The number one thing that determines your success is…YOU. Even if the workouts are written specifically for you and a coach is there to guide you through it, you are the one who will ultimately accelerate or diminish your results.
Own your training checklist:
Be present
Strong as you want to be
The “in between”
User error
Step back to jump forward
Shiny Objects
Junk Reps
Breathe and move
The other 23
Mental Toughness
BE PRESENT
In a world where we have so many things in front of our face constantly begging for our attention it can make it hard to focus on a single task. Many things have become mindless and just going through the motions. When you are at the gym, be at the gym. When you are lifting, focus on your reps and your technique. A great question my father told me to ask athletes when coaching is, “What did you think?” Such a simple question, but a lot of times I would get blank stares or a shrug of their shoulders. As an athlete, think about what you just did. How did the lift feel to you? Of course the coach is there to help you, but you have to begin to feel when things are off so you understand what it should and should not feel like. This is how you learn and can significantly speed up your progress. Take ownership of your focus.
STRONG AS YOU WANT TO BE
Strength is earned. You can’t fake it. There is no shortcut. You have either put in enough work or you haven’t. The approach to that work is where the separation occurs. Sets and reps can be programmed but you are the one putting the weight on the bar. There is a lot said about going too heavy and how it sacrifices your range of motion and technique…what about not going heavy enough? Without question, you should always select a weight that allows you to safely and efficiently move through a full range of motion, but it also needs to be at the appropriate intensity. No matter what the rep range, at some point it should feel heavy. That might be the last few reps of a set of ten or every rep in a set of three. Sooner or later you have to FAFO…F$@K around and find out. Did you complete a set of three with 225 on back squat and not sure if you can get 230? Put it on the bar and find out.
Some error on going too heavy and some error on going too light…both are detrimental to your progress. It is a constant search for balance. You have to push your limits to find your limits. When you find your limits you have to know when to stay within them and when it is time to try to push beyond them. Consistent training for months and years is how you learn this. Take ownership of your strength.
“Consistency is staying loyal to what you said you were going to do long after the mood you said it in has left you.”
THE “IN BETWEEN”
Guess what? There are weights in between what is listed for Rx and scaled and a ton of weights available when scaling. There are also weights between Rx and Rx+. What you choose should be appropriate for each movement. Just because you are scaling one movement doesn’t mean you have to scale the whole workout. If you are waiting for the day when you can magically begin using the 50# dumbbell or go from five pull-ups in a workout to 20…it’s gonna be awhile. You can accelerate this process exponentially by looking at what lies “in between.”
Have you been using the 35# dumbbell, but aren’t close to ready for the 50#? How about the 40# or 45#? In a five round workout you could use a heavier weight for 2 rounds then go to the lighter one. Go heavy for four minutes of the ten-minute AMRAP then drop to a lighter weight. If you can do five unbroken pull-ups are you constantly using the scaled option in a workout when there is 6 or more? Even in a set of 20, you can do 5 then finish the reps with the scaling option. How about double unders? Do any double unders you can then go to singles. Toes to bar…do any number you can then go to the scaled option. The concept behind scaling and Rx is finding what allows each person to get the stimulus of the workout. Work outside of the WOD can help progress your weights and skills, but you also have to slowly progress those within the WOD too. Take ownership of your workout.
USER ERROR
How often do you video yourself training? Not for social media, but to watch your technique. In class, coaches should get to you a few times for feedback. Online, a lot of times you don’t have a coach watching any lifts at all or very few through video analysis. What about all of those other reps you did? Take some video in your next training session. Go frame by frame or in slow motion when you watch it. What do you see? Even if you look at it and have no idea what is wrong or how to fix it, this still gives you a starting point to ask your coach or others or research on your own to find the answer. What you allow is what will continue. If you don’t know what you're supposed to be doing or what you’re doing wrong and you're not asking, researching or looking at your own video then you are allowing your lack of improvement. Take ownership of your progress.
STEP BACK TO JUMP FORWARD
I like to lift heavy $h!t. As a result, my endurance a lot of times is what limits me in the WOD. Even though I can lift the heavier weights, many times I have to remind myself that it would be better to choose the lighter weight so I can do more reps unbroken and therefore improve my endurance. A tough transition is when we have leveled up or started doing more workouts at at higher difficulty. The tendency is to always choose that level no matter what. Be proud of your improvement, but remember you got there by consistently choosing what was needed for you to hit the stimulus. If you try to jump forward it can cause you to have to take steps back. Step back and gather momentum for that big jump. Take ownership of your rate of improvement.
SHINY OBJECTS
Distraction leads to a longer path. Driving across the country is a long journey. What would make that even longer would be getting off course by stopping to see all the flashing lights and attractions along the way. There are a lot of things to work on in CrossFit. If we try to do all the things all the time there just aren’t enough training hours in the day, especially with a job or family. Evaluate what level you are at within each training modality. Make a plan to improve your areas of opportunity. This requires training cycles of focus, without getting distracted. If you want to work on your endurance but constantly skip that work to go lift this takes you off course. As the quote says, “Stay the course”. Avoid the shiny objects taking you away from the work you need to do. Take ownership of your path to success.
JUNK REPS
Junk food, junk miles, junk reps…same thing. It is not about the time spent training, it’s what you do within that time that matters. Your daily training plan and accessory work should all be based off of your strengths, weaknesses, job, family, age , nutrition, sleep and goals. For some that is three days each week, for others that is six days. Adding more sets and reps or another WOD to fill time more often than not will work against you. The substance, the stimulus, the intensity. This is what dictates your time and volume. Take ownership of the quality of your training.
BREATHE AND MOVE
Some days you just don’t have the high gear. It can be frustrating, but remember, consistency is the key. Trying to destroy yourself every day will eventually lead to destroying yourself. There are times when you just need to breathe and move. That might mean you have to lower the weight or cut back the intensity, but you are still there. Training is just as much for your mental well-being as your physical. In over 25 years of consistent training one of the biggest things I have learned is when to push the pace and when to just relax, sweat and enjoy having the physical capability to do what you do. Take ownership of your intensity.
THE OTHER 23
Many of you have probably heard this one, but it’s worth repeating. No matter how hard you work in the gym, what you do outside of your training can either accelerate or stagnate your gains. If you binge watch Netflix instead of getting good sleep or consistently eat like an A$$hole, you can be working really hard just to maintain where you are. There is always a balance, a give and take between what you want to achieve and what you are willing to sacrifice to get there. The higher the goals and bigger the challenge the more sacrifices that will have to be made. Either way, what you do outside of training plays a big factor. Take ownership of your life choices.
MENTAL TOUGHNESS
Courage is often described not as the absence of fear but the willingness to move forward in the presence of it. Toughness is similar. It is not the absence of emotions or feelings, but having control when in the midst of them. Negative self-talk is a thing. A very big one for some, but is there in some capacity for all of us who choose to push to our mental and physical limits. It is not about trying to push those thoughts away or trying to pretend they aren’t there. It’s about digging deeper into them. Find the fire that is causing the smoke of the way you talk to yourself. Finding the fire is the only way you can eventually extinguish it. This requires sitting in some feelings and thoughts that are not very fun, but just like our physical training you have to be consistent and push through discomfort. We talk to ourselves exponentially more than anyone else in our lives. Take ownership of your mindset.
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