The Elephant's weaknesses are clear, it usually looks for the quick gain as opposed to the long-term payoff. Our efforts often fail because the many times the Rider can't keep the Elephant on the path long enough to reach the destination. The Elephant's desire for instant gratification is stronger than the Rider's vision for long-term benefits at the expense of short-term sacrifices.

That being said, it's important to remember that the Elephant isn't all bad, and the Rider isn't all good either. Compassion, loyalty, the hairs rising on the back of your neck when you need to stand up for yourself is all the Elephant. On the other hand, the Rider spends 20 minutes staring at your closet trying to figure out what to wear, or keeps you from making an important decision while you spend more time analyzing the situation.  The Elephant is the ship, and the Rider is its navigator. Understanding without motivation is what happens if you only appeal to the Rider, while passion without direction is what happens if you only appeal to the Elephant. Both are equally ineffective.

The Rider is able to overpower the Elephant for a while (willpower) but willpower is an exhaustible resource, and eventually the Elephant will have its way. The only way to ensure you reach your goals and the change you make is long lasting is to ensure that the Elephant and the Rider are working together.

You might ask "what does this have to do with working out?" but this analogy is important to keep in mind anytime you're trying to reach a goal whether at school, in the gym or for your career. 

If you can find a way to direct the Rider (appeal to the rational) and motivate the Elephant (appeal to the passionate/emotional) you will ensure the best possible chances of reaching your goal.

Goats are stubborn, ill tempered, and often frustrate you to the point where you're just ready to give up on them, only after sending a few choice expletives their way of course.

There is a far greater reward from conquering your goat, than there is from giving up on it or avoiding it.

Like most lessons learned inside the gym, these principles can be applied to situations outside of the gym.

5 Steps to Taming The Shrew Goat

1. Don't put your goat on a pedestal

Don't put the G on a P, man! This isn't something that is beyond you. While, it might take more work for you than it did for someone else, this is achievable. This probably doesn't seem fair, but let's be honest, life hardly is. You simply need to accept that and get on with the taming. Once the goat is on equal footing with you, you'll have a much easier time taming it.

2. Learn everything you can about you and your goat

Understanding your goat will help you attack it from a better angle. Let's face it you're dealing with something that you probably don't understand as well as you could (otherwise it wouldn't be your goat) so educate yourself. 

Ask your coach or a person you train with on a regular basis that has it a little more figured out than you. Spend some time researching online. If you're a visual learner try video taping yourself attempting the movement and compare it to videos with proper technique to see what you're doing wrong.

3. Eat your goat one bite at a time.

Don't expect to have it all figured out in time for dinner. This may take some effort, make sure you keep that in mind from the start.  Make sure you have planned progressions with which to attack your goat. Having your focus set on achieving small goals along the way will keep you motivated even if the final goal takes you a little longer than you'd like. Because, let's face it, it will always take longer than you'd like.

4. When you want to quit remember: It's a Trap!

The time you want to give up the most, is when it's most important to press forward. It's scarcity that makes taming your goat worth something. How many people do you know that can bang out 10 strict muscle-ups cold? 50 Double Unders? A 400lb Squat? If everyone could do it, it wouldn't be nearly as valuable once you achieve it.

Note: If you train at a serious gym or a CrossFit Affiliate, at times you may be doing yourself a disservice by comparing your performance with those of people around you. Some people have just been at it longer than you, others are naturally talented and seem to learn everything at the drop of a hat. In any case I'd wager that regardless of what it is you're working on, someone somewhere is struggling more with that skill than you are.

5. Remember it will always be your goat, tamed wild or otherwise

While the law of diminishing returns tells us the better you get at something the more difficult incremental improvements will be, it is important that we don't treat our goats like a checklist. What would happen if you stop working on double unders after you finally get one? What about after you string 20 together, should you stop then? 

Find a happy medium, and accept the fact that you'll always have to stay sharp when it comes your goat, otherwise it will surprise you when you least expect it.

