Tag Archives: crossfit girls

Don’t Be So Serious

12 Tuesday May 2015

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CrossFit is all about the competition, right?! We set a clock every day, whether it’s counting up or counting down, we are trying to beat the clock. We compete against other athletes in the world, in our town, in our own gym, and most importantly, we compete against ourselves. There is always something or someone to beat. Most CrossFitters love it. We crave that competition. We check the whiteboard before and after each class. We talk to our friends about their performance. We see how we compare. It’s all in good fun. Usually there is not a lot of pressure, but this CrossFit stuff is all about measurable progress. We have to see how we measure up. But, does it always have to be like this? Is it always about progress and personal records? Absolutely not. Sometimes you have to come in to the gym, and get back to the basics of why you began this journey in the first place.

The other day our gym had a Non-Functional Friday. I hear this is not a new idea, but it was something different for us. It was an opportunity for us to get rid of all the “stress” of performing. This day wasn’t about CrossFit. We were going to do a workout, but we were going to have fun, while being safe, of course. We did typical “globo gym” movements like tricep kick backs, and barbell curls. We never set a clock and made sure we spent lots of time chatting, getting water, and checking the mirror for muscle tone. It was hilarious. We had a great time. Were we back at the clock on Saturday? You betcha. Metcon for time. The way we like it. However, for that one day it was so nice to break it up, act silly (ab selfies and all), and have fun with your gym friends.

It is so easy in this world of CrossFit to get caught up in the progress and progression that we forget what this journey is all about. What we know, or should know, is there is not a stopping point. There will never be a moment in this sport that we are “there.” We will always be working on something else. This sport is constantly evolving, so it is so important to break it up every once in a while. I cannot tell you how many conversations I have had with people lately about how they feel “stuck” or like they are getting worse at CrossFit. We can start to break down mentally. That is why we have to take steps back sometimes. We have to let go of the clock, let go of the PR, let go of the whiteboard and just have fun.

This journey of fitness is all about you anyway. It’s your personal progress and times. It’s your body composition and lifting records. It’s not about anyone else, so let it go. Sure, there are times to focus. There are times to hit it hard. But, there are plenty of times we need to step back and laugh. We definitely need to take rest days. We have to allow our body to recover, but we also just need to have fun, even if it’s not programmed that way. Grab a buddy, scale back the weight, and have fun with that WOD. In the words of Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Why I Won’t Be a Baby About the Open

02 Thursday Apr 2015

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Photo Credit 918 CrossFit

Photo Credit 918 CrossFit

As most of you know, The CrossFit Games Open finished last week (can I get an Amen?). This year brought about some changes, to say the least. We had the scaled division, which allowed for the WODs to be tougher, heavier, and a lot more mentally challenging. There in lies the rub… I suck at mentally challenging! I am an average athlete, as I have mentioned before. It’s my thing, the title of my blog, so on and so forth. I’m not the strongest. I’m not the fastest. I’m somewhere comfortably in the middle. Well, this year’s open was not kind to those of us comfortably in the middle. The scaled division was too light, too easy, and not challenging enough. I’ve done The Open before, and I wanted something that would force me out of my comfort zone. So, I signed up for RX and went on my merry way.

The first week brought a workout I could do. Toes to Bar, sure. They were not fast, but I was never “no repped”. 75 pound deadlift, you betcha! 75 pound snatch… eh. Do-able, but more of that mental stuff I’m not so good at. I finished the WOD with a decent amount of reps, did my clean and jerk and reveled in the fact that week 1 was done! The second week brought about chest to bar pull ups. I’m not great at those, but haven’t really worked on them either, so I can’t complain. I managed to bang out a few, beat my score from last year, and considered it a win. Week three brought muscle ups… WHAT?!?! How dare  you Dave Castro! You can’t START a WOD with muscle ups. What about the rest of us… those “non-elite” athletes? We regular folks? You suck and this whole thing sucks. So, I stood under the rings for 14 minutes, made a few feeble attempts at swinging from the rings, and called it a loss. Sure, I could have done the scaled workout, but if I wanted a regular workout, I would have just gone to a regular class that day (read: I’m stubborn). I recorded a zero and dropped off the scoreboard… SUPER! Week 4 I faced down a heavy (for me) clean. Physically, I could probably do a 125lbs clean, but mentally that’s a no. I knocked out three handstand push ups and made numerous attempts at the clean. One was very close, but apparently that only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Whatever. Week 5 was all do-able. Not fun, but do-able. I completed the workout, not quickly, even though my score did not matter, as I fell out of ranking week 3. It’s over. I finished.

