22.1 was JUST RELEASED and athletes everywhere are running all possible scenarios through their heads. This workout will present additional barriers to those struggling with trauma or mental health!
Read more about the workout from a trauma-informed lens and how to navigate these moments in the future. Empowered RX will give a live trauma-informed analysis of each WOD shortly after it is announced in the Facebook Group "Taking My Power Back (Empowered RX Open Challenge)
WALL WALKS- DB SNATCHES-BOX JUMP OVERS
AMRAP 15
3 Wall Walks
12 Db Snatches
15 Box Jump Overs
When the 22.1 CrossFit Open was announced we started getting tons of messages from women who were experiencing fear, anxiety & dread.
My first question is always,
"What makes this worse than other workouts?"...
Some of the answers I got were:
- I can't hide in it
- It's literally my body that has to support me, if it fails, I fall
- my arms are going to be so tired, how will i do snatches too
- I won't be as good as the other athletes
- I can't even do the scaled version
- Coordination isn't my thing
- I don't know how to approach this at all
- We don't see wall walks in programming often
- THIS IS SO LOUD WITH EVERYONE JUMPING ON THE BOXES AROUND ME
This workout is spicy, fast moving and there are a lot of potential opportunities for "NO REPS". You absolutely CANNOT hide in a workout like this. Slow down the wall walk too much, your arms will likely give out or else you'll just waste a ton of energy.
Hop on, stay low, hop off for the box jumps and your going to feel a ton of lactic acid build up in those quads. Stand UP often!
Moving from a high intensity cardio exercise into an inverted strength exercise with gymnastics skills = Changing blood pressure, decreased lung capacity, increased muscle tension in the neck, increased heart rate, Core bracing, potentially hitting ourselves with the jump rope if we fell, potentially falling off the wall...
Guess what!? All of these are triggering AF for anyone in the recovery process. Innately we know this just by looking at the workout and so.. the fear response starts as we read the words off the CrossFit Games website the night of the announcement. Unfortunately fear is self-fulfilling. The more we dread and worry about a workout, the more stressed out we go into it, the less enjoyable and worse the performance will be.
Paralysis by Analysis
For those in a good state of mental health, this is a healthy and objective part of human nature. For those who have experienced trauma or who are under stress, it becomes a defense mechanism to look for threats and danger.
Window of Tolerance
Every person has their own individual window of tolerance. This is a term used to describe the zone of arousal in which a person is able to function most effectively or without consequence. When we experience stress and trauma our window of tolerance becomes much much smaller. We have a hard time moving in and out of stress... We get stuck in alert mode and small things become big threats.
Emotions that Provoke Threat Response
- Fear of failure
- Fear of the unknown
- Fear of embarrassment
- Fear of being last
- Fear of injury
- Fear of discomfort
- Fear of inadequacy
- Fear of failing to meet expectations
When we look at this list... we've all felt these emotions when it comes to competition. When we have a small window of tolerance, we can't use logic or calm ourselves down.. the inner critic takes over... and the fear becomes overwhelming enough to cause alarm.
The Nervous System Response to Fear
Fight- Flight- Freeze- Fawn
These 4 responses create physiological responses counterproductive to performance.
They increase our chance of injury, they decrease our ability to enjoy the workout and we end up having a crummy performance.
FIGHT- The fight response comes in--- it is typically accompanied by anger, frustration, outburst... this might show up in the WOD with:
- Going out too hard too soon
- Destroying yourself in order to prove something
- Throwing your jump rope angrily when you miss a double under
- Storming off and walking away or grunting in frustration at a failed rep
- Beating yourself up for your performance
- Being Hyper-vigilant about other athletes performances
- Being a poor sport
- Trying to highlight other athletes faults or make them look like they didn't deserve to get the score or achievement that they did.
FLIGHT- The flight response comes in--- it is typically accompanied by social anxiety, performance anxiety, skipping the workouts, backing out of the competition... it might show up in the actual WOD with:
- Rapid heart rate that prevents you from moving fast... you're out of breath before you begin
- Panic
- Quitting mid-wod
- Leaving quickly after to avoid what just happened
- Peeing yourself
- Dry throat
- Extreme neck and muscle tension
- Tension headaches
FREEZE- This response comes in--- it is typically accompanied with the deer caught in headlights look, people are cheering you on with encouragement which only makes it worse... it can show up in the actual WOD with:
- Taking unnecessary or premature rest
- Forgetting how to do a movement
- Failing at a skill you know you usually excel at
- Fumbling/clumsiness
- Getting really quiet or experiencing a personality change
- Not wanting anyone to watch you
- Hiding
- Avoiding performing in public
- Sand bagging or trying to go scaled when you can RX etc.
