Paralysis By Analysis
Written by Bryce Smith
You are getting ready to attempt a one rep max snatch. Up until this point all of your lifts have been flawless. The timing of each pull just felt right and you were fast under the bar. You felt as though you were in the zone!
Then all of a sudden you begin thinking.
Your mind is over stimulated, you begin questioning your hand position, whether you need more chalk or not, if you should belt up, if you should tie your shoes a bit tighter. Finally someone yells, “Here we go!”
You approach the bar, your heart is racing, you are questioning when to take a breath, the weight feels a bit heavier now, and…boom …you miss the lift! After what seemed like a PR day, you completely psyched yourself out with that thing between your ears.
Paralysis by analysis describes the state of over-thinking or over-analyzing a situation so that a decision or action is never taken or it is performed improperly, in effect, paralyzing the outcome. The mind is like a light bulb; if you think too much, it eventually burns out.
For many athletes, they perform well when expectations are either low or nonexistent. When a number or weight is perceived as the main goal, pressure to live up to or surpass expectations makes making lifts or performing well in a workout very tough sometimes.
I tell many lifters and athletes to stop overthinking. Sometimes that sounds a bit like, “Telling the pope not to get on his knees, kids to stop craving sweets, or a teenage boy not to think about sex [1].” I like to think about the device used in the movie “Men In Black” where they clear out people’s minds with the push of a button. I explain that sometimes there are technique sessions and sometimes there are sessions where we are trying to lift the heaviest load (safely of course). It all depends on the goal of the session, but if it is a training session where load is the main focus, then the majority of thoughts should be happening when the loads are light.
After that, it’s about the intensity and ability to aggressively carry out a practiced task in order to take a trip to PR City or hit a required percentage. A good rule of thumb is to pick three things per session and one thing per lift to focus on. For many CrossFit athletes it is finishing their pull off the floor, or keeping their chest up, or getting under the bar a bit faster. No matter what you are focusing on, it cannot be twenty-five things – it can only be one.
The key during a one-rep max attempt is to understand that you have nothing to lose. Even if you do the wrong thing and miss a lift, or perform poorly in a workout, you will be okay. The worst thing that happens is you fail the lift. As a quick safety disclaimer – it is important to practice bailing technique with lighter loads for novice lifters, but for the heavy hitters, practice using positive self talk and have confidence when approaching the bar. You may be surprised as to what your body is capable of if your mind just shuts up!
References
[1] Borchard, T. (2015). The Paralysis of Analysis: On Overthinking. Psych Central. Retrieved on October 6, 2015, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/08/14/the-paralysis-of-analysis-on-overthinking/