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[/caption] Nov. 23, 2010–Winnipeg–Today was an excellent workout! I needed to rest yesterday and recover, not just physically but mentally as well. I’ll get back to that in a minute. So the workout was as follows: High-bar back squat 4×5 at 205 Shoulder press 3×5 at 90 Deadlift 1×5 at 265 Back extensions 3×12 Reverse hypers 3×10 at 70 I would not be overstating it if I said today I squatted the best I ever have. I nailed every rep, and I felt so good about it. The knees were out, the chest was up, and my weight was in my heels. In the third set I felt two reps get away from me, but I love that I can identify what I need to fix and make it better! Mike made me back down the weight a while ago and rebuild my squat to make me better in the long run. It has worked! The shoulder presses were easy, and I almost wonder if I should have gone after bigger weight, but there is always next time. The deadlift felt great, and I’m super pumped to see the weight increasing again. I wouldn’t say we have ignored the deadlift altogether in my training, but it has taken a bit of a back seat to focus on building my upper-body strength and endurance. If you read my last blog, you could feel the negative energy just oozing off the screen. I felt defeated, angry, doubtful—you name it. This is an ongoing problem. I am committed to working on my mental toughness because it is an area where I really struggle. And even that is new to me! I have been a super confident athlete my whole life. Take triathlons for, example. I love to race, and I am a terrible swimmer. Years of training really never made an impact on how I performed in the water. But when I hit the bike and run, I hunted people down. I could literally hear jungle music in my head as I searched for my competition on the course. I never stopped pushing until the race was over. And I always felt great about the outcome no matter where I finished. When I won my first race, I had come out of the water 48^th out of 52. I finished sixth overall and won my age category. I was elated. Imagine if I had decided, “I may as well pack it in because I am never going to catch anyone.” I need to apply that drive and desire to every Functional Fitness WOD. It isn’t over until it’s over!