FAWN- This response comes in--- rarely understood or recognized... we see it often with athletes that are always there for the others performing... They may sabotage their own performance to help someone else... or they simply sand bag and put the focus on everyone else around them. This shows up in the WOD with:
- Only trying when certain Coaches or members walk by
- Using weight or trying options that you shouldn't to impress others
- Being overly concerned of your reputation
- Trying to fit in
- Trying to impress others
- Proving yourself to others
- Comparing yourself to others
- Putting yourself down to others
- Not taking compliments or encouragement
- Talking and socializing as a distraction
Wall Walks and Memory Mocks
Many women who have experienced trauma, particularly sexual assault or car accidents, seem to have a total panic or fear response when they go upside down. Especially if they get stuck. The wall walk sets us up to be put in an uncomfortable situation. Once you fatigue, there will be sticky points in the movement that you have to work through. The fear of falling off the wall is there. It's possible you will fall too. If body positioning triggers a flashback try the Empowered RX Body Scan and Labeling exercise further down.
The Empowered RX Solution- BUILD IN YOUR REST EARLY
- Yup, build in that rest early. Do one rep... take a break.. Then do your next. When we rush from rep to rep... we end up less aware of our body. We end up holding our breath and bracing weird. We end up letting our anxiety rule our movement.
- BODY SCAN- At the end of every rep when you are lying on the floor remind yourself that YOU are in control. Move from your head down to your toes and focus on what muscles should be engaged. Shoulders active, core strong, glutes squeezed... we want to avoid that hyperextension, we want to avoid a strained neck.
The SINGLE ARM DB SNATCH
The snatch is a skilled and coordinated movement. It requires agility, coordination and cardio endurance. We also need stability in the core and shoulders. Here's the thing though... you have to PAY ATTENTION- You have to be aware of your body! Straight arm lockout overhead, we want good external rotation in the shoulder... we also want to make sure we are making contact with the heads of the DB on the floor. A trauma survivor often disconnects during workouts. WE CAN'T HIDE IN THIS ONE!
The Empowered RX Solution?
- Take 5 deep breaths before you initiate the double under
- Once you miss a rep, put the dumbbell down and take 5 deep breaths.. focus on where the tension in your body is.
- Shrug your shoulders up and down a few times and actually shake it off
- If you get triggered and it creates a response- practice the Empowered Labeling Method
- Empowering Label Method
- List 5 things around you
- What do you see, hear, smell, taste, what temperature is the equipment in your hand? This helps us to orient and bring our thoughts back to the present moment.
The Box Jump Over
This is a coordinated movement. It requires agility, coordination and cardio endurance. We don't want to go out of the gates too hard but we also don't want to go to slow. Tune into those QUADS. Breath. Make sure to focus inwards and on your leg awareness. Efficiency is the name of the game. This means that staying low and adding in a pivot will help you keep the movement efficient. If you start to feel gassed, it has the potential to take us outside our window of tolerance. Stand up every few reps and get full hip extension on the top of the box to prevent this.
The other issue with a box jump and pivot is that it can increase anxiety. Our vestibular system is going to be shaken up with the noise, the jumps and the rotation. Dizziness is possible, and noise sensitivity is going to be HIGH.
FOCUS ON:
EFFICIENCY
KNOWING WHERE TO BREATH
STAY LOW
STAY PRESENT
We recommend choosing a mantra to place on your whiteboard and by your box. Look at this any time you find your mind wandering into anxiety land.
The AFTERMATH:
Once a WOD is over and the anxiety resides, we may feel even more exhausted than normal.. this will impact our recovery. You will need extra sleep, extra electrolytes, extra water, extra carbs, and extra mobility.
FOCUS ON YOUR NECK --- this is an area that houses the vagus nerve... a healthy vagus nerve promotes relaxation and rest. A tight neck is counterproductive to this.
- Massage your hands- This promotes a parasympathetic response
- Massage your temples- This promotes a parasympathetic response.
TAKE A COLD SHOWER- This promotes muscle recovery and promotes a parasympathetic and calming response. We recommend 3 minutes.
EAT- EAT- EAT- Caloric restriction and decreased carbs keeps the body in a stress state. FEED YOUR MIND- BODY & SOUL to get the most out of the workout and to return to relaxation.
When you're done with the workout. SHARE YOUR PERFORMANCE and experiences with what was in the article. Head on over to Facebook and join our trauma-informed fitness community.. @Empowered RX Community .
ONTO WOD #2....
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