifting movements I strongly recommend you try training in one.  It will put less stress on your body and less stress on your mind.

Oh hey fear...



Train hard, train smart.