The CrossFit Goal Setting Course

“The Greatest Adaptation to CrossFit Takes Place Between The Ears!”
- CrossFit Founder Coach Greg Glassman

THE MENTAL GAME

As an athlete and trainer, I have studied the "mental game" for almost 20 years now. Lately I have been re-reading a book on Neurolinguistic Programming ("NLP") to re-evaluate how I can communicate with myself and others more effectively "in the moment". At the same time, I have been reading Daniel Kahneman's fascinating new book which examines how our "fast" and "slow" brains make decisions but also remember, judge and distort past experiences: "Thinking Fast and Slow". One of my key take-aways from both of these books is the way we view and define the quality of our past, present and future, and it's impact on our decision-making, tends to be heavily influenced by our intuition, unconscious empirical bias and sometimes irrational emotions.

OK, so what tools, skills or "Jedi Mind Tricks" do the most effective and successful people leverage to overcome these natural tendencies? What I have found over time is that there are, in fact, Jedis among us. They do use their Jedi mind tricks to navigate life's harshest times; those of our own choosing or not. The good news is their skills aren't genetic, but learned and accessible to anyone willing to change.

DEFINE YOUR TERMS

A few months ago I wrote about how we often battle the "devil" sitting on our shoulders. We hear whispers of very convincing excuses and discouragement in times of stress. Any CrossFit or endurance athlete knows EXACTLY what I mean. Your body may be working hard, but your brain must work even harder to block out the constant noise of negative thoughts. Repeatedly fighting through to the end, whether it is during a hard 20 mile run, the last round of a fight or the last round of Fight Gone Bad, brings adaptation, recalibration (of what we believe we "can" do) and upregulation of what we can handle mentally and physically.

"We are enriched by life's harsh moments, especially those of our own choosing"-Mark Allen, who won 6 Hawaii Ironman Championships after trying and "failing" 6 years in a row.

One cool thing I have learned from sport and studying Neurolinguistic Programming is that the way we ACTIVELY control our mindset in life's tough situations, with a positive pretense, profoundly impacts the outcome and our odds of "success". This may be while negotiating, speaking with a loved one, racing, a tough workout or even a fight. Doing this is a SKILL that must be learned and practiced. By viewing and handling life's obstacles with a positive pretense, solutions appear and success becomes a much more likely outcome...

THE MINDSET

Say you are asked to climb a 50 foot rope to the top of a gym. Do you tell yourself "It would be just my luck to fall and break my leg! But I won't let myself fall off this rope"...OR "I am going to safely and powerfully use perfect technique to climb this rope to the top before descending safely back to the gym floor".

THE BELIEF

In a positive pretense you tell yourself confidently what you CAN do, rather than what you want to AVOID. This is a familiar concept to my fellow cyclists: When riding down a technical, dangerous trail you want to look and focus on where you want to go, not where you don't want to go...or you will surely crash. You have to Believe!

THE JEDI

There are many people in the world qualified to lecture coaches, athletes and business owners about the power of maintaining a positive pretense in our thoughts and words. Very few do it better than CrossFit's Greg Amundson.

Greg Amundson is known as one of the original "Firebreather" CrossFit athletes, trained by Coach Greg Glassman, from the very first CrossFit in Santa Cruz. He is a legend in the CrossFit community with an impressive background in the military, law enforcement, martial arts and as a federal agent with the DEA. Think of the most passionate person you have ever met, bursting with knowledge, experience and rich stories. Now, quadruple that energy and you almost get the idea.

After first learning about Greg a couple years ago through the CrossFit website, I have scoured the internet in search of his speaking and writing. While recently reading about NLP and Kahneman's studies, I came across Greg's new traveling seminar, the "CrossFit Goal Setting Course". The seminar is currently touring CrossFit boxes around the world. Coincidentally, the very next stop on the tour just happened to be near my home in Santa Barbara, California. I jumped at the opportunity and on Saturday drove the 40 minutes down Highway 101 to CrossFit Ventura for a day of learning from "The Jedi".

