On music and silence in Crossfit

“What music should we play today?” our coach asked the class.

“Ke$ha.” someone answered.

“No, bootyshaking music!” another chimed in. The coach that day was partial to this.

80’s music, rap, and metal all were suggested.

I volunteered “How about silence?”

That was voted down quickly with a low level of scorn. Silence always gets voted down in Crossfit.

In every Crossfit gym I have been in from Maine to Costa Mesa, cranking music is de rigeur for a WOD.

Music is for motivation, for energy, for drive, for aggression, for fun…and that can all be great.

But music in a workout drives us to be pointed towards speed and performance rather than presence.

There is a fitness company that serves the Crossfit crowd called “Again Faster”.

Do we need more speed in our lives?

We complain about how fast time goes by.

At the rush of our lives.

At the difficulty in keeping up.

Speed. Yikes. In some places, sure, of course, we need speed.. Speed and force can counter some inertia. But beyond that? We have plenty of access to speed.

We need more presence.

But this shouldn’t shock us. There was a recent study that showed that people would rather give themselves electric shocks rather than sit in a room by themselves with their thoughts.

So where does this leave us? We are addicted to speed despite the fact that we feel plagued by it. We don’t want to be alone with the sounds in our head. We use music in Crossfit to facilitate this addiction and aversion.

While waking up even earlier and commuting with my own weights to workout is its own unusual discipline, silence is one of the reasons I really like DBWod.com. Working out outside early in the morning at a time that is traditionally embraced as a propitious moment for meditation is a joy.

Easily hearing my breath and each step in contrast to the still  morning air at the moments I need to rest or just the moments I need to be still is freeing.

So what to do?

First I suggest seeing if your gym will try silence every once in a while. But that might not work.

So here is what I’d like to offer.

Fall still wherever you are.

And just listen. Spend a few moments or even up to a minute at each step of this.

Hear the sounds that are most obvious around you. Don’t try to identify them. Just hear them.

Now listen for the sounds that are closest to you. The other sounds will still be there but bring your attention to the closest sounds. Thoughts will come up, commentary will come up. That is fine. When you recall, just come back to the listening.

Now bring your attention to the sounds that are furthest from you. Again, thoughts and movements in the mind will come. No worries or criticisms for that – just return to the listening.

Now bring your attention to hearing the sound of silence beyond the furthest sound. The other sounds will still be there but extend your attention wider than that.

And now hear how all the sounds rise up from and return to that silence that pervades the whole environment. Hear the silence between each sound.

Rest there.

There is stillness that pervades a chaotic and movement filled WOD.  Between each beat of the musical soundtrack there is quiet.

Crave to know that.

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