This past Saturday morning, I'm running Chad through his third Elements class, which focuses on the posterior chain and exercises like the deadlift, kettlebell swing and box jump. I'm loading up the bar for some progressively heavier deadlifts while Chad is taking notes.
Chad: How much weight was that last one?
Me: That was 205#.
Chad: Cool, got it. And (pen poised above paper) how much weight are you putting on now?
Me: NOOOO! You never, EVER write the weights down before you pull them!
Chad: Um, really?
Me: NO. That's bad juju. Write AFTER, Chad. Always AFTER.
At this point, Chad is looking at me kind of funny. Then he says, "You sure do have a lot of rules about gym stuff."
Uh, really? Chad THEN reminds me of the previous week, as we were loading up the bar for his back squats. He went to put a plate on with the numbers facing OUT, and I just about had a seizure. "NOOO! You never, EVER put the numbers facing out, Chad. IN. Always IN."
Huh. I mean, the plate thing is pretty common knowledge, I thought. Everyone knows that bad things happen when the plates face out. My hairdresser's cousin knew a girl who got pregnant because her boyfriend lifted with the plates facing out. True story. So I don't consider that one especially weird, but it got me thinking... what else do I do in the gym that might be considered superstitious?
The recording of the numbers is a big one. Writing down the weights or reps before you've actually pulled them is just asking fate to kick you in the crotch. I may have an IDEA of what weights I'm going to use for the whole workout, but until they actually leave the ground, they DON'T go in the book.
I also know I am VERY particular about my music, especially on PR attempts. For example, there is one song which has been banned from all playlists, anywhere I train. It's Saliva's "Click, Click, Boom", which is a shame, because it is a very good song. I gave that song a chance - I really did. But I have NEVER had a good pull to that song, ever. Deadlift attempt - tragic. Clean and jerk attempt - fail. Press PR attempt - close, but no go. So I've done the only logical thing there is to do - I've banned that song from the gym. (On the opposite hand, Flyleaf's "I'm So Sick" and Seether's "Remedy" have always given me big, strong lifts, so I pull those out when I need them the most.)
I also have special gym clothes for certain occasions, which might just be a girl thing. I save my pink short-shorts for the toughest met-cons, because pink is traditionally a "princess" color, and looking at the shorts while I'm sweaty and panting and covered in chalk reminds me there is no room for princesses here. I also purposefully don't match my clothes when I have a really hard workout. Matching makes me feel far too coordinated and pretty to get down to serious business. Not matching makes me feel tougher. And that sounds SO dumb on paper, but I'm going to keep it out there because it's true. I also have several various articles of clothing printed with skulls and crossbones. If I show up for an Oly session wearing my skulls and crossbones, you can be damn well sure it is ON. (I credit my latest jerk PR 86% to Dallas' coaching and the rest to my grey and black striped skull and crossbone socks.)
Finally, if I'm doing unilateral exercises, I ALWAYS start with my left. Even if the rest of the class starts with their right... I'm on the left. That is non-negotiable.
So maybe I do have a few superstitions, but they're rooted in my own delusions of cause and effect. And as long as they keep working in my favor, I'm happy to throw on my pink shorts with an orange tank top and crank up the Seether before my Fight Gone Bad. If you have any weird gym-related things, feel free to drop them to comments. I can't be the ONLY superstitious one... and maybe you'll have something I can adopt. Because nothing's too crazy to try, when it comes to a PR attempt.
Monday, May 11, 2009
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Numbers alwatys in! Even the dinky 2.5lb ones. I'm with you on that one. Only other thing I can think of are shoes. I'm pretty particular about which shoes I wear for which type of workout. Pumas for runs of 400m or more, Chucks for Oly day, and Sambas for anything in between. Although I had to oly lift in dress shoes out of necessity the other day so I'm still somewhat flexible.
I'm not very superstitious at all.... but I always, always have the numbers facing OUT. Does this mean I'm going to get pregnant?
I don't mention to those around me that I am attempting a PR lift until after it's done. It's nice to just walk up to the bar, grind out a new PR, and then announce the new record.
I'll also always start left with unilateral movements.
-Justin
CrossFit Tribe
Two of my superstitions that a few others have picked up:
when doing a PR and there is a 2.5 or 5 lb plate, they ALWAYS go on the bar first. For some reason my mind registers that they aren't there and the bar doesn't feel that heavy.
I always play "Down with the Sickness" by Disturbed on heavy lifts. Press repeat, and repeat.
Any chance of getting your playlist for when you workout?
I always write it in, and I always announce it. That adds pressure. Any failure is public, and the logbook gets a big "X" instead of a check mark.
Jimi - I own all of those shoes as well, and wear them all for pretty much the same purpose. Chucks for heavy DL days are a must.