Greg resigned from his position with the DEA this year in order to work full-time for CrossFit, presenting his Goal Setting Course. He shares his message in the context of colorful, relevant stories from his diverse background. With his animated delivery and strong presentation skills, this approach keeps it fun and engaging, making the material quite memorable.

Make no mistake: the course was not all didactic. Throughout the day there were several interactive exercises that required everyone to implement the taught skills right away, on the spot. We used Goal Setting workbooks to list specific goals with timelines to achieve each one, while creating powerful anchors to reinforce our successes.

Like many driven, self-motivated athletes, I felt like I went into this course already familiar with the gist of the subject matter. However, the way Greg presented the material, framed his stories and taught anchoring was especially powerful. This was a powerful learning experience. I would highly reccomend Greg's course to anyone, regardless of background.

At the end of the day, Greg offered to stick around for two hours to work with anyone one-on-one to discuss their individual goals, offering on-the-spot coaching. Most of the crowd (predominantly CrossFit Box owners and trainers) took advantage of this awesome opportunity. I left the seminar with some solid take-aways and skills that I can implement right away.

"It's mind over matter, Clancy. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter!"-Spoken to me by a Navy instructor, 1996, while I blasted far beyond physical and mental limits...both my own and what I considered humanly possible at the time.



From the CrossFit Goal Setting Site:

When harnessed, practiced and understood, Goal Setting and Positive Self-Talk are powerful assets to any Athlete. Although the physical attributes of CrossFit Athletes are indeed elite by any standard, the mental, emotional and character development that is forged through the difficulty of the workouts is also worthy of our study and contemplation.

Goal Setting and Positive Self-Talk are applicable to any physical or professional endeavor. When mastered, the lessons we learn in the CrossFit Affiliate gym are a tool that may be successfully applied to academics, relationships, business, leadership and profession.

During an early CrossFit Seminar in the winter of 2003, Coach Glassman remarked to Greg Amundson that, “The greatest adaptation to CrossFit takes place between the ears!” These influential words shaped the course of the next six years for Greg. As an athlete at the original CrossFit gym in Santa Cruz, California, Greg was able to witness first hand the power of the mind in the development of his own physical fitness and that of his peers.

In June, 2008, Greg published an article in the CrossFit Journal called Coaching The Mental Side of CrossFit. The article captured the attention of the CrossFit Community and resulted in immediate requests for speaking engagements that would elaborate on the mental adapation of CrossFit. For this reason, we like to think of the CrossFit Goal Setting Trainer Course as a creation of the CrossFit Community. The CrossFit Course Goal Setting Course is a true reflection of the amazing history, culture and Community of CrossFit.

Many of the greatest subject matter experts and athletes in the CrossFit Community have contributed to the development of the CrossFit Goal Setting Course. Coach Greg Glassman, Coach Mike Burgener, Coach Brian MacKenzie, Coach Kelly Starrett and Lisbeth Darsh have all shared strategies for mental toughness and personal success. Powerhouse CrossFit Games Athletes Josh Everett, Rob Orlando and Tommy Hackenbruck, through their example in competition and leadership, have also provided to the content of the Course.

Whether you are a veteran CrossFit Athlete or brand new to the Community, the CrossFit Goal Setting Trainer Course will educate and inspire you to unleash the power of your mind, body and spirit.
_______________

Recommended CrossFit Journal Resources

•Forging Elite Leadership – CrossFit Journal Article
•Coaching The Mental Side of CrossFit – CrossFit Journal Article
•CrossFit HQ History – CrossFit Journal Article
•Staying In The Fight – CrossFit Journal Article
•Accomplishment of a 10 Year Goal [video] – CrossFit Journal Video
•What It Takes To Be A Leader [video] – CrossFit Journal Video
•Positive Self Talk – The Greatest Adaptation [video] – CrossFit Journal Video

gratitude

Adventure Racers. CrossFitters. Triathletes. Cyclists. Ultrarunners. Explorers. Fighters. You.

