Brian Friend (00:00):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (00:01):
Bam. We’re live. I don’t even remember sending you that. How a long time ago.
Brian Friend (00:05):
You just, you do so many generous things. Sometimes you forget them
Sevan Matossian (00:09):
<laugh>. That is true. Good to see you, Ryan. When’s the last time you’ve been on Ryan?
Brian Friend (00:17):
Uh, after Waap Blues, I think. God,
Sevan Matossian (00:19):
It feels like,
Brian Friend (00:20):
Oh no, I mayhem.
Sevan Matossian (00:22):
Oh, that’s right. God, it feels like forever ago to me.
Mathew Souza (00:25):
Mahe.
Sevan Matossian (00:27):
I can’t tell you how good it feels to be out of the snow and back at home.
Mathew Souza (00:31):
Oh, I
Brian Friend (00:31):
Bet. Snowing here.
Sevan Matossian (00:33):
My It is.
Brian Friend (00:35):
Yeah. It’s been snowing for two days.
Sevan Matossian (00:37):
Oh, wow. It, that’s kind of nice, huh?
Brian Friend (00:41):
Uh, I mean, I have to clear my car off four times yesterday.
Sevan Matossian (00:45):
But you have one of those scrapers.
Brian Friend (00:47):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (00:49):
I don’t have one of those <laugh>. The rental car I had in Tahoe had one
Brian Friend (00:53):
<laugh>.
Mathew Souza (00:56):
That’s so much in Santa Cruz.
Sevan Matossian (00:58):
It, it’s the little things that matter so much that, that table that I sat at in Tahoe when with the last four shows we did my, there’s, uh, my knees don’t go under the table, so I have to sit back here like this. You know what I mean? Like you’re
Mathew Souza (01:12):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (01:13):
Oh, at the table, I mean, yeah. And it’s, it wasn’t even a table. It was like I was working on a dresser.
Mathew Souza (01:18):
The one behind me looks nice though. And
Sevan Matossian (01:20):
The little things, oh man, you should see that I am setting up here.
Mathew Souza (01:24):
Look at, look at that. The couch is gone.
Sevan Matossian (01:26):
Yeah. And there’s two chairs. And I got the new table. We’re gonna have in, I’m gonna try to set up a show and have a kpa in here, uh, as a test run. And Dave, back in here as a test run.
Mathew Souza (01:35):
Awesome. It’s evolving. Look at it. Look at the Evolv Couch is gone. Is that a mic hooked up to it too? Like a
Sevan Matossian (01:41):
Yeah. Yeah. You see that? Oh,
Mathew Souza (01:42):
Real life podcast studio. Guys, you better get ready. Yeah. This is gonna be Woo. We’re gonna fly Brian out every
Brian Friend (01:50):
Show. I don’t believe that.
Sevan Matossian (01:51):
Yeah. Don’t, don’t get, I’ll
Brian Friend (01:52):
Take back that comment about all those generous things you did
Mathew Souza (01:54):
<laugh> don’t get, I got all worked up, got
Brian Friend (01:56):
Worked up <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (01:58):
Uh, I was, I was researching, uh, Sarah yesterday and I couldn’t find another podcast. She’s done since February, since the one she did with us February of 2022.
Brian Friend (02:11):
Damn.
Sevan Matossian (02:12):
And she did that interview with Lauren on the boat. That was at Waap Puzo, right?
Brian Friend (02:18):
Yeah. I was supposed to be on that boat, but I didn’t make it in time. It
Sevan Matossian (02:21):
Was her. Hey, why didn’t you make it in time?
Brian Friend (02:23):
The FAA was not operating that
Sevan Matossian (02:25):
Morning. Oh, your entire flight and everything was late.
Brian Friend (02:29):
The entire country was late.
