Being Present

When I think about the statement “Be Present” a scene from the movie Fight Club has stuck with me for a number of years now and recently I have discovered that this scene fits perfectly with the mantra of CrossFit:

“Get comfortable with being uncomfortable”

In the scene Tyler Durden grabs Jack’s hand, licks his lips and kisses the back of it. At this point, you think, “what is going on now?”. Suddenly, Tyler pours Sodium Hydroxide on the back of Jack’s hand.

This substance reacts with moisture to burn through Jack’s skin. In an attempt to avoid the pain Jack goes into his happy place, an ice cave filled with penguins, but Tyler keeps pulling him back to reality and then comes up with this beauty of a line “This is the greatest moment of your life and you’re off somewhere missing it. Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing.”

When watching athletes at the box (yes all the members of the box are automatically athletes for showing up to the class!), there is sometimes a point in a WOD when their eyes glaze over and they stare to the other side of the box whilst resting or negotiating with themselves about the next rep, and they drift off either into their happy place or into the land of the lost.

From the time that you read this article, don’t let that happen to you again. Stay focused on the WOD and be present the entire time. Don’t go into your happy place. As Tyler says, this is the greatest moment of your life, don’t miss it being somewhere else. Feel the burn of your lungs as you do another set of skips, feel your blood pumping through your veins like acid as you head out for the run and feel your muscles burn as you squat another rep. Don’t hide from the pain. Feel it. Embrace it. Love it. You will be stronger for it.

We are the lucky few that will be able to experience this type of sensation in our lives. This is not the mind-numbing boredom of a session on an elliptical machine at the local Globo-gym. This is intensity beyond what the average human experiences. We are becoming superheroes, not humans dependant on machines to move the weight. That’s why we need to stay present. When you size up that WOD on the board as CrossFit Ex Animo as the Coach is going through the briefing, make a plan in your head about how you are going to tackle the WOD and stick to that plan, no matter the pain. Be conscious of how long you rest.

Count your breaths to yourself and hit it again. Don’t go into your happy place, rather let the burn of your lungs and the ache of your muscles be your happy place. It’s time to stop paying lip service to the quote “Get comfortable being uncomfortable”. It’s time to embrace the pain and to love it because without pain and without sacrifice we would have nothing.

Kyle will be writing a follow-up article on how some nifty tips to help you “Be Present” in your workouts.

Author:

Kyle Mills <Click here to see who Coach Kyle is

Coach @ CrossFit Ex Animo in Craighall

396 Jan Smuts Avenue

The Valley Centre

Shop 21a

www.cfxa.co.za