We're blesssed to have the ability and freedom of movement and free will. Every day I thank God for my health, and my family's. Watch this video of Connor and Cayden Long. This 8 year old boy pulls his less-fortunate but much-loved 6-year-old brother through triathlons!

This video reminds me to put excuses in context and make the most of what I DO have, today.
What is under your control *right now*? Your posture, your thoughts, your words, your actions,
the way you treat people, the choices you make...

Every day is a gift.

Power Rankings: The Best Adventure Racing Teams in America

Explore Compete LIVE has just released their Power Rankings of the top American Adventure Racing teams. We (DART-nuun) are currently ranked #2, behind our friends Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic.

Tecnu just came back from the Adventure Racing World Championships in Tasmania, where DART-nuun racer Ryan VanGorder joined their squad in an impressive 12th place finish.

http://www.explorecompetelive.com/2011/11/09/ar-power-rankings-no-boundaries-ranks-the-best-teams-in-america/

From the ExlporeCompeteLIVE website:

We have been juggling the idea of a team ranking for a few years and have finally decided to pull the trigger. Our panel has based our inaugural rankings based on an informed opinion of team’s performances at key races in the US (and a few international ones where relevant). This will be a monthly addition to the site so race hard and perhaps you will see your team’s name on the list (if not already) moving forward.

AR Power Rankings:

1. Tecnu Extreme/Staphaseptic—Strong showing at both CPT and USARA Championships (2nd at both), winners at Gold Rush, 12th at the AR World Championships in Tasmania (top North American team there), strong showing at APEX Switzerland race, 6th at RTNX — Kyle Peter is poised to be the first big AR star of a new generation of athletes, in our humble opinion.

2. Dart-Nuun-SportMulti—1st American team at APEX in the Swiss Alps, 3rd overall at Gold Rush and 3d overall at RTNX — Tecnu beat them head-to-head at Gold Rush in Sept and that’s good enough for us to place them under Tecnu.

3. WEDALI—Won the CPT Nationals race, 3rd at USARA Nats (behind hybrid of Tecnu/SOG teams); 9th at RTNX; overall body of work for 2011 too impressive to bump them out of our top 3.

4. Team Bones—3rd at Expedition Idaho (1st American team), 16th at the AR World Championships (2nd American team) has them in our 4th spot. They rarely race the shorter events, but for the big epic races you can count on Team Bones powering through the course.

5. GearJunkie/YogaSlackers—Despite a 6th place finish at CPT, they took 2nd at Gold Rush, 4th at Exped Idaho (2nd American team), and 5th at RTNX (2nd American team). Perhaps the best performance by this team was their 2nd place finish this year at what may be the hardest race on the planet, the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race. The longer and tougher the race, the more money I’d put on these guys. I have no problem slotting them in at #5.

6. Team SOG—They won USARA Nationals and took 2nd (on a hybrid team) at CPT Nationals — so maybe they should be ranked higher, but their inconsistency in race personnel made us uncomfortable placing them above this 5th spot. Their 6th place finishing Expedition Idaho team, for example, was vastly different than their USARA Nationals team. Still, 6th place on this list is pretty darn good!

7. Odyssey Adventure Racing/ ImONPoint.org—They won the USARA Nationals Masters division (finished 4th overall) and took 3rd at CPT Nationals. No expedition race results of note for this bunch in 2011 (although Mark Lattanzi has had a great race at the World Championships in Tasmania on the “Dancing Pandas” team).

8. CheckpointZero/Tech4o—5th overall at USARA Nationals, and 9th at CPT Nationals . . . Their 10th place finish at RTNX (5th American team) is just enough for us to place them above the Alpine Shop team.

9. Alpine Shop—USARA Masters 3rd Place (6th overall) and 4th at CPT Nationals. Not far behind Wedali at the 36-hour Berryman in September. No true expedition race results that we could uncover, though.