Remember your goats will always belong to you, and with a bit of preventative action you'll be able to keep them tame for the long haul.

A solid pair of shoes will improve all your lifts and help with maintaining good mechanics. 

You don't even have to break the bank. Just head over to the mall and grab a pair of Chuck Taylors.

You can ensure squishy soles don't steal (absorb) the energy you're working to hard to create and transfer to the bar. Those soles are made to protect you from your bad running form (more on barefoot running another time) not to help you PR on your Back Squat. Flat shoes allow your foot to remain planted firmly on the floor as opposed to working hard trying to stabilize your body.

Watch these slow motion videos of a power lift without and with a cheap pair of lifting shoes:

Olympic lift in running shoes

If you're even half serious about your workouts as you are about how you look at the office, hold off on buying that new pair of clubbing shoes or that overpriced HSBC Team Canada Gear you need to help you look stylish at the gym and get a pair of Chuck Taylors or full-out weightlifting shoes instead.

Ready to lift seriously?

Here are a few of the most common shoes that work well for lifting:

Chuck Taylors $45 USD - www.eastbay.com

Rip's Lifting Shoe* - $115 USD - www.roguefitness.com
*powerlifting focused with a thinner .5" heel

Rogue Do-Win - $119 USD - www.roguefitness.com

 
Adidas Ironwork III - $149 USD - www.dynamic-eleiko.com

 
Adidas AdiStar - $199 USD - www.dynamic-eleiko.com

Please Note: I make nothing off any of these links if you purchase these shoes, other than the satisfaction of seeing you lift heavier safer of course.

Varied ≠ Random

Many people associate CrossFit and other GPP training with randomness.

Ran-dom /?rænd?m/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ran-duh m] - proceeding, made, or occurring without definite aim, reason, or pattern: the random selection of numbers.

Var-ied [vair-eed] - to change periodically or in succession; differ or alternate: Demand for certain products varies with the season.

Some of those same people avoid skill and strength work like the plague. I suspect many of these people share personality traits with those individuals who believe that magic pills hold the key to all their fitness goals. Magic pills like that that extreme program P90X or commercial fitness tools like the Hawaii Chair.

Preparing for various random tasks ≠ randomly preparing for various tasks.

While variety is the cornerstone of a true GPP program, it is important to address certain aspects of your physical fitness in a methodical manner.

Doing handstand pushups, muscle ups or double unders only when they come up in a workout will do little to improve your competency at those exercises. 

Do you put more thought into your plans for Friday night than you put into your training?

Imagine how much easier thrusters would be in your next Fran would be when your Squat and Press are up 50 and 20 pounds respectively.

That goal of 30 consecutive pullups in a row becomes less elusive when you get your chin over the bar five times with 50 pounds strapped to your waist.

Are you preparing randomly?

You get distracted and 'busy' and only train two days a week.

All you talk about is how you can't wait to get your strict pullups but you only practice them when the whiteboard commands you.

You finally get to the gym, but you only do 2 sets of heavy cleans before you realize you're late for work.

The difference between mediocre people and successful people is an unyielding focus on their goals despite all else (read: distractions).

Some distractions are a little harder to spot than others. Many times we get distracted with things that we honestly believe are helping us achieve our goals, when in fact the complete opposite is true.

Here is a little test to see if you're distracted without realizing it. Are you:

• Working on muscle-ups before you've got strict pullups?
• Allowing a skill to hold you back in your met-cons? (double unders, kipping pullups, etc)
• Allowing weakness to hold you back in your workouts?
• Working without a set goal or objective, for both the short and long-term? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be distracted.

Want buttery smooth double unders? Practice daily!

Eliminate your weakness? Squat heavy, press heavy and deadlift heavy more often!

Having trouble with your O-Lifts? Do the skill work correctly on a regular basis, remember practice makes permanent!

Muscle ups? Get strict pullups first, then do your progressions like medicine, regularly.

Strict pullups? Include negatives as part of your daily warm up.

Want to be better at life? Squat heavy more often, and set goals for yourself (See what I did there?)