Though I am frequently in last place, I think most people will agree, I persevere. I do not consider myself to be a quitter. But, I do try to plan my course of action before I step foot in the Box. That is especially the case with heavy MetCons.
I absolutely love the culture of CrossFit and I love my CF2a family, BUT…
…but I need to keep my priorities in focus as I attack the daily workouts and resist the temptation to overdo for the sake of pleasing others. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the cheering from my friends as I drag my sorry tail across the last movement, but there are certain aspects of CrossFit that will never be a priority for me.
It is easy to be swept up in the competitive spirit of some of these activities, but not at the risk of injury, because a certain activity is premature for my current level of conditioning. The 2013 Open provided some examples as we progressed further into the series. All the excitement and encouragement was not enough to lift this body in a Toes to Bar in 13.4. It just ain’t gonna happen.
What does this mean? Do I simply accept that I cannot do Toes-to-Bar, Chest-to-Bar, Chin-to-Bar, Dips and all the other movements that demand upper body strength superior to what I can perform?
No. If I desire to succeed in these movements, I must clearly label them as Goats and go after them (rather than my tendency to try to avoid them). I must pick my battles intelligently. I must develop a two-pronged strategy to attack the bar: one is during a WOD, and the other is in Open Gym.
During a WOD I must scale to challenge myself sufficiently to exert myself and benefit from the WOD. During Open Gym, or before class, I must systematically set aside 5-10 minutes for banded pull-ups every day, enough reps to fail. Perhaps a week or two with the black band. Then the green band, etc. Well, that is what I need to do. Will I do it, or will I continue to run from the goats to the sanctuary of my comfort zone.
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