10. Bushwhacker A strong team from the midwest, 5th at CPT Nationals wrapped up a great season for them.

Honorable Mention:

• Team Granite (aka Team Light & Motion, Team Untamed New England)—A lighter schedule in 2011 than usual for this bunch, but impressive results when they did race.

• NYARA—Some different personnel racing under the NYARA name, but strong teams every time and top finishes to their credit.

• GOALS ARA—A disappointing expedition race in Costa Rica earlier in the year, but some redemption later in the season.

• Dirty Avocados—A strong team on the West Coast, consistent results in Big Blue series and others in their region

Whiskeytown Extreme 24 Hour Adventure Race Report

NorCal Adventure Racing's series finale event for 2011 was the Whiskeytown Extreme 24 Hour Adventure Race.

Located in hilly Northern California near Mount Shasta, Whiskeytown Extreme was ominously billed as a "graduate level race". Teams faced mazes of trails and fire roads across challenging terrain strangely devoid of any flats. A single paddling section took racers across Whiskeytown Reservoir. Through narrow coves and inlets (too narrow to turn a triple kayak around) teams sought checkpoints hanging from high branches in the darkness of night. Mountain-top checkpoints gained by climbing and bushwacking up steep walls of forest rewarded racers with magnificent views of distant mountain ranges and alpine lakes.



The ~100 mile course largely avoided gratuitous hike-a-bike and bush-wacking in favor of multiple route choice decisions and strategies.



Significantly and quite impressively, Whiskeytown Extreme 24 stuck to a genuine Adventure Racing format. Teams found checkpoints in sequential A-Z order. This should seem quite obvious to most, but an increasing number of lame races over the last few years have foregone Adventure Race courses, opting for a new orienteering format where teams can hit checkpoints in any order, skipping the "hard ones" and still "finishing" officially. In the orienteering format, many teams strategically skip portions of the course as they please and the winning teams sometimes cross the finish line last, with all the checkpoints.

Kudos to Rich and his staff for keeping it "real". For back of the pack and new teams with developing navigation skills, there were short course options towards the end of the race.

Team nuun-SportMulti (Ryan VanGorder, Jen VanGorder & Sean Clancy) moved swiftly as a team but made a few uncharacteristic and costly navigational mistakes that would preclude a victory this time out.

The details of these navigational SNAFUs will be shared over beers and laughs at a campfire, or out on the trail. Suffice it to say that even the most experienced and successful teams can make self-immolating 'rookie' mistakes. The Whiskeytown Extreme 24 course punished any mistakes while handsomely rewarding the best navigation decisions, another sign that the course was thoughtfully and strategically designed by the highly experienced race directors.




After completing the course in a bit over 26 hours, a disappointed but focusedTeam nuun-SportMulti ran across the finish line as the 3rd place team in the mixed 3/4 person rankings. Whiskeytown Extreme 24 would be Sean Clancy's first adventure race since doing both 24 Hour Adventure Racing National Championships (USARA and Checkpoint Tracker Series) in October 2010. The race also marked Jennifer VanGorder's return to team 24hr racing after the birth of her second daughter Jora earlier this year. Lastly, it also served as a tune-up for busy dad Ryan VanGorder in his preparation for a moonlighting assignment Down Under. RVG is off to race as a hired gun with our friends and rivals Team Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic at the 2011 Adventure Racing World Championships in TASMANIA in November!

In Adventure,

SC

PS, I snapped this shot of Golden Gate Bridge on my way up from Santa Barbara...taken from Crissy Field. I lived here in 2001 and would enjoy
this view on my evening runs...it never gets old.

What is Adventure Racing? Who is Team DART-nuun?

Our team put together a short promo video that SHOWS rather than tells you what adventure racing is all about. Team DART-nuun racers have been racing with GoPro HD cameras mounted to our bikes, boats, heads and helmets lately just so we can bring this footage FROM THE GNAR straight to YOU!

What happens in an Adventure Race over 24 to 100+ nonstop hours of racing is hard to imagine...or even remember! With severe sleep deprivation in multi-day races, sometimes we don't even remember the scenes we capture with our cameras, or the reality captured on film is different than our "altered" perception at the time. Sad, but true!

