Limitless

We've all been to this place before. It's the uncomfortable feeling you have when your lungs are on fire, sweat is pouring down your face, and your muscles are screaming at you. Screaming at you to take a break. That they can no way handle one more rep. So we set the bar down and give our muscles a break. We tell ourselves it will be only a short break. For some of us, it means a quick 5 second break. For others, it could be 3-5 deep breaths and then back on it. But then there is always that one "freak of nature" in the corner who never seems to rest. Are they stronger? Have they been training longer than me? Are they just better genetically than I am? Any one of these may be true. Or perhaps they've actually trained their mind and body to handle the stress and fatigue better than we have. Let me explain.....

It's called the "Central Governor Theory." This is the idea that your brain paces your muscles to keep them from the point of anoslute exhaustion. When your brain decides it's time to quit, it sends a signal to your muscles that they are tired and we stop working. This is definitely tested during bouts of high intense exercise such as CrossFit WODs. It's no secret that overpowering a WOD after the call of 3,2,1...GO is as much mental as it is physical and can no doubt be exhausting. I am in no way saying that every set should always be unbroken and you should never rest during a workout but I aboslutely believe that we can train our mental capacity just as we do our physical capacity.

Going into every WOD, I know it is going to hurt no matter what it is. It's not because of the actual movements or number of reps, but because I know I am going to give it my all. I accept the fact that in the middle of the WOD I am going to breathe hard, I am going be challenged and my muscles are going to burn. Some may believe that if you are able to go longer without dropping the bar or coming off the pullup bar or rings, that you might be getting stronger or your muscular endurance may be getting better. This is an absolute possibility but I know for a fact that I could go out and complete a workout I've never done before, analyze where I had to rest and where I went slower, then go back and do the exact same workout the next day and get a better time. Not because I got stronger over 24 hours or my muscular endurance got better but because I know how to attack the workout better mentally.

Take the idea of the "Central Governor Thoery" for exactly what it is, a theory. It may be true or it may be a load of shit but I am a strong believer that you have to train the neuromuscular connection between the brain and the muscles to be the best you can be.