Sevan Matossian (02:33):
The loveseat is gone. Uh, mom, the, I’m, you know what I’m thinking? I’m about doing <laugh> is, it’s, it’s here. It’s just right over there. By the way, when my mom says loveseat, she means that, like, in the traditional sense, no one get it. It’s not like the way I would use the
Mathew Souza (02:46):
Word <laugh>. I didn’t even think about it like that too. So
Sevan Matossian (02:49):
<laugh>, um, uh, that’s like a technical term for a kind of, uh, furniture <laugh>. But Mom, I’m gonna come, mom, come over later on today and let’s hang out. I haven’t seen you in four days. Or I’ll come over to your house and we’ll talk about how I’m gonna organize this. I’m still, I’m gonna try to incorporate the loveseat. Let’s just call it a couch.
Mathew Souza (03:07):
That’ll be my spot. I’ll sit right behind
Mathew Souza (03:09):
You. No one can see in the, the
Sevan Matossian (03:11):
Loveseat.
Brian Friend (03:12):
Uh, savon. Do you think if you get, if you moved your family to a different part of the country that your mom would follow?
Sevan Matossian (03:17):
Yes. A hundred percent. A hundred percent. I mean, I, I moved 70. I tested her out already once I moved 70
Brian Friend (03:25):
Is your latest comment. You might be in trouble.
Sevan Matossian (03:27):
Wait, what did she say? Uh, say it isn’t so well, which Oh, which part? Talk
Brian Friend (03:35):
<laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (03:36):
Which part? That
Brian Friend (03:37):
One
Sevan Matossian (03:38):
<laugh>. No, no, no. She’s fine. She’s, she’ll she’ll be happy with the new setup. She’ll be over here today. She’ll be like, oh, you did a really good job.
Brian Friend (03:44):
It might be, she might be talking about the fact that you shaved.
Sevan Matossian (03:48):
No, no. She’s probably ecstatic that I shaved. No one in my family likes anything. I do. Trust me, they don’t like the podcast. They don’t like the hair on the face. They don’t like it that my kids don’t go to school. I’m, I’m a but, but they, but they suppress it. They suppress it. Yeah. She says, uh, my mom says only if the couch comes with us. Of course, the couch. Whatever you want. Mom. Dark Lord Revon, uh, $10. I was catching up with this show and the Hunter Show was awesome. Thanks. Keeping it real.
Brian Friend (04:16):
How often do you have him on?
Sevan Matossian (04:18):
I hadn’t had him on in
Mathew Souza (04:20):
A long time.
Sevan Matossian (04:21):
Yeah. That’s
Brian Friend (04:22):
The first time in a while. I feel like there was a, a time where he was coming on quite regularly and then, I don’t
Sevan Matossian (04:26):
Know. He wanted, he wanted to be a reg. Everyone wants to be a regular until, until it’s time to be a regular, and then they
Mathew Souza (04:33):
<laugh> until it’s time to put that work in. Yeah.
Brian Friend (04:35):
Yeah. It’s not, it’s like, you know, you call him up, you’re like, Hey, we’ll do one show a week, guys. Yeah. Yeah. And then when you start doing one show a day, you don’t understand why they don’t have, everyone can’t do it.
Sevan Matossian (04:44):
Right. Exactly. <laugh>, other people have lives. They need time to eat, go to work.
Mathew Souza (04:51):
Oh my goodness.
Sevan Matossian (04:53):
What did you think about, um, before Sarah gets here, what did you think about Sarah’s performance at Waap? Polooza?
Brian Friend (05:00):
I mean, I ever think everyone knows. I was concerned about the fact she was doing both competitions. I was right personally more invested in the individual competition. I thought she did very well there. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and I actually, are you talking about me?
Sevan Matossian (05:13):
We’re talking No, no. Some other blonde Iceland girl.
Brian Friend (05:17):
<laugh>. What did, and uh, oh, he asked me how I thought you did at Waap Polooza. Oh yeah. And I thought that you did very well on the individual side of things. I thought you made good choices. I thought it was a, a good performance. You could build some confidence off of going into this season. Yeah. And then I actually really enjoyed watching your team. I thought you guys had a great attitude. You guys wanted fun time. Yeah. And it was a, and it was a cool team. You know, a lot of the teams there were like, all the people were from the same part of the world. So you had like a team, Sweden or a team from South America and you guys did total opposite. You got someone from Brazil, someone from Iceland, someone from, uh, Oceana and made a nice little team there.