I hope you have as much fun watching it as we had making it!

Team DART-Nuun-SportMulti: Ultra Endurance Racing from 1iOpen Productions on Vimeo.

Adventure Racers = ROCK STARS in China

...and in Ecuador, Brazil, New Zealand...but that's for another post.

Adventure Racing's presence in China goes back to the 1990s with the Mild Seven Outdoor Quest, which is now called the Wulong Quest. The top teams from New Zealand, Europe and the USA have made the journey nearly every year to compete for one of Adventure Racing's largest prize purses in some of the most epic landscapes imaginable.

During my visit to Hong Kong a couple months ago, I spent a few days paddling surfskis in Deepwater Bay, traversing Lamma Island by foot and enjoying the hospitality of ex-pat Ryan Blair, co-owner of the largest adventure race/outdoor event promotions company in SE Asia, Asia Pacific Adventure. During my stay, Ryan opened my eyes to how big the adventure racing and multisport scene is in Asia, how sponsors-many large American companies who do NOT sponsor AR in the USA-have been onboard in Asia for years.

For years I have noticed the popularity of AR/Multisport in Asia, specifically the Mild Seven and Wulong Quest. During a recent trip to Thailand I turned on my hotel room TV in Bangkok and actually saw ESPN Asia covering adventure racing on their broadcast (footage of Tecnu/DART's Kyle Peter and Mari Chandler!) like it was the freaking NBA! It's nice to know that somewhere in the world, our awesome sport is appreciated and even celebrated. It just gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.

Check out the following footage and you will see how adventure racers get the "rock star treatment" in Asia.

Team AXA Sports Club at the 2011 Wu Long Mountain Quest, China (long vers.) from scott cole on Vimeo.

Don't Die Wondering

"Unless you're willing to have a go, fail miserably, and have another go, success won't happen."

LISTEN, naughty little monkeys.

It's time for a splinter under your fingernail, some disruptive leadership that might even piss you off.

~OR~

Conversely, this might affirm your *choice* to be HAPPY. Maybe you are CHARGING LIFE and sharing your passions and love with everyone you meet. Maybe you are rocking it full-steam regardless of what cards you were dealt...and maybe there is one important part of your life that remains neglected.

OK, it's time to ruffle your feathers. Listen up and think about where you stand.

Who are you? What are you afraid of? What are your Fears? Dreams?

What will you settle for in this life? What HAVE you settled for in this life? What are the excuses the little devil on your shoulder whispers into your ear, time and again? Do you really believe the negative self-talk?

The CHALLENGE we all face is to actively manage our focus and mindset. This is hard to do without defining our values and beliefs. It sounds almost simplistic, but tell me right now: how you rank your values and how you design your life congruently. I'll wait.

We have heard the expression "Iron sharpens iron", but an interesting study also says that the morbidly obese tend to hang out together as well. Are your beliefs congruent with those of your peers'?

Certainly I am NOT using my own life as an example for this discussion, as I have failed repeatedly in every area of life imaginable as often as I have succeeded. This is socratic, not didactic; directed at myself more than anyone else!

The happiest people I know are on their own paths with insatiable needs to learn more, do better and grow. They are obsessed with LIFE and excellence and most importantly filled with gratitude for what they CAN do...not what they can't.

One thing these people have in common is their affinity, not avoidance, of "impossible" challenges. They know failure is part of the process, and are HAPPY with the process. They acknowledge obstacles as they inevitably come and work around without breaking stride.



Kyle Maynard is a "truly unstoppable badass".



Are you living in a way that avoids pain, the path of least resistance? Where is it leading you? Are you waiting for conditions to be 'just right' until your life is "the way you want it to be"? (SPOILER ALERT: Not going to happen!)

The clock is ticking...relatively faster as you get older. What would it look like if you just went for it, 100%? What would that look like? What would the impact be? Can you see it?

Are you going half-ass or full-ass?

Don't die wondering.