Repetition builds confidence. Confidence builds strength.

Last February, Open workout 14.1 was announced. It consisted of double-unders & 75lb snatches. Back then, a 75lb snatch scared the crap out of me.

I remember watching the live announcement from our coaches house, alongside 30 other super-fit athletes. Right after they announced the workout, I said to myself, “I don’t know if I can do a 75lb snatch. Like, at all.”

Fast Forward

A few weeks ago, along with 3 of my fellow CrossFitters, I signed up for a local competition taking place at the end of this month. This past Sunday, Phil & I practiced the workout that we’ll be doing together.

9-minute AMRAP
Ascending ladder: 3… 6… 9… etc. of:
105lb snatch
53lb kettlebell swing
Bar-hop burpees

After warming up with a few reps of a lighter snatch, we put 105 on the bar. Phil knocked out a few practice reps, and then I stepped up to the bar. Our plan entering the workout was for Phil to do all the snatches. Yes… ALL of them. (Silly plan. Didn’t work. But that’s another story.) I needed to be ready just in case. So I cranked out a few.

To my surprise, they weren’t nearly as bad as I had thought. Even during the workout, I ended up doing 10-12 snatches in the 9-minutes, and most of them were not a problem. The last few were tough, but all-in-all, I handled 105 better than I handled 75lbs back in February.

Big Boy Kettlebell Club

Oh, and earlier in the week, I had done my first workout with the 70lb kettlebell, as opposed to the 53-pounder. I’ll admit, it always scared me. I thought my form would break. I’d hurt my back. Or it’d slow me down so much that I wouldn’t come anywhere close to finishing the workout. I hung in there pretty well with the 70-pounder, but definitely have plenty of room for improvement.

Because 70lbs is the prescribed kettlebell weight for guys, I felt like I finally joined the big boy club.

And guess what? The big boy club makes a 53lb kettlebell swing that. much. easier.

Repetition. Confidence. Strength.

So, the moral of the story… practice. Be consistent. And don’t be afraid to do those movements that you’re afraid of. The ones you think you’re terrible at.

Your confidence will build. And surely you’ll hit mental blocks along the way. There will come a point where you second-guess yourself. Question your ability. Doubt will try to play tricks with your mind.

But repetition will win out. And when it does, confidence rises. And that, my friends, is how you get stronger. Physically. And mentally.