Each of us began Crossfit for various reasons, but I am sure that one thing we all have in common is the desire to constantly improve. I don't know about you all, but as of late there are some areas where I have seemed to plateau, a couple where I have actually went down in weight by 5lbs, and some where I have markedly improved. I try not to beat myself up in the areas where I went down a bit, because I believe a lot of that stemmed from me scaling back when my shoulder was injured. While the good ole shoulder is not 100%, it is much better and I do not want it to be an excuse anymore. I really hate excuses.
Last night Drywall (I love how you no longer have a government name. lol), Jenn, and myself had a warm and fuzzy conversation with D-Rock AKA Derek about how to push past plateaus. What Derek made me realize is that I am probably not training hard enough outside of the box. Since I am unable to come to the box more than 2-3x a week because of work, most times I just squeeze in a 30 minute run before I hit the sack. While this keeps me in good cardio shape, it obviously is not helping my Crossfit performance much. I am also not pushing myself as hard as I should....I know I underestimate my strength and I will not get better if I don't try heavier loads during the WODs...even if I will be slow as hell or God forbid fail.
What would you all recommend to supplement my WODs when I am not at the box. Would you completely phase out the running and....I hate to say this because CF has turned me into a snob....use the weight machines in my condo's gym? I seriously have not touched a gym machine since July. lol. Here is what my building gym has: shoulder/bench press machine, lateral pull down machine to work the back, weird stationary ski machine where you butt never moves and you just pull the cord, leg machine to work front and back of thighs, dumb bells of all sizes, weird pull up machine that is made of two handle bars, elliptical, stationary bike, and treadmill. I also just bought a jump rope. I could really use some guidance on what would be a good basic workout when I can't make it to the box to build up my strength.
Help me out here people. I am trying to be on sexy BEAST mode:)The more ideas the better!
O to the M to the G! That is a lot of leopard! And, ironically what I will be wearing on Thursday for my last CF workout for a couple of months....HA!!
ReplyDeleteOh Plateaus...you suck. I have definitely been at a serious plateau for a while now. I will say this, and I think as I was walking out of the box last night I heard Derek say something along these terms: you should set goals. Literally, write them out, put them in a pretty frame and display them in your home. :) B/C a plateau doesn't have to be a completely negative thing. For example, my weights may not be heavier - but my endurance and form continue to improve immensely! You gotta figure out what you WANT.
Lastly, as far as what you should/can do at home when you cannot make it in. I think defining your goals sets you up for being able to determine what your options are for supplementing CF workouts. Make sense? :) Long post, sorry.
@Yatta- just curious, what key words does one use in Google to even discover such a photo?!
ReplyDeleteWow! She looks like a leopard Tella Tubby. Also reminds me of a cougar that shoved me several times when I asked if I could get by her bc she was dancing like she has snorted crack. Ironic that I was at Old Town Social. But her and her pack were all decked out in leopard & zebra and bedazzled all over the place.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I think you could incorporate basics into your routine. I think you should keep the running, but add push-ups (not on your knees) hspu's, weighted squats and lunges.
But I agree with Rae. You need a goal to work towards. If you walk into a gym with a plan your are more likely to stick to it.
What are your goals Yatta? :)
You ladies are the BEST-est:) I think you all have really made me realize something...I do not have a specific goal.
ReplyDelete@Camey I just want to be stronger and leaner, but that is not detailed enough. I need to look in my log book to see where I want to improve and actively work towards that. That is something I will have to take some actual time to sit down, think about, and decide upon. What kind of goals have you ladies set?
Rae...will you really be in a one piece cheetah print catsuit this week? I am so looking forward to that!
@Kels...At one point I would try to do my own little variations of WODs...lunges, burpees, squats...but I would get the weirdest looks from the other gym goers lol. I also think it was not as exciting or pressing because I would not time myself. I would just say "I am going to do 50 squats and 20 pushups." That got boring. Maybe putting it into actual AMRAP form or true CF format will help:)
I guess I'm going to toe the line of pissing off a bunch of women again, but here goes...
ReplyDeleteWomen have been completely mindfucked by traditional knowledge of weight training. I have heard most of you guys in particular post articles or say that you understand that getting strong and getting "big" are not the same things...yet I still see lots of women in the box being complete pussies about adding weight.
A few thoughts on this:
1. CrossFit does not make you big. If you ever come across a true CrossFit Hater, chances are their critique of CrossFitters are that they are skinny and weak. Likewise, if you do see a CrossFitter who is very muscular, 9 times out of 10 they looked just like that before they start CrossFit, except with more fat.
2. With that in mind, our RX weights will not make you big. RX usually seem like a lot to you, but that's only because you've been babying yourself and you haven't worked up to it yet. Our RX by powerlifting or GloboRoid stands are a walk in the park; nothing that will make you look huge and bulky.
3. If you finish first in a metcon, you've been doing this for longer than 3 months and you didn't RX it, that's a fucking DNF in my book. If you're lifting just the fucking bar and finish the workout in half the time of everyone else, don't tell me about how you're frustrated by a plateau. In reality, you're just cheating yourself. Next metcon, add 5-10 pounds to whatever you're doing, and yes, struggle through it. Come in last. In a month, that weight will be easy. Add 5-10 pounds again. Rinse and repeat until you're RX'ing it. When you're eventually crushing shit at RX, your plateau will be a distant memory.
The key to lifting more weight is putting more weight on the bar. It is that simple. You don't gain the strength required to do so until after you do it.
@Yatta - I would do 2 things:
1. Talk to Kurt and Derek and have them teach you some strength drills with the stuff in your gym that can supplement whatever you miss at the box. There are tons of things you can do with dumbbells and bodyweight to make up for whatever you're missing.
2. As for your cardio equipment, never do another 30 minute boring run. Instead, do a HIIT routine: http://www.intervaltraining.net/hiit.html
Tabata is a form of HIIT. Look at that site, then learn how to program that treadmill or bike (not the fucking elliptical) for a full out run vs a walk then toggle in between. You'll spend less time, burn more calories, get faster, and actually see the results translate to CrossFit. Plus the variation makes it way less boring.
Daaammmmnnnn Drywall! You snapped off on me. Lol. But for real, I needed that lashing....I really did. A lot of what you said definitely applies to me. I am not even going to front. I am still afraid of developing a huge ass neck or man shoulders...you have me there. I most definitely look at the RX weight and say I am not even going to try that shit...I will turn into a man.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that lifting the lighter loads during a WOD and crushing them is like cheating yourself. You are not improving because you are not challenging yourself. I do solemly swear to start adding 5-10lbs more to what I have been lifting for the last few months. I will stop acting like a cooch. lol.
I am definitely taking your advice and having a nice chat with Kurt and Derek and I will check out the website that you posted:) I have been told before to try interval training on the treadmill and never did it. I will give this a try.
@Drywall - Amen.
ReplyDelete(Although I am definitely someone who should be putting more weight on the bar by now)
@ Yatta,
ReplyDeleteIf you have an indoor bike at your gym, take a look at spinervals (www.spinervals.com/). I use it on my trainer/bike set up and each workout is totally crushing. I have about 6 (video version) of them I can give you.
That is the best pic I have seen in a while!
I will take a look at these spinervals:) I used to take spin classes in law school and they were some serious ass kickers...I would literally be dripping sweat. lol. Probably not a good image. Thanks so much and glad you are enjoying that sexy picture! :0)
ReplyDelete