Why You Fail (Forward)

Prior to my new gym, I did not know what a one rep max was. It is the amount of weight you can lift once. The same definition follows for a two rep max, three rep and five. The names are self explanatory so it is more accurate to say that I did not know what a one rep max felt like. Each is a separate challenge. Each requires you to accept that you might try and fail. This acceptance is not just true of squats but of other movements as well, if you make choices that call success into question. That is how you become stronger. In the workout app prior to a lift, I check my previous numbers a lot. If I'm being honest, I look at other peoples' numbers too. Cross Fit pushed me to lift heavier, which means I also worry about failing a lot and doing it in front of others. But. . . something else is happening too. . .

Recently, I realized two things when I dropped my bar and had to start again.

My mind's path, if not my bar's, goes something like this. If I missed the weight the first time, I must not be strong enough. If I try again, the result will be the same. I conditioned myself to see failure as the end. This isn't true. Cross Fit caused this habit to be recognizable and I know this is a common mindset in other contexts that I am not yet willing to admit. However, it is possible to choose a challenging weight, struggle, even fail to complete the rep, and succeed the next time you try. It is even possible, to fail within the workout multiple times and still hit the target number as written. Realization one.
Almost everyone I talk to has movements and specific weights that currently, or used to, invoke fear. Everyone is afraid. Everyone is making the choice to work through their fear. 55 lbs. 65 lbs. 75 lbs. 85 lbs. 95 lbs. 105 lbs. Fear doesn't end. It is infinite like the weight numbers, and you can always bail. Cross Fit has the perfect metaphor for this action, because when you bail a squat, front or back, you fail forward. That is the worst that happens. Realization two.

Don't misunderstand; failure is not the goal. Trainers often caution to choose weight you won't fail because of the number of repetitions required for a stimulus in the workout. Still, there's an asterisk here of the Yoda 'that is why you fail' kind. You don't have to believe, at least not entirely, that you will succeed. You just have to believe enough in second chances and try again. That is how (and why) you fail forward.