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Digging deep to find your fitness motivation

dark skinned man sitting at desk with notebook to find your fitness motivation looking thoughtful wearing a fitbit watch and with his hand resting on his face

Pumping music, chugging pre-working and feeling anxious to get beach-ready for summer are all pretty standard workout motivators. Sure, they’ll hype you up to get you moving and