Under The Gun Antics: Pressure Is A Motivator, Preparation Is Insurance...

   Jen...

Doug and Mindy...

"We'll paint the skyscrapers with huge totem faces and goblin tikis, and every evening what's left of mankind will retreat to empty zoos and lock itself in cages as protection against the bears and big cats and wolves that pace and watch us from outside the cage bars at night." 

Delivering on a dime, perform an activity you have yet to see, or function well on demand are all well to do traits successful people usually maintain. But Batman was Batman because he had all that and and then-some. Added to working incredibly well under immense pressure, Batman prepared for everything. And who the hell doesn't want to be Batman?

An interesting anomaly presented itself the week prior, and during the first Open WOD. PCFers new and old stayed after classes, showed up early, wrangled down trainers and athletes all to master a skill they hadn't yet achieved. For beginners this may have been the pressure needed to force the time. For veterans this could have very well worked the same, and some of us do function beautifully under pressure. But functioning well under any and every kind of pressure should be basic human survival instinct. Preparation is so basic and instinctual even squirrels do it. 

One is not to confuse preparation with paralyzation. It damn sure doesn't mean to stay planted as opposed to passionately moving ahead. Preparation for CrossFit or anything else in life, may present  alongside one ability to demonstrate drive, and will.

I don't really have to say if that voluptuous chest of yours can hit the bar on several chest to bar pull-ups and your shoulders clearly graze the rings on multiple successful dips you should be preparing your Muscle-up do I? After you failed your first spelling test while you were a young whippersnapper, strictly due to lack of preparation, you were blessed with a clear and concise demonstration of what lack of proper prep work will do. 

Various preparation tools exist well out of the CrossFit walls but are usually no-where as simple as what we are blessed with at CF. At CF If your ass sucks at pull-ups your ass either needs to lose a little bit of itself to pull-up easier, or grab one of the folks who would love to spend time making you better.

Maybe your not so hot at another non-CF skill. The preparation solution may very not be as easy as grabbing a trainer and grabbing a bar. It may take the one ingredient we all have, but are perpetually scared to use. Creativity;

Creatively Preparing:

1. Meditate. Preparation requires insight. Insight can very well be an instant magical gift allotted by God on random occasions. But the majority of our insight is gained through paying attention to ourselves, diligently evaluating why we are good at one task, but not another. After truly honest self-provocation, and evaluation, meditate on the torah all day, and all night. Watch yourself first in your mind and prepare how you need to, then go do it, perfect your preparation mentally before physically, and it will be second nature even when the pressure is on.

2. Read. Reading saturates the soul with a collective knowledge of endless topics like nothing before it. We are blessed with seemingly unlimited knowledge to help us prepare for whatever challenge we could dream of, or ones we have yet to ponder. Take the time to read creative works, prophetic, biblical, didactic, and anything else pertaining to your chosen art regularly.

3.Disconnect. Some of us need a rare hiatus. Some need more frequent breaks. But we all need time away. Every human needs time away from Facebook, Digg, Twitter, Phones, T.V's, News, lovers, friends, crowds and the like. The only way to truly connect on levels beyond bland pleasantries is to disconnect long enough to develop valid thoughts void of Facebook tags, marketing tactics, and beeping phones.

4. Surround yourself with betters. I am blessed to have such a wonderful and diverse group of friends around me everyday. There always seem to be a light I can shine on them in the areas I am good at, but damn sure if that light doesn't come back on me ten fold in the areas, I fail at. You must have a surrounding of friends that help strengthen all aspects of you, and you must have friends you give back to. 

Being Batman takes a hell of a lot more than tremendous preparation added to enormous confidence under pressure. But its a start. The tactics above are just some I use, and some I learned from other very prepared Batman Esq characters. Go forth, find your group of Ninjas to train with. Train for what does happen, what could happen, and creatively what has never happened.....CrossFit.

Strength:

Rest

For Score:

1-Climb

3-Squat Cleans 105/155

9-Box Jumps

AMRAP 15 Minutes

Post rounds to comments.

Comments

[holly]

mmmmmmmmmmm must've got that wall done im guessing!!!!!!!!

[jb]

Damn Holly it took me forever to get that....I guess its open to interpretation...maybe the building, a rope, the cargo net...a climb is a climb

[k]

another good (and perhaps relevant) quote from the affiliate site...

"Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain." -- Joseph Campbell

[Mo]

5rds
Failed last 2 squat cleans or wouldve completed 6 :)

[holly]

7 rds m rope

[vicki]

5rds m

[NP]

6 rounds + 1 climb + 3 sq.cleans

http://zacheven-esh.com/blog/physical-education-the-pussification-of-america/

Kinda rough and questionable language.. so read at your own discretion.

[holly]

& 3 squaters cleaners

[Teri]

5rds(m) Thanks 6am for letting me join you!

[chas]

Great noon class. Thanks, Kara. We had some awesome athletes show up for the noon. Fun working out with you guys; Doug, Cindy, Patrick, Heather M., King, Amelia, and Jeff.
10 rds.

[k]

Nooners...I think I've already talked to 3 people about how impressive you were today. Honestly, I've never seen so many good squat cleans in one class, including McCormick's (the shoe-changing exercise was priceless)! And from what I observed, everyone seemed to genuinely challenged themselves...from Cindy and Jeff gettin as low as they could go on those rope climbs from the floor to Stephanie workin that FS she hasnt seen in awhile to Chas musclin' every friggin PClean. Just wow.

[Lori]

6(m)--reg rope 1/2 way up & 85# squat cleans

[kara MIKOLAJEWSKI]

5rds (m=no rope climb, did 6 squat cleans and 18 box jumps)

[jb]

8 and 1/3...awesome 6:30...Min smashed it

[Min]

8 2/3

Fun class!

[jen w]

7 2/3 M

[tyler w]

7 and 1/3 rounds

[Jen D]

6 2/3 rds...halfway up the rope at time.. Good class, fun times, today turned out to be a great day!

[Ken]

6 1/3
Based on numbers above I'm a slacker!
I'll go with the Masters division on this one cuz I definitely didn't hang with you younguns!

Nalin, that blog/post was great - sure a little rough language, but right on & it made me LMAO - thanks for sharing!

[k]

wow...watched the eve classes and was STILL impressed by the overall squat clean performances. great work today on a tough movement. and seeing EVERYone on a rope in some capacity (xcept Kara for good-health reasons) was awesome.

[Dana]

6 1/3 rds (m) 85# squat cleans and the rope climbs were 3 on knotted rope and 3 attempts on the regular rope (not very far - about 3 pulls each)

[landscape gardener suffolk]

I really can't imagine myself if I will be the one who will carry that barbell. You can barely see women doing hard exercise on fitness gyms. And you can often see women doing barbells in enhancing their muscles. Jen is a tough woman, she was strong.