Jonathan - You might already be pregnant. I'd get that checked out if I was you.
Justin - I like your PR approach, and usually as I'm training on my own, there's no one to tell anyway. :)
Kid Iowa - LOVE the 2.5# plates on the inside. That's such a mental thing, I dig it.
And I hear you on the music. I'll repeat just one section of Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" during a heavy lift... the part where they break in with "FUCK YOU, I won't do what you tell me." It's brilliant, and it works.
A few additional tracks on the Heavy Shit playlist, besides lots of Rage, Flyleaf and Seether (and lots of Linkin Park):
Pennywise - Bro Hymn
Offspring - The Kids Aren't Alright
Limp Bizkit - Rollin'
Nine Inch Nails - No, You Don't
White Zombie - Real Solution #9
Stone Temple Pilots - Dead and Bloated
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Lo Fidelity All Stars - Battle Flag
The talk of music keyed me into another of my superstitions/habits...I listed to Nine Inch Nails "Just like you imagined" almost every day for my 5 min. walk from work to the gym. Helps me put on my game face.
http://www.last.fm/music/Nine+Inch+Nails/_/Just+Like+You+Imagined?autostart
hah okay so i read this and while i was back squatting today, the other girl i was squatting with kept writing my numbers on the board before i was squatting them and it made me tense a bit and she also was leaving the weights on facing out and just reading that this morning made me wince a bit but i didnt want to say anything.. but i hit a PR... so i think i managed to slip passed the superstitions of Mrs. Byers. hah =P
Same here about writing it down - I don't like to write it down til it's done! Even if, a fail still gets written with F next to it... i still don't write it til afterward.
In my gym, there are two flat benches and i only like one of them. The other, I don't know I just feel like I can't bench on it... weird angle or someting? (Exact same bench). Also, there are particular bars that I prefer, so this situation might occur -
Bench 1 (good bench) is loaded up with plates somebody forgot to unload. Bench 2 is free and empty but has the good bar. I will unload all the plates from Bench 1, then switch the bars, before starting my set. I'm sure it looks bizarre, but if I'm going for good numbers I just can't not do it! ha ha.
Nice soundtrack. I had 'Ixnay on the Hombre' on for that evil version of Linda, it was very helpful. Except that shitty ska song, I had to skip that one because it weakened my lifting power.
P.S. I am actually pregnant.
Jonathan - congratulations! Maybe you and Samantha can shop for buggies together, because despite the fact that she PR'd on her back squat (HOLLA!), "plates out" probably got her pregnant too. In fact, since she was ALSO writing numbers down before she made the lifts, she's probably having twins.
Laura, I forgot to mention my affinity for one particular squat rack. Right squat rack = Mean and Stingy. Left squat rack = Friendly and Generous.
There's that "left" thing again...
I'm starting to think I may have issues just because I don't have issues. Or do I?? I'm so confused. I am pretty sure that I have put plates on with numbers facing in on one side and facing out on the other. And very possibly mixed them up within each side. If that gets me pregnant I'm pretty sure it will have two heads. : )
I need to change my process immediately, more children is not an option.
What??? I ALWAYS make sure they numbers on the plates face OUT. If they don't face out I'm not lifting them. I'm dead serious. I will unload and reload all the plates on a 160kg deadlift if I notice one of the plates is facing in.
Is that why all these girls keep getting pregnant around me?
Seriously, though, numbers out is where it's at.
Byers, you crack me up! I absolutely love today's post! I never realized the seriousness of lifting with the numbers in...what if my bumpers have numbers on both sides?!
I have weird superstitions about where I do the workout in the gym. I will NOT do a WOD under our loft. My aversion to working out under the loft is very closely related to the way I BOLT up the basement stairs like I'm being chased with a knife after turning off the lights.
I always chalk up before every single work set, no matter what lift it is, i have to chalk. Not chalking on squat is just unnatural...
It's a gym wide thing with the plates facing in- if you face the numbers out, you'll burn down the box.
I have a shirt with a Superman logo on it that I wear specifically for wods that are just a series of my weaknesses. Box Jumps and HSPUs? Superman shirt.
This is my first comment, but I found out about you through your Zone Gone Bad article. You're now one of my Crossfit heroes. Thanks for everything!
Jilly,
It's FATE that this is your first comment, because I ALSO have a Superman t-shirt that I wear on special WoD occasions! My hang power clean PR? Superman t-shirt. The first time I had to lead the warm-up at a gymnastics cert? Superman t-shirt. Tomorrow's "Beg for Grace" 603 workout? SUPERMAN T-SHIRT.
Love it. Thanks for dropping in.
