In a data-heavy sport like CrossFit, athletes are always working towards ironing out the holes in their game to progress and bring up the bigger picture. But when does focusing on priorities become myopic and make athletes pessimistic about their performance and training?

There are many examples in elite sports where dissatisfaction with where you are can lead to great performance. However, when recreational athletes who do their sport for fun start doing this, it can lead to that hobby and fun activity becoming a bit of a drag and them getting burned out.

In this episode, we talk about the different motivational tendencies of athletes, particularly those that lead to self-deprecating comments and a negative attitude towards yourself. We discuss when it’s time to harness that and when to keep it in check and create some guard rails so you continue to enjoy the process. Along with references to Greek Black Metal and Conan the Barbian quotes!

Listen Here:

Show Notes:

  • [1:45] When you can be too focused on priority training areas
  • [2:40] The different motivations of athletes that Luke has come across
  • [4:45] Self-comparison and framing of time with skill development
  • [6:00] Aligning training or competition goals with what people want to do in their training
  • [8:00] The selection effect of people who choose to compete in CrossFit and get remote coaching
  • [9:40] How to harness negative motivational tendencies to get to the desired outcome
  • [11:30] Examples of negative motivational tendencies in elite sport
  • [14:30] Can negative motivational tendencies be unhelpful for the recreational athlete
  • [20:30] Creating balance in training to maximise motivation
  • [22:45] Creating opportunities in training to check in with yourself
  • [26:00] Being ‘stuck’ on the treadmill of always working on something and how to manage that