Sevan Matossian (05:57):
Who is the team again? Brian.
Brian Friend (06:00):
Oh, it
Sevan Matossian (06:01):
Was Campos.
Brian Friend (06:02):
Campos was a late add-on to the team. They were supposed to have Emily Rolf who was run, had a different part of the world, but she obviously, um, had a, an injury that couldn’t do it. So it was very nice. Victoria. And she joined Sarah and Catlin Vanil.
Sevan Matossian (06:16):
Oh yeah, that’s right. I always forget Van Z’s name. Yeah. How do you say her name? Sarah.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (06:21):
Call her Caitlin
Sevan Matossian (06:23):
Caly. Call her Caitlin.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (06:24):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (06:25):
Okay. And then do you ever say her last name?
Sara Sigmundsdottir (06:29):
Van.
Sevan Matossian (06:30):
Van know. Hey. That’s how I, I’m, I’m cool with that cuz that’s the way I pronounced it. Vanille? Yeah. I, Caitlin van,
Sara Sigmundsdottir (06:37):
It’s, I don’t feel like it’s an Australian name, like a second name.
Brian Friend (06:41):
Well, she married, she, because she’s married to Johan Van, I guess. Yeah. And, and maybe he’s from somewhere else.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (06:48):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (06:49):
Hey, Sarah, does anyone ever call you? Just like, when I, um, when I talk about br when I talk about, uh, Matt Suza, I always call him Suza. I don’t really use his first name. Matt does any. And, and same with, uh, like Andrew Hiller. I don’t call him Andrew, I call him Hiller. Does anyone ever call you like Sig Sigmund’s daughter and not never use your first name?
Sara Sigmundsdottir (07:09):
My first name is Rne, so I’m never called but my first name.
Sevan Matossian (07:13):
Oh, say it. I I was wondering if we were gonna go here again. I, I was just, I in my notes, avoid her first name. Avoid it like the plague. But let’s hear. Let’s do it. Okay, let’s try again. What is it
Sara Sigmundsdottir (07:24):
Ish? <laugh>. So that’s my first name. And
Sevan Matossian (07:30):
That’s Raha ish.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (07:32):
Yeah. Yeah. Same. Same. It sounds about right. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (07:37):
Do it one more time for me. I’m really gonna try [inaudible] I got the first part right?
Sara Sigmundsdottir (07:46):
Yeah. And then it’s ish. Hey bud. Like hard ice
Sevan Matossian (07:51):
Ish, ishish
Sara Sigmundsdottir (07:55):
Ish.
Sevan Matossian (07:56):
Oh wow. That, that, I mean, those are some mouth skills.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (07:59):
I know. This is what we learned from
Sevan Matossian (08:03):
Jesus.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (08:03):
Yeah. Iceland.
Sevan Matossian (08:06):
Um, I’m gonna go back and watch this and, and, um, and, and so I don’t bore the people in the audience and really try to get done. I was so proud of myself when I started being able to say bor then Carl Gluon. And now that I can’t say his name, I say the whole thing. What do you mean pretty good?
Sara Sigmundsdottir (08:21):
<laugh>? I mean, have you, have you heard, uh, what his town is called? That’s even harder to pronounce. So he’s from a town called
Brian Friend (08:32):
<laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (08:33):
Yeah. Yeah. It’s amazing. Good morning. It makes me feel like I have a low iq. Like I don’t have control over my tongue or my lips or my mouth. It’s like, wow.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (08:42):
Yeah. Just live in Iceland for a few years. Yeah. We’ll, we’ll get it sorted.
Sevan Matossian (08:48):
Where are you? Where are you? Uh, Sada.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (08:51):
I’m in Iceland. I just came back. Yes, sir.
