Ten Second Shot Clock: How To Make Quick, Good Decisions...

Found this on Derby's Site. So damn funny I watched it twice...

"Gummy Bears...they hibernate in your colon."

A meaningful decision sits at the right side of a horrible choice. And yet we take the same long-ass amounts of time on both. Either you're walking out the door, in the door, or making a door. You're always deciding.  Might as well not let life pass you by while you do.

I programmed a partner WOD the other day in which two athletes worked the same station for max reps in three minutes. The catch was that the pair had to switch every ten seconds so that only one athlete was working at a time. Not only did it force them to decide how this little enigma must go, but decide fast. It really made me think about our quality of training, and every other aspect of each day when we only have a ten-second shot at helping someone.

3,2,1 GO! sounded and I ventured over beside two working athletes of about 50+ years of age. Once arriving at my first fixer-uppers I stopped, paused, thought.  Before I could say a word, the clock beeped and the athletes changed positions. I smiled because I love this. I need to be able to see what someone is doing wrong in one shot, process it within a second, and give an immediate three or four word fix that can be applied. The implications for improved training are obvious. The implications for improved life are many. 

My Way, Your Way, No Way

It took me about forty seconds to change my tune and instruct with a sense of urgency. It's not like I don't do that anyway, but this was different. On a normal movement that is questionable in technique not safety, I will usually watch a rep or two and ensure I grasp the full issue. Then as I begin to process the direction I want the athlete to take, I address them in the way I like to be addressed. What's going wrong, why its going wrong, and the fix. While that's all well and good, sometimes this shit just ain't needed and, ocassionally, when you say five things we as humans miss the one thing we needed to hear.

I simply cut all foreplay and, instead, one-rep diagnosed, triaged, and performed surgery. It's not that I didn't care if I was wrong or right.  It's that I determined I couldn't fear if the decision I was making was perfect or not. Simply doing what I "thought" was best was better than doing nothing. And it didn't matter if I liked it.  What matters is whether or not it worked.

There Are No Big Decisions

I can't really remember making any big decisions in my life. I'm sure they seemed big at the time, but looking back I can only put my hands on one or two that might even count as big...then.  Now they seem petty. 

Luckily, I have always found it very easy to make decisions for better or worse. I would much rather be wrong and have tried than to have stressed over whether or not everything was perfect before I took a step. I'm sure a quick decision may have been at the root of an issue or two that a little more reserve would have prevented, but those immediate bad decisions became valuable lessons I would not trade. 

In reality, it seems every day is about stringing together more and more little decisions. Lots of right turns with a left, and a U-turn thrown in for fun until you get to today's destination...which can easily become tomorrow's roadblock. 

 
You never really know if you will be suffering consequences, or reaping rewards by making quick decisions, or taking days to decide the same puzzle. What IS for sure, though, is that if you're letting other small decisions skip over you while you're focused on one "big" decision, you're missing stuff. Taking too much time to "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" means a lot of other things get the finger.

Throw Your Cards

At one time or another you have to show your hand at the table of life, bluffing or not. Folks constantly "checking" and trying to figure out what the entire table is doing leave room for the other guy to build confidence on a hand they should have made him fold. Or worse yet, it makes them lose confidence and fold a winning hand. Sometime it's all in our fold.  It's never wait and see.

So make the snap decision for good or bad. Get out of your own head, and leave the decision anxiety at the table with the rest of the poker chips. Use your wisdom, and experience to tell you which direction to throw your cards then let the $^&#ers fly. After they're out of your hands you can't control where they land anyway, so might as well stop worrying and start deciding.

Dynamic:

Overhead Squat

12X2@65% 1RM

For Score:

10 Sumo-deadlift high pull 75/105

10-burpees

7 Rounds

Post weight moved and time to comments. 

Comments

[Mo]

75# OHS
9:52

[runmelrun]

75#OHS
5:52(m)
sub bs for sdhp and jumping pus for burpees

[nikki]

Richard 10:08 (m). Nikki 11:32 (m)..

[holly]

85 oh
7:52

[holly]

what's with the 52's

[PJ]

65 OH
10:12,
The song ruined it for me, haha

[vicki]

OHS little bar + 10
11:12m

[Shelly]

OHS Ultra lite + 20#
The OHS and I have to work on our relationship.
12:50 (m) 75#, 7 reps per round of each.

[HN]

OHS 85#
7:49

[jen w]

OHS 65#
9:37 m

[Katie K]

OHS - Ultra lite bar plus 20#
10:25
I'm getting there! :) 2 weeks down, lots more to go!

[ASH]

Didn't do the OHS but last week thursday I did a 1RM and PR'd with 135#. I was super excited about that!

11:03 (M) 65# SDLHP

SDLHP and Burpees - 2 of the hardest movements for a 6month pregnant girl! DAMN JB, keep in mind those of us with large bellies in the way! : )

[Min]

Ash, you're my hero... keep kickin ass, girl!

[Bret]

105 OHS
11 mins

[Dana]

T, Heather H., Kara M. and Dana
361

[Rachael]

75 ohs
10:32