What have I done differently this past year to improve as an athlete? (look at all factors; mental, physical, nutrition, training, recovery, rest, etc)
I just finished doing some mobility and looking over today’s workout when I received a text from my training partner. Although we always text, this one was different… The text read “Homework, do it.” And it had a linked URL… After reading the article I understood what he was getting at. Let me explain…
We (being athletes, competitors, workers etc…) spend a load of time working at getting physically better. Putting hours after hours into the gym for another PR or mastering a new skill etc. What we sometimes lack is the reflection of what we’re doing, and more importantly why we are doing it…The answer to the question is different for everyone… my answer?
-I spent a considerable amount of time focusing on my WODs rather then just doing them. I made sure I understood the purpose of each WOD rather then doing it for the sake of doing it.
* A huge thing for me this year was actually paying attention to “rest days”. It took a lot of effort to realize rest is sometimes more important then work. In previous years I worked out all the time because I thought “hey the more the better”, but that’s not always the case.
* I actually paid attention to past mistakes. I finally turned the ego off and said to myself “hey! Shut up! That mistake was yours not anyone else’s” Failure is an opportunity to grow and I took every ounce of those opportunities.
* I started paying attention to consistency rather then always trying to hit big numbers. The realization came that hitting a 300pound clean every time with out a doubt is better then hitting 335 once but only on a good day.
* I recorded EVERYTHING… This was huge for me, I can’t memorize a lot of lifts etc. but I can’t memorize times for sprints, or consistency of wod times. This year I wrote it all down from beginning to end to REALLY see how I am doing
* Nutrition has always been pretty good for me but this year I focused on portion control (zone) and none of these “well I worked out so I can eat this 1000calorie big Mac”
* Lastly I video recorded some wods. Big thing here is reflecting on my performance that day and seeing how I could improve. Seeing if I’m resting too much or not enough. And accuracy of reps completed…
The first stage of finding the fittest man, woman, and team on earth is coming up. To some this means nothing… To Cross fitters, this is our time! But EVRYONE, before starting the open, needs to reflect on the work that went into getting here. Take the opportunity to look back at the last year or 2 or 3, or maybe even the last couple months (if you just started). Look at the changes you’ve made in your life, the lessons you’ve learnt sacrifices you’ve made… When you figure all that out, smile… Look up… Pat yourself on the back, for being such a badass, and go give everything you’ve got on February 27th… Make all the work worth it, leave not a single rep behind, dust off the chalk and repeat!
The SAR Take 