Sevan Matossian (08:55):
Is that home for you now? I know that’s a weird question to ask you.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (08:59):
I mean, I would say, uh, back is a home for me. <laugh>, I traveled so much, uh, for now, I mean, I’m based in Iceland, so, uh, I’m gonna spend some time here and then probably go back to Dubai and train there. So, uh, yeah, I just finished a three month trip now and I was very ready to just go home and, and calm down a little bit.
Sevan Matossian (09:24):
And when you say a three month trip, you mean you were like, you were moving from place to place for three months?
Sara Sigmundsdottir (09:29):
Yeah, I just haven’t been in Iceland for about three months. Uh, short of months, but, so I started in Dubai, went from Dubai to Miami, then went from Miami to the UK and now finally back in Iceland in the snow. And
Brian Friend (09:44):
You spent a lot, I’ve spent a lot of time in Dubai. Does it feel at all like home when you’re there?
Sara Sigmundsdottir (09:48):
It definitely feels like home. So I went there, so I took a lot of time off after last season. I was just very beat up my body and, and mentally and um, so I just decided to take a, a long time off this year. And when I was starting to train again, I was like, I feel like I am starting a lot of compensation here and I feel like I need some, some extra eyes on me. So I decided to go back to Dubai and, and work pretty closely with, uh, the physio that I’ve been working with since surgery. And, uh, and as soon as I went to Dubai, it just felt like home. Cuz I stayed there for about like three months last year. And all the people were like, ah, we’ve missed you. Like I’m, I’m a part of so many gyms there and just met so many great new people and yeah, it almost feels like home there Now. <laugh>,
Sevan Matossian (10:42):
Do you have a place there or do you stay with someone?
Sara Sigmundsdottir (10:44):
I stay with, uh, my best friend Carmen.
Sevan Matossian (10:47):
Okay. And I think we talked about her on the last show. Okay. Yeah.
Brian Friend (10:51):
And she’s still, she’s been living there for a while.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (10:53):
She’s been living there since 2016. She was gonna stay there for two years. Son <laugh>, she’s still there, so I don’t think she’ll ever gonna move.
Sevan Matossian (11:02):
<laugh>. Sarah, when you came on the show, the last time you were on the show was February of 2022. And when you came on that show, I, I think you had just started also at, uh, training Think Tank. Well you’d, max had been your coach for a year, but that was your first time actually, after a year of training with him, you actually landed there and spent some time there. Um, are you, are you still with training Think Tank?
Sara Sigmundsdottir (11:28):
Yes, I’m still with training Think Tank, but I’m working, uh, more closely with him, other coach and that, so I moved in with, uh, coach and her name is Perrin and we just connected in a very good way and, and me and Max are still very good and he helps me if I need help, but, um, so I just decided that Perrin would be like my, my main coach this year. So I’m still with training think Tank, but gonna work, uh, with a different coach.
Sevan Matossian (11:56):
H how many coaches have you had Since 2000. Uh, when when did you come in? 2013. 15.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (12:03):
2013. Uh, so since 2013 I’ve had, uh, Yami, John, um, Phil, who, who and then who? Max? Phil Mansfield. Okay. Phil. Yeah. So I’ve had four coaches.
Brian Friend (12:27):
Oh, now par
Sara Sigmundsdottir (12:30):
And now I have parent, first female coach that I’m working with. So it’s, uh, it it it makes a, a small difference.
Sevan Matossian (12:38):
It does. Can you articulate that? Are there words for it? What makes a difference?
