Fight Club

Broken.

You can see how this nasty workout progresses with five discrete high intensity efforts that run six and a half minutes each. I got through the first one at 100% intensity and I knew that there was no way I could finish the workout at that level. Not with the cumulative impact of the past 4 stages.

I did the second one at 95% intensity. Almost didn’t finish.

Down to 90%. And then 85% for the balance.

Awful. Just awful.

I felt broken coming off the bike. Probably wasn’t help by a stressful day at the office. I came into the workout with a poor attitude. Sufferfest videos are largely a mental game. Physically I can get through them. Mentally, though it can be tougher. Much, much tougher. Must stay in the moment.

This is a powerful video and well worth the 20 minutes if you are into endurance sports although it readily applies to other areas of life. The Ted talk is described this way:

Mind over Matter? Ned Phillips explains the idea of peak performance in what he calls ”˜the power of now”™. His entire career, he never realized the importance of the mind until he partook in endurance races, in which the realization struck, your mind has to take over, and focus not on the past, not the future, but only the present, and naturally your body will follow.