Melissa
Doing left first is actually valid because the first unilateral exercise will be the strongest. So if your left is your non-dominant it should bring up the strength/endurance/etc. equal to the right in the end.
I don't really have any superstitions... but I probably do some things the same anyway unconsciously.
I forgot a few more...i MUST have York plates, and nothing else, if all the York plates are in use and im setting up for a DL work set, I'll wait until they're done.
I also have to use a certain bar in the gym. Which also happens to be the exact same bar Justin likes to use (hence the "J" on the collar) so if he's training, I've gotta wait for his last few sets before i start my lifts.
I'll do a load of laundry so i can wear my favorite shorts on deadlift days, and I'll do dishes so i can eat breakfast on my favorite plate on press days. I always listen to "Showdown" by Pendulum before I go work out, one time I had a scheduling conflict and was forced to go straight from a meeting, and had a shitty day...
I think that's the majority of them, and I have to wear my sunglasses on the drive to the gym, regardless if the sky is black with rainclouds or not..
-Kyle
Gotta put my two cents in for hte music
Coheed and Cambria - Welcome Home, Ten Speed or Grakemakers and Gunslingers
(PRed on Fran with Welcome home yesterday)
Almost anything Sevendust
It's all about having the equipment lined up properly. The rack must be square to the lifting platform. The extra weights at my gym are arrayed in a big rack in front of the squat racks, and I go deadlift one side to even that up too. And when I'm doing bench press, I definitely stop and reorganize if the bar is not parallel to the ceiling rafters. If the weights are not aligned with the physical world around them, you create a disturbance in the natural order of things when you try to lift them, making the weights heavier.
First set of plates, numbers in. All additional plates, numbers out. It is the way I learned and I'm sticking to it.
Last time I did CFT, what song magically comes up for my final DL attempt? NIN, "Something I Can Never Have" Worst PR song ever.
I HAVE to wear my blue crossfit shirt during a CFT. Any other time, I wear CF shirts during metcons, and generally I wear my GAMMA MMA T-shirts during strength lifts. If I deviate, I usually crash and burn....also during strength lifts I have to pace before I lift, otherwise I fail.
I always count DOWN my last 10 reps. Up til the last ten, I count up: 1-2-3-, etc. But those last 10 MUST be a countdown to 1. It TORTURE when someone else is counting for me and doesn't know the countDOWN trick.
fyi, I pr'd tonight with nine inch nails, 'fuck you like an animal' just saying.....
byers, you crack me up!
xxo
I am not superstitious at all. In fact I scoff at people that are... does that make you hate me? wouldn't be the first time....but I am OCD about numbers and alignment. I could care less if the #'s face in or out- as long as they all face the same direction. I also like my different stations to be in a nice straight line...its more efficient that way anyway!
Scoobi,
I could never hate someone who rocked the tall socks, like those in your profile pic. HOTNESS.
BYERS
2 point post:
1) the last time I lifted with plate numbers facing out it was a heavy deadlift day (true story here people). I warmed up through all the 200-300# weights and was just starting my heavy singles with 320 on the bar. Let's all bear in mind that my last CFT before this I pulled 385. I get set up and start my pull, things go fine til the bar gets to just below my knees and then my lower back goes white hot and my legs get all weak. Diagnosis: Strained lower back with double enflamed sciatic nerves.
2) one of my personal superstitions is that I don't start my workout until the song on my iPod playing through my warm up ends. Or if I get to the gym mid way through a song on my workout list I sit in my truck until the song ends. Don't know why but things feel wrong if I break that policy.
Hey Melissa,
I never knew about the plates facing out thing. Explains where the four kids who live here come from. Plates now face in.
The old looking 45lb oly bars are heavier. The shiny new 45lb bars lighter.
A 25lb weight is much heavier than two 10s and a 5.
The ketttlebells hiding at the back of the pack are lighter.
Thanks for your hard work Melissa, it is fun to read. Fun fun, not unfun.
Not a 603er, but a frequent reader. And I LOVE this post! Its making me more aware of all the unconscious superstitious habits, such as...
I'm throwing in a vote for numbers out, I don't want to see them.
Strict alignment with the seams in the floor is critical on lifts, otherwise I'm unbalanced
If I'm lifting more than 175#, metal plates are DEATH. I'll jump more in weight and put two 10# bumper plates on rather than risk adding 2.5# or 5# metal plates and cursing the lift for a small PR increase. If I can't add the larger weight I shouldn't be increasing at all.
I also can't do double unders without at least one Eminen song in the list. But that might be a rhythm thing as much as a superstition...
It's quite possible you are mental. But all athletes have their own superstitions. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've never met an athlete who doesn't have at least one.
It's also probably latent OCD to some degree.
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