Sara Sigmundsdottir (12:43):
It’s just more understanding of what girls have to go through. Like we have our cycle, we have our hormones and, and uh, I think girls can relate a lot to that. What guys pretty much are afraid of that? Let’s say that
Sevan Matossian (12:59):
<laugh>, hey, is that a good thing that they can relate to? It may maybe, uh, let me just play devil’s advocate here. Maybe that they showed too much compassion and empathy, whereas a male coach might just like, just push you through it. Like a, like a woman wouldn’t care about a guy’s balls. Hey, just ride the fucking horse and shut up. I don’t care about your balls.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (13:14):
I think that, but I’ve never experienced that with a, with a guy coach, but it’s more just like, oh, I have something in my back or something like that. And then a female coach maybe relates more like, this could be connected to your cycle or this could
Sevan Matossian (13:27):
Be connected. Right. Okay.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (13:29):
Or like you have cramps or something like that and it’s like, okay, you have to do this and this and this because I’ve gone through this with other girls or something like that. So it’s like female coaches are maybe more, uh, experienced in, in the, the pH of being a female when you’re an athlete, right? Like Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (13:49):
So I I I took it to a place where it might be a, a weakness, but you’re saying no actually there, uh, there’s also the other side. Yeah. Which makes perfect sense. Work, working around those things or knowing how to deal with
Brian Friend (14:00):
Them. This, this concept of programming and training around a woman’s cycle Yeah. Is something that I’ve been seeing more and more over the last six to 12 months.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (14:10):
It is so interesting. So interesting.
Brian Friend (14:13):
I know, you know, Savon used to have Kate Gordon on the show quite a bit done from Australia and she was, and continues to be very vocal and educational for women in that regard. Yeah. I think I even had a conversation, uh, with, with uh, like Camille down in, in a lot of alza and she was becoming more and more sensitive to this as she become a mom and all this other stuff. Is it something that has also become more like relevant, like, like a, that you’ve become more aware of? Or is it something you’ve always had to kind of deal
Sara Sigmundsdottir (14:44):
With? I mean, what I find so interesting is just like, uh, different times a month you, your ligaments are looser because your body’s preparing you for, because you’re more fertile. So when I tear my acl, I was ovulating and like, so there’s a holy
Sevan Matossian (15:03):
Shit. That’s fascinating. Yeah.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (15:05):
Wow. Yeah, so it’s very, very interesting of like what, like, I don’t know, like I think these are still a bit of theories now, like not in quite proof yet, but there’s a lot of thought about like, when you’re ovulating you shouldn’t be doing specific stuff. You should be doing very light work, more cardio. When you are, uh, just got your period, you’re your strongest, then you should be pushing weights again. Like you can program throughout where you are in your cycle. So that is where I’m interested in. I’m, I’m not quite there yet. We’re having babies and stuff like that, that that will be later on when I have my training.
Sevan Matossian (15:41):
Right,
Sara Sigmundsdottir (15:42):
<laugh> true. But now we’re focusing on injury free. And how, how, like what is the smartest thing to do with training when you are like, and I think it’s also very individualized of like, I’ve always been very hyper mobile, so if I get even more flexible and I’m doing a wonder of max that’s more dangerous versus maybe a, a girl that’s not mobile at all and she gets a little bit more flexibility when she’s ovulating. Oh, okay. She can hit better precisions now, so that’s better for her. So it’s very individualized.
Brian Friend (16:14):
Let, let me ask you this, because I know, you know, I work at a, at a gym, obviously a lot of women there and sometimes I’ve been having these conversations a little bit, but when, when the schedule comes out for the year, cuz some people are very calculated, some women are like, they know they can look 2, 3, 6 months ahead of time and expect I’ll be ovulating at this time or whatever. Yeah. And you see the schedule for a semi-final or the week that’s chosen for the CrossFit games. Is it possible to look six months ahead and say, Ooh, that’s a really good week for me for weightlifting, or Oh dang it, that’s falling on the week. That’s worse for me.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (16:49):
Yeah, that’s exactly the problem. You can’t really <laugh> or that’s what I try to do is like, I’m not gonna overthink because I think that adrenaline can help me through anything when I’m competing. Like, this is just my belief. I have no idea if it works or not. So if I’m ovulating when I have to qualify for the games and I have to do wonder marks, I’m not gonna be like, guys, I’m out. I’m not gonna like, I think that adrenaline just does wonders for you. So when you’re in the right zone and head space, I think that that small part doesn’t matter as much as when you’re fatigued from training and you could actually just be smart with it. So,
Brian Friend (17:28):
Or
Sevan Matossian (17:28):
Maybe you Hey Sarah, can you, can you change that? Sorry, Brian, can you, uh, isn’t it, if a group of women get together and, and they’re with you and they live together, don’t their cycles start lining up? Yeah. Could you, could you change your, could you somehow change your cycle by a few days here and there by who you’re hanging out with?
