1. Failure and Bravery
I have girls trying advanced tricks with a spotter 4 or 5 times before they are literally begging me to let them do the skill by themselves, whether or not I think they’ll be successful. The reason why is that they are not afraid to fail. At least, their expectation of and desire for success is greater than their fear of failure. This is something many adults have lost. Often I hear about fears of maxing out, going too hard in workouts, using prescribed percentages, or simply assuming those percentages will be too heavy. If you assume you are mediocre you will always be mediocre. If you allow yourself the chance to surprise yourself, you give yourself the opportunity to succeed. You must allow your dedication to progress and transform be stronger than your fear of failure. GO FOR IT. What’s the worst that can happen? You don’t make the lift? Sounds like a pretty ok day to me. Even if you fail 100 times, your failure has no bearing on who you are as a person, what kind of athlete you are, or what you will accomplish next. In fact, it says more about you if you never fail at all.
2. Motivation vs. Complacency
The desire to progress through levels is extremely motivating to kids. The coolest part about gymnastics is that there is always another level to progress to. Once you succeed in the recreational levels, you progress through competitive levels 4-10, then you become elite, then part of the national team, etc. Kids are constantly asking their coaches what they need to do to be able to move up in level. CrossFit and fitness in general are similar. If you’re in CrossFit, versus a traditional aerobics or spin class, it’s because you enjoy this kind of progression. You enjoy learning new skills, building on your skills, perfecting your skills, and trying to be better than you were last year. I KNOW you all have this drive inside you. You just need to remember to dig it out every now and then. There is no point in doing this if you just want to stay where you are now. The reason you’ve enlisted me as your coach is to help you get better. What’s the point in that if you aren’t actively trying to move up in level?
3. Independence
By age 3, kids are taught to watch a variety of skills, remember all the instructions, then practice the skills independently for a certain period of time. They are not rewarded for not listening or following directions. If they don’t remember an instruction or a vocabulary word, they are encouraged to think and remember before continuing, without receiving an answer from the teacher. Ask yourself this- How long was it before you learned the difference between a hang snatch and a snatch? Do you still have trouble with this? How many times have you asked for clarification before starting a workout or skill, that, had you stopped for a minute to think, you may have been able to answer yourself? We are obsessed with instant gratification, and that includes demanding answers from others instead of thinking for ourselves. Meanwhile, 3 year olds are learning to listen, act, and reason independently.
4. Progression
Similarly, preschoolers are also expected to remember skills they learned and practiced in the last class, and apply them in their next class. This is the idea that one class is not independent of the next. Each class should build on the previous. If a kid learns a skill one week, that student should be able to perform an even harder skill the following week. This is the same concept in CrossFit and weightlifting. If you learn a skill one day, this should be a foundation for when you perform the skill again. I’m not saying you should remember and apply every single cue you’ve ever had every single time- this would be impossible- but you should maintain a solid foundation. We should never have to start from ground zero. Certain concepts should remain constant- widen your grip on a snatch, tighten your core on a squat, set your back on a deadlift. Take an active approach to your classes- instead of simply doing what we say, work to understand the concepts and mechanics, and you will progress much faster.
There is a reason gymnastics is one of the most popular sports in the summer Olympics. To watch gymnasts at that level is to watch an entire lifetime of these exact principles put into action. These are KIDS competing at this level, and mentally, they are performing at a much higher level than most of us. While the skills they’re doing may be impossible for us to do, their mental strategy is accessible to everyone and applicable to any goal. Whether you apply this or not is up to you. I can’t force you to become mentally stronger. But, I’ll say this- you are in a unique environment with over a hundred other people that are ready to attack their fitness goals with drive and determination and coaches that want to help. Take advantage. Don’t waste this. I know that you as a community have more in you than you’ve let on. Now it’s your turn to prove it.