Mentally Tough

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“Any sort of injury is just you being mentally weak. That includes getting shot.”

 

A friend who works in a higher tier special operations unit recently said the above quote to me. It was in reference to my recent hamstring injury, but there’s more weight in these words.

Injuries can be great or small, yet it’s up to the person to decide how they’ll let their injuries affect them. There will be injuries that prevent specific activities — doing an exercise or a type of job — but the rehabilitation rate is relative to perception.

Consider two dichotomous mindsets. Two people have muscle strains that require massage to break up the scar tissue. The area is tender and painful. When the massage begins for the first person, whether administered by a friend or self, they tense up and contort their face in pain. The second person welcomes the pain calmly, knows they will endure it, but does so stoically. Their massage, rehab, and recovery will be more efficient not only because of their acceptance, but their bold mindset going into it. They don’t cringe at discomfort; they let it wash over passively.

Pain is a part of life, and mindset determines perception. The mentally weak fear pain because, well, it hurts. It’s discomforting and upsetting. The mentally strong expect pain and are ready for it. They are willing to endure and ignore it. It takes a tough sonofabitch to look at their injury and say, “Let’s roll.” Whether it’s a girl powerlifting with one leg, a girl (who I know from high school) who has lost her limbs from a flesh-eating disease, or a soldier who returns to combat after losing a leg, it takes guts.

Aimee Copeland does push-ups after losing limbs to a flesh eating disease

Pain and discomfort are relative to our situation, and we all aren’t faced with severed limbs or getting shot. But modifying our idea of pain can change our training, rehab, and life.

Again, consider two mindsets. The first approaches a difficult set of squats (e.g. 3RM, 5RM, 10RM, or 20RM) with dread and fear. They go through the motions of the set with failure as an option or possibility. The second approaches that same squat set aggressively, wanting to attack it. They are rabid; a caged, frothing animal ready to unleash hell on the bar. Which mindset do you think will be more successful?

Mental toughness in training will affect tenacity, bar speed, and completion of lifts. This doesn’t mean you should make stupid decisions on the account of “being tough”. Don’t make reckless decision, but use reckless intensity.

Mindset in rehab will be the difference between properly working structures and lack of progress. This is why Kelly Starrett tells you not to contort your face and go “into the pain cave” — it tenses your structures up and doesn’t work them properly.

Whether it’s training or rehab, embrace your pain. There is, of course, a difference between discomforting pain and injury pain. Each is a tool; the former is one that you will ignore while the latter informs you that your body is failing, even if your mind is not. People who are truly successful understand and use these pains every day. The next time you feel sorry for yourself, wincing in pain, just know that there’s a guy out there with a bullet hole in his body calmly rehabbing with reckless intensity.

32 thoughts on “Mentally Tough”

  1. Good article – Gets me real motivated to set some PRs for a change tomorrow. In other news, I went into the pain cave this morning…my totem animal gave zero fucks.

  3. Great article I LOVE IT! Never let something hold you back, you can work through it and the pain. It may take some time though and you do need to be smart about it. I herniated two discs in my back in high school. The fluids from the discs and the blood formed a cyst on my nerve causing me to lose feeling down my left leg. Never experienced worse pain, and I was told I would never play hockey again. After surgery I had a few set backs but worked my ass off rehabbing and was back playing in 3 months and was able to go on and play college hockey. Also I was told never to squat again! Through time and hard work I have fell in love with power lifting, never been stronger, and my back has never felt better!

    • If you are interested in sharing your situation it would be cool to talk to some one who went through what I am going through right now. Let me know if you would be willing to share some tips man. Lifting is everything to me and I am working on getting back there safely.

  5. I agree with this post about pain. I havent posted in a while, but lately 70s big has been rocking. As a weightlifter I would have to say that almost everyday some part of my body hurts and I am so sore that I can almost not bike to the metro or walk up the stairs to work. I have to say though that as I take the metro home and am packed into a car filled with out of shape pitiful fools and I am at work with people who eat lean cuisine and are so fat they need to take a break as they walk from their office to another, the fire builds in my belly. I have dropped the bar on my leg, sprained the shit out of my ankle, been buried under squats with no spotter, and passed out from the bar on my shoulder after a tough clean, but each day I have come back and fought through and given the workout my all. It never ceases to amaze me that every time I have this physical pain, after the workout it has gone away. Skipping that workout is for weak people who don’t have the ganas or cojones to do what makes us great: work hard no matter what.

  8. I think a lot of people have a tough time discerning between pain and injury. Everyone feels pain and most things in life that are going to improve yourself take time, pain, and intensity. Knowing that you can put up with pain is part of the challenge. Knowing when you are injured and need to cut it before you permanently destroy something is another thing. I feel that most people assume pain=injury.

  10. pain really shapes up character, weights learn people that they can and need to fight, it’s like locking out incredible heavy deadlift, you thought you have stopped, yet you have not, and you have won. – life lesson:) great article:)

  11. It’s like when you accept that when you box you will get hit in the face. When you’re not worried about your face, it’s easier to hit theirs.

    • No joke, i almost shat my pants yesterday squatting. Had to rush to the gym toilets and let loose. I called it a day after that, when you get the shakes from a monumental dump, you know it’s time to back out for the day.

  14. Actually, I mostly just said that to give you shit. But its really cool you did a post on it.

    This is a good mate of mine. He lost both his legs on a job in Helmand in 09, but he never let it slow him down. I’ve boxed with him, grappled with him, and now he’s thrown himself into snowboarding. This is a clip of his progress on the snow. It’s pretty inspiring stuff.

  15. This is my first comment on 70’s big.

    Every post I have read since finding this work of genius had been completely inspiring. Currently waiting on a partial menisectomy to my knee, I cannot wait for this to be resolved so I can reapproach my training with a new found lust for pain. In the meantime I will console myself with upper body work and day dreams of grappling mythical beasts.

  17. Dealing with exertion headaches for the last few weeks, so this is timely. They are a result of either hemorrage or aneurysm, meaning time off, or a pinched nerve/pulled muscle in my neck, meaning grind on through the pain.

  19. I’m no tier 1 operator but I can’t get down with the quote. some injuries should be battled thru but sometimes it is a liability. Replace injury with pain and or discomfort and im on board. Sometimes you have to let off the throttle or minor injuries turn into big ones and then you’re riding the desk while your buddies are kicking in doors.

    I think “embrace the suck” more accurately paraphrases the article. Suck it up buttercup sometimes it hurts ;)

  20. Mentally toughness to me means that my boys on my team know that I will always train my physical toughness, mental toughness, or tactile prowess in order to never let my brothers down. My feeling is we are more athletic than any professional but it just might be that it is my job. I call it living the dream I get paid to train hard and hang out with some of the best men in the country

  21. Pingback: Derby City CrossFit | Louisville | Workout of the Day – Thursday 10/11/12

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