Sara Sigmundsdottir (17:44):
Yeah. <laugh> you could, you, you,
Sevan Matossian (17:46):
You’re gonna see, I know that sounds weird. I’m navigating to no, no man’s land, but I’ve heard that shit and I was like, that’s fascinating.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (17:51):
It is so fascinating. I That’s nice. Like two
Sevan Matossian (17:54):
Years Quite Siri. Sorry, that was Siri. I don’t know why she’s listening.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (17:58):
<laugh>. She’s just fascinated also. Yeah,
Brian Friend (18:00):
She’s jealous because we have a, a different woman with four letters and a s and n r
Sevan Matossian (18:04):
<laugh>. Right. And Siri doesn’t menstruate. She bombed <laugh>.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (18:08):
Is this true? Yeah. I think, I don’t think that, um, like all girls can align together. I think it’s very also independent of like how good your hormones are and everything like that. I mean, when I am training hard, it’s very hard for me to get my period. So that’s a sign of, okay, I’m in over training now I need to calm down a little bit. My system is, is uh, in protection mode and in in stress mode. And that’s why I haven’t had my period. Like, so it’s, it’s a very interesting topic and very, like I would love to study this a lot more when I’m done with my career to help girls optimize their career around this. Cuz it can have a huge effect on you. Like, like having to worry about that you’re on your period when you’re competing and you’re doing a swim event. Like this takes focus from you and like, if you could do something to help, like to help girls deal with it, I I would love that.
Brian Friend (19:09):
I was, um, I was at CrossFit Mayhem last week and I got a chance to meet Jim Hensel and he was talking about the mayhem mindset there.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (19:16):
Yeah. He, yeah.
Brian Friend (19:18):
And just the general idea was if you have more things in control in your life, then when you come to compete, those things won’t be in the way and you can focus more on competing. And I think this is just an extra thing in, in life that women have to worry about that men in this sport don’t.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (19:33):
Exactly. And we worry enough already. Come on now. We, our mind is insane. So if we can simplify this a lot, I think that would make a huge change in the female side of athletes.
Sevan Matossian (19:46):
I mean, at, at the bottom of that pyramid for CrossFit is nutrition and, and the premise for Greg’s whole idea for using the zone diet was to balance your hormones. That was all it was. Yeah. Just to get your hormones as as levels as regulated as possible. Yeah. Because if you don’t, that’s where sickness happens. Yeah. But wow. Yeah. Um, and did you choose her because she was a, was was that one of the factors why you choose, uh, Parn?
Sara Sigmundsdottir (20:09):
No, I just, I lived through there for a year and like last year for me was a very mentally tough year. I mean, I just, coming back from an injury is way tougher than I ever expected. And especially if you get hurdles on the way and if you don’t achieve what you were working for and, and we just experienced a lot together and I just felt that I connected better with her because she knew me better than Max knew me. Like, it’s easier to open up to a girl that you’ve lived with for a year and that, that sees exactly how you work and when you work your best versus having a coach that you just see sometimes a day and, and talk to a little bit. Like, it’s more like I chose her because I just felt that we had a personal connection and I thought that she calms me a lot down. Like she, she sees when I’m triggered and when I’m in a stress mode and she knows exactly how to approach me versus maybe it, it’s harder for a guy to read me <laugh> or, and yeah,
Brian Friend (21:13):
I really like that because, you know, it, it’s, it’s often very tempting and we’ve seen a lot of athletes make changes in the last couple years to go towards the big name coaches, the big name programs, and obviously those people are in, in those positions for a reason as well. But I think that sometimes the thing that’s missing is that personal touch. That personal connection. Yeah. And that’s cool that you guys have developed that.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (21:35):
Yeah, I mean, me and Max we were great together also. It’s just when you’re at this level, you want everything to be up to 10 or up to tee. Like, and I just felt like, okay, me and Max, we’ve done great stuff together. He’s taught me so much. I think I need to get this personal connection a little bit better. And I think Perrin is the better one in that area.