Somewhere around week 3, when the muscle ups came out, I was pissed!! I feel like I am not alone in this sentiment. We cried and lamented and complained. We wrote nasty messages on the HQ Facebook page and we cursed Dave. However, here’s the thing. The Open is not necessarily for the average athletes. Yes, yes, it is billed to be all inclusive, but the purpose is the find the world’s best athletes. Is that me? No way, Jose! You found me out! You uncovered my weaknesses. I’m not going to pick up my ball, and storm off the playground shouting, “We’re not best friends anymore!” I’m going to shrug my shoulders, work on the things I can work on, and try to get better for myself. Do I think I will ever make it to The Games? Not in a million years. Do I do CrossFit to go to The Games? Nope. I do it because I found an inner strength I didn’t know was there. I do it to have the life I want to have. So, you got me Dave Castro. You win. I’m not the fittest in the world. Nor am I the fittest in my gym. I may be the fittest in my house, but my 8 year old is giving me a run for my money. So, to The Open, until next year.

For Those Who Crossfit, and Those Who Don’t.

06 Thursday Feb 2014

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I wrote this with CrossFit in mind, but can certainly be applied to any workout, or life situation you have. Now, if someone will tattoo this on my hand, I’d appreciate it.             

   We all have that story. You know, the one of your first day of CrossFit. How you walked in feeling relatively in shape, and learned by the end of the warm up you were doomed. Yep, my story is just the same as yours. It’s full of tears and pain and desperation. I’m sure our endings are the same as well, that by the time you peeled yourself off the floor, gathered up your jacket and water bottle, and found your ability to drive home, you were hooked. Resolved that you could do better. Certain that you could beat that time.

                I had committed myself to two workouts a week. I was sure that would be plenty to get in the shape that I had desired. You know, I just wanted to look good in a bathing suit. After three months of twice a week workouts, I stepped up to three times a week. A few months later, I was going every chance I got. While I have family, work, and life commitments, just like the rest of us, I still maintain that schedule. Every chance I get, I’m there. That was two years ago. So, my times should be rocking… right? I should be posting some crazy fast Fran, Diane, and Elizabeth times… right? Nope. My times are average. My body is average. That’s me; I’m just your average CrossFitter.

                Life for an average CrossFit girl can be quite frustrating. I have my “rabbit” girls. You know, those that I am continually chasing and am certain I will never catch. I have those I can beat, those that I can hang with, and those that I will never measure up to, for now.  My times have improved tremendously. My body has changed drastically. The amount I can lift, swing, and kip has grown leaps and bounds from that first fateful workout. I’m proud of my accomplishments and what my body can do, but I’m average, and that’s ok. Or is it?

                I find myself looking at the workout, seeing other’s times, and deciding what a “good time for me” would be, and then I try to hit that goal. I mean, I certainly don’t want to set myself up for failure… but what if I am? By deciding where I should be I am not allowing myself to see where I can be. We average CrossFit girls can fall into a trap. We know we aren’t always going to finish last, but we seriously doubt we can finish first. We stand in our own way. I would be so frustrated if I listened to someone else try to figure out what was “good enough,” so why should I do it to myself? The reason I find myself in the gym as much as possible is because CrossFit awakened this desire in me. This intense craving to be strong, not just toned; to have an excellent body fat percentage, not just a size 4; to explode past limits I had unwittingly put on myself, not just be good enough. So, why is it that I now find myself setting mediocre standards? It’s just not ok anymore.

                So, how do I do it? How do I stop this vicious cycle of weakness? I will walk into the gym, look at the workout, and not set a goal time, but just see what happens. A lot of times, when I am setting my “good enough” time I find myself slowing down, or allowing myself more rest times, because I was a little ahead of where I should be. How ridiculous is that? What if we average girls walked into a workout without any preconceived notions. Instead of finding where we should fit, we should walk into our favorite box, garage gym, or your favorite place to WOD, and simply kill it. We should push ourselves three more reps when we feel like we are going to stop. We break for only 5 seconds instead of looking at the clock during our breaks to make sure we are “on track.” The only way to break the “average” cycle is to push yourself further than you thought possible.

                One of my favorite ways to push through the average stereotype I place on myself is to up the ante. Not only should we push ourselves during the workout, blasting through the breaks and the rests, but grab a heavier weight than our comfort zone and see what happens. When we are comfortable with a weight, and it begins to feel “easy” or becomes one of our favorite things to do, we should push it further.  If the prescribed weight for a kettlebell swing is 35lbs, I will pick up a 45lbs kettlebell and deal with being last (if that is the outcome) because I know it is forcing me to be stronger.  I will add ten pounds to my lifts, and see what happens. I will spend time before and after the WOD working on my weaknesses, and stay on the pull up bar three more reps than I normally do. I will push myself harder and farther. I mean, how do you think those “rabbit” girls got there?

                It’s time for we average CrossFitters to stop should-ing all over ourselves. When we put ourselves where we thing we should be, we are not allowing ourselves to see where we could be. It’s time for us to face our weaknesses, push through the pain, and explore the world of the above average. Don’t be happy with good enough. Stop using the phrase “that’s good for me.” Throw yourself out of the comfort zone and into the bad-a** zone.