As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
2 Rope climbs
20 GDH sit-ups
10 Power cleans, 135#(95#)
Post times to comments and BTWB
Information that would of been helpful. . . yesterday. By Courtney “still learning my lesson” Shepherd and Lisbeth Darsh
Last week I programmed some workouts for Verve while sitting on a plane heading to Regionals. As I wrote 1 workout in particular, I was beyond excited to give it a try. Not because I thought it would be easy, I knew it wouldn’t, but because I thought I would simply crush it. I don’t get that feeling very often, that I will just demolish a workout. I generally go into all workouts with a mix of nerves and fear. The last time I approached a workout with the notion I would kill it, I epically failed. It was an Open workout and I got more no reps than good reps. I broke down in the middle of the workout, I cussed, I threw my barbell, I handled it quite immaturely. . . as I said before, it was an epic failure. After the Open workout I remained angered for hours and I wasn’t sure why. Eventually I came to the realization that I was so angered and frustrated because I went into the workout with such a high expectation for myself and I couldn’t believe I fell so short of it. My learning lesson from that was, it doesn’t work, for me personally, to put those kind of expectations on myself. I don’t mind failing. . . generally. But apparently I mind it a lot when I’m not expecting to.
Enter my recently programmed workout, with my name written all over it (by the way I didn’t write it so I could crush it, that just happened to be a possible bonus after I wrote it). I came into Verve today with murder in my eyes. I warmed up with purpose. I refused to look at any times on the board, they didn’t matter to me. The only thing I was focused on was how quickly I was going to move through this workout. . . less than 1 minute per round for all 7 rounds. That was my expectation. 3,2,1 go time. . . . I’ll save you the suspense, I failed. Again. For 7 rounds I could not link more than 2-3 double unders together. Now, no one get upset and be like “why are you complaining, I don’t even have double unders”. I’m not writing this to compare myself to anyone else, you should not read it and make those comparisons either. I am simply saying, as a person who feels comfortable with my double under ability, and the experience to say linking 20 together repeatedly in a workout is not a problem for me, today it was a problem for me. After the workout I found myself angry again. Angry I didn’t crush the workout I expected that I should have. This time around, however, my anger didn’t last nearly as long, because this time I had a learned lesson on my side. I reminded myself that it doesn’t work, for me personally, to put those kind of expectations on myself.
This is my lesson to be learned, it doesn’t have to apply to anyone else. In fact there may be a number of people who thrive under high expectations, they always rise to meet them. My point in telling you this story is that we all are going to learn some valuable lessons during the course of our CrossFit career, some may even be learned the hard way. However, some can actually be learned without having to experience them for ourselves. Those might be my favorite kind of lesson. I came across an article in Eat To Perform, written by one of my favorite authors/ blogger, Lisbeth Darsh, titled “9 Worthwhile Bits of Workout Wisdom”. Like I said, who doesn’t love learning a lesson through someone else’s experience?
1. You don’t have to murder the workout each time.
You don’t have to give everything you have every single workout. Deselecting “beast mode” sometimes can actually help you accomplish your goals quicker. Ease off the throttle one day, come back stronger the next. This one is also important for psychological and physical longevity.
2. It’s okay to just lift at times.
No conditioning at all. You won’t lose your fitness overnight. Also, you won’t die.
3. You don’t have to ditch your old hobbies.
Just because you have a new fitness love, you don’t have to forsake other forms of exercise, whether that’s cycling or triathlons or basketball or whatever. You can regularly do more than just one form of exercise. Plan well and do what you like to do!
4. You should take rest days.
Don’t have “rest guilt” and burn yourself out. Don’t even feel like you have to learn and play a new sport on your rest days. You decide what you should do based on how your body feels, and sometimes your body needs to recover and watch Netflix.
5. It’s okay to follow only what your coach says or your gym recommends.
You don’t have to look at any other gym or anywhere else. You don’t have to compare yourself to anyone else. Do your workout, go home, live your life. No one will break down your door in the middle of the night and enter your bedroom with snarling attack dogs because you’re not “serious enough” about working out. Well, at least I hope they don’t.
6. Just because you work out does not mean you have to be Paleo.
It’s okay not to be “anything.” Sure, you’ll have people tell you, “Nutrition is the base of the pyramid.” They’re right: nutrition is very important. But there are a lot of ways to build that pyramid, including counting your macros (or not). But even if their pyramid has washboard abs, it doesn’t mean you have to do what they say. Smile. Hug these well-intentioned people. Then do what you want. It’s your life.
7. You can pretty much wear anything you want.
This isn’t Catholic school or the military; there is no uniform requirement. Don’t like yoga pants? Don’t wear them. Ditto on high socks, bright shoes, and shirts with suggestive sayings. (By the way, does anybody really need another t-shirt with a snatch or balls joke?) Work out in a hijab if that’s your thing. Push press in a sundress. Squat in jeans. Do what makes you happy, not what you think will make other people happy.
8. It’s okay to NOT talk about working out.
Get this: there are OTHER things to talk about! (I was surprised to learn this too.) But, honestly, I used to be 95% CrossFit talk. Workouts, videos, blah blah blah. No wonder my girlfriends left me. Now I have a healthier balance, and my conversations are much more interesting. I’m not saying you have to abandon gym talk, just that broadening your outlook might be cool. Try it. You might like it — and so may the other people in your life!
9. There are no prerequisites for being awesome.
It doesn’t matter if you back squat 100 pounds or 500 pounds, you’re still awesome! 80% of Americans don’t belong to a gym, and 50% do not exercise regularly. So if you’re doing anything at all, you’re doing better than half of America! Congrats! Now keep going!
And I will add one last piece of wisdom: it’s okay to simply expect that you will get through the workout and nothing more.
Click here for full article.