Sevan Matossian (21:59):
When I watched you compete in, um, at Waap Polooza, I was, um, I was nervous. I was thinking, uh, LA last time we saw her here, she she pulled out with with a scare. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, she, um, I I saw her, I was like, oh no. Is this, um, you know, in the, in the hoing world, if a horse breaks its leg, they fucking kill it and I’m so and so. I see you sign up for both events. I’m like, what is she doing? Like I just wanna see her go out on the floor and like smile and lift some heavy shit and leave. Like I don’t, I don’t want to see, uh, one of my favorite people who I enjoy taking the floor and, and, and kind of engaging with the crowd to get hurt. I don’t care how she places. Can you just go on the court floor, lift something heavy, run across the finish line, go like this and we get Yeah. I, I don’t know why I was so stressed out about you being out there.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (22:47):
Yeah. You are not the only one. Let’s say that
Sevan Matossian (22:49):
Everybody <laugh> buried
Sara Sigmundsdottir (22:52):
And then are you sure? Are you sure? And I was like, I am sure. And then I got sick on Friday and I was like, fuck, why is this happening now?
Sevan Matossian (23:00):
It’s like with the, with the, with the cold with the flu. Yeah. Something. Yeah. Okay. Lost
Sara Sigmundsdottir (23:04):
My voice like four or five days. So yeah, it’s, um, it was, um, water palolo was the, everything that I got outta it was exactly what I needed. I had
Sevan Matossian (23:16):
Okay, good.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (23:17):
I was completely myself on the floor. Okay. I, what I realized is that I’m not so far behind as I thought I was. And I did a lot of mistakes, which is a very Sarah thing to do and, and learn from it. So I just, this was exactly what I needed. My body was great after it. I was very nervous on how, uh, my knee would respond because the last time I competed I was just very, like, I just swell up right away and was just not recovered.
Brian Friend (23:50):
Well, that was that semi-finals
Sara Sigmundsdottir (23:52):
That was, uh, semi-finals and last year’s qualifier. Last year’s qualifier was just, was even worse just because I pushed two semi-finals and then you didn’t get a lot of break because it was like three weeks between and traveling back to Iceland, back to America, just like everything around it was just, it was a lot of stress, let’s say that. And, uh,
Brian Friend (24:15):
Was there any thought about not doing the last chance qualifier last year?
Sara Sigmundsdottir (24:19):
No, I was always gonna do it. I was just wondering if I should do it in Iceland or if we should do it in, in Atlanta. And I, yeah. And I think I took the right decision and I, I have so much faith that everything that happens to you happens for a reason. There’s something like somebody’s teaching me something and, and I realized after last year’s qualifier was like, I haven’t taken an off season since after the game’s 2020 because when you, when you have a major injury, there’s never an off-season. You’re not maybe training as much, but your mind is a hundred. Like your mind is working a thousand times more than it’s ever worked before. Like, I would go to bed every night and think about how can I not lose what I’ve, I’ve achieved? How can I be close to everybody after this?
(25:09):
Like, how can I not make this injury my, like my last, uh, like my last move in my career. Like, how can I come back? How can I believe? Like your mind is just on hundred and then you get, then you get some wins, then you get some losses again and your mind goes straight into, okay, it’s over, it’s done. You’re never gonna be as good again. You’re never like that bad voice in your head. And I just felt it after last year’s qualifier was like, I’ve been for two years an athlete. I never took my hat off after a competition or anything because I’ve been fighting so much to try to come back. And, uh, and after those two months being a human being again and, and, uh, seeing my friends and just have fun, it was like all of a sudden I was myself again.
