Step 2

I covered Step 1 in my 6-month journey in my first blog post here, so now I'd like to talk about Step 2, which has almost been more important than signing up for more individual instruction.

NO CHECKING THE WORKOUT BEFORE I GET TO THE GYM

Since I went to my very first Crossfit class, I've really enjoyed the fact that I could see the workout before I actually got to the gym. I thought it was crucial that I look at the workout and mentally prepare for it. My current gym posts the next day's WOD around 9:15pm - I was getting to the point where I would obsessively refresh the browser until the new post came up. Then, once I saw the workout, I'd make one or two of the below statements:

• "Oh my god - this workout is AWFUL!"
• "There's  no way I can do that!"
• "Oh no, burpees again? I'm definitely not going to that class."
• "But my legs are already sore! I can't go to class if they're doing squats!"

And on and on. Before I'd fall asleep at night, I would mentally go through the workout - trying to figure out my timing, how long it would take me to get through it, bargaining with myself over what weights to use, and basically just getting a huge dose of stress right before going to sleep! Far too often, I'd wake up already having decided that I wasn't going to the gym that day. Plus, to add insult to injury, the workouts that I usually felt were "safe" ended up being much more painful in reality than I thought! I was really starting to have a confidence crisis about even going to the gym in the first place.

So as I mentioned before, I really sat down and tried to figure out why I wasn't being consistent with my workouts, and how I could fix that. I came to the realization that getting myself all stressed out about the workouts before I even got to the gym was probably counter-productive. So I decided to try something new  - I wouldn't look at the workout until I walked into the gym a few minutes before class.

The first time I did that was March 28. I was TERRIFIED to go into the gym, but I had made the commitment to myself that I was going to go no matter what. When I saw the workout on the board, I was even more scared - this workout included two of my least favorite things (burpees and thrusters), plus one that I just can't do yet (double-unders). But you know what? 

I survived. 

And I felt proud of myself.

So yeah, it was pretty refreshing! Trying to take it one day at a time, my next scheduled class was the following Monday, and I didn't look at the workout ahead of time again. And I survived. The same thing happened on Tuesday, and Thursday, and the following Monday, etc. So I am now up to 7 total WODs that I went into not knowing what was ahead. There were at least 5 that had I seen, I definitely would have skipped. And while they weren't all fun, they all made me a tiny bit more proud of myself each time. 

So I definitely think this rule is working for me! I have now gone to the gym 3x/week for 3 weeks in a row, and the next step is to work myself up to 4 classes a week. And the only way I'm going to get there is by not chickening out before I even leave the house! 

Starting Again

This is going to be my fourth attempt at a blog, but this time will be different. I have made a 6-month commitment to my health and Getting Better All The Time will be part training log, part diary to document my progress during this timeframe.

I've been Crossfitting off and on for about 3 years now. During that time, I've also been super ADD about my fitness and health goals, so focus has not been my strong point. About 9 months ago, I moved to San Diego, and it only took me about 4 months to stop being a chicken and join a new Crossfit gym. (I also joined 2 different running clubs, ran 1 half marathon, joined a yoga studio, joined Tri Club, etc. etc. etc.)

Recently, I came to the realization that being ADD wasn't helping me achieve anything - in fact the scale was going in the opposite direction, I was becoming a much slower runner, I felt out of shape, and in general, my health felt like it was getting worse. So I've decided that I am going to pick one thing to focus on at a time, and try to get really good at it. I had a chance conversation with one of my coaches at Crossfit, and told her exactly that, and she brought up a really great question:

What do you ENJOY doing?

She went on to explain that even though Crossfit is her career (and she is an accomplished Crossfit Games athlete), that sometimes she just has to take a step backward and remember that she is working out for FUN.

After thinking about it, I really do think I enjoy Crossfit more than the other workout endeavors I've done in the past. Lifting heavy things is so much more sastisfying (and takes far less time!) than running several miles very slowly. And the feeling that I get after finishing a tough WOD just can't be beat!

So having made this choice, I decided to sit down and really think about why I have been so inconsistent with Crossfit over the last several years, and how I can change those road blocks to make it easier on myself. I'll go over all of these little road blocks in more detail later, but the first one makes sense to talk about now. I haven't seen progress because I haven't been consistent. 

To prove this to myself, I went back and looked at the last several months and noted how many classes I've been to each week. My membership up until how has been a 3x/week membership. Numbers don't lie, but they did tell a kinder story than I was telling myself:



The WHYs on my inconsistency vary:

• Crazy weeks at work (there was a two-week stretch where I really couldn't leave the house to attend classes as much as I wanted to)
• I was too sore to go back to another class 
• Travel (work and/or personal)
• I didn't want to go for the workout they happened to be doing that day
• I didn't want to go for the workout they happened to be doing that day BECAUSE it would have negatively impacted something else I was trying to do at the time (i.e. made my legs sore, and I had a big run the following day)
• I was scared of the workout that was posted
• I didn't think I could do it
• I felt too slow/weak to "fit in" during the workout
• I didn't think anyone would notice I was missing (no peer pressure to show up regularly)
• I just didn't feel like it

So my first step to tackle this inconsistency was made at the suggestion of the coach I mentioned before. I changed my membership to include one small-group class per week. So now, on Tuesday afternoons, I am meeting with the same 3 people to do a personalized workout with the same coach each time. That little change has helped a LOT already, and I've only done it twice so far! Just having the coach check in with me at the beginning of that class to see what classes I had been to so far that week is enough motivation to keep coming back. With this new membership, I can come to unlimited regular classes during the week, but my goal right now is to work my way up to an average of 4/week. This membership will take me through September 3, which is convenient because that is when my travel schedule for work starts to get a little crazy. LASER FOCUS until then should hopefully improve my fitness and my health!

So, here's to an awesome 6 months of CONSISTENCY and hopefully RESULTS!