Brian Friend (25:59):
Mm. This is a, this is a cool, actually a really cool thought as well. You know, the concept of taking an off season or or taking some time for yourself after whatever competition it is, is something that I think CrossFit athletes have to figure out for their own. Yeah. But the mental side of it is a totally different game because you can say, okay, I’m not gonna train for a month, but during that month, if you’re still going on Instagram and you see all the people that you know what you wanna be better than or that are trying to be better than you doing something. Yeah. Yeah. How do you handle that mentally?
Sara Sigmundsdottir (26:32):
Yeah, exactly. That comparison starts right away. And like, why, why is she starting to train now? And I’m not, oh my God, she’s gonna be ahead of me now. Wow. She did this much, like, you’re, you’re constantly comparing yourself to what you’re seeing on social media. And this was probably my hardest thing when I was coming back from injury was like, I was constantly getting the verification of how far I was behind. And I was like, they’re lifting this much weights now and I can’t even do an air squat. Like, you know what I mean? Like, you’re constantly breaking yourself down because you’re so afraid of coming back. And I think that’s what just, that’s if I needed a break,
Sevan Matossian (27:12):
Sarah, people think that they’re gonna have these thoughts and they’re gonna have another thought that’s gonna help it. Right? They think that like, like you have this thought, Hey, I’ll never come back. I’ll never be as good as I used to be. And people start looking for another thought that’s gonna fix it without realizing that, Hey dude, it’s the thoughts that kind of get you in trouble. Yeah. It, it seems like always that the, the root is to, to the, the cure for that is just to accept that thought, right? Yeah. Hey, I have to accept the fact that I have to accept the fact that I might not be as good as I was before. I have to accept the fact that I might have these thoughts. I have to accept the fact that I can’t accept these thoughts. I have to, it just has to just be this like looking into two mirrors, right? Just accepting accepting into infinity. Right. Because you’re not gonna come up with this thought all of a sudden and be like, oh my God, this thought fixes all of those thoughts. Yeah.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (27:57):
No, and it’s also like what I’ve studied a lot. I like, I love neuroscience and everything and like, there’s a theory in neuroscience that like you, if you connect an emotion to a thought, it becomes a hundred times stronger. Mm. And then it affects you and it takes you about 90 seconds to connect an emotion to a thought. So my rule was as soon as I got a bad thought, I would try to like be as neutral as possible and just like talk to myself in third person or like, Sarah, this is a thought. There’s nothing, right? Like, behind this, like, uh, this is just your, I don’t know if you read Chimp Paradox, but like, this is the chimp side side of your brain. The one that just wants to protect you so much and wants you to just be home and never go out of the door again so you won’t get hurt. Just like it’s just a thought. It doesn’t matter at all. Just let it go away. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (28:53):
So if I wanna remember something, I just, I just take a hammer as soon as I have the thought, just hit myself in the hand. That thought will stay forever. Yeah. I have a, a strong emotional response.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (29:04):
Or you can also use that in a different way of like, when you are, like, there’s a thing in, in psychology that you have a band around your hands and so you’re in a workout and you get these bad thoughts of like, I can’t, oh my God, everybody’s better than me. And then you hurt yourself.
Sevan Matossian (29:22):
Oh yeah. I’ve seen that in some, I saw that in some movie. Just like Martha
Brian Friend (29:25):
Narc or So, and Bergeron has done that. Uh, at, at at Compre. Yeah.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (29:30):
Oh yeah, exactly. So as soon as you heard yourself, you should switch off from that victim mode and you should continue because that was the trigger of like, Hey, I can do this. So you’ve already connected that pain to something that’s gonna get you back on your feet again, <laugh> versus being like an overdrive in your mind.
Sevan Matossian (29:51):
I’m gonna get a shock caller.
Sara Sigmundsdottir (29:53):
Yeah. Can you share it with me? <laugh> you.
The above transcript is generated using AI technology and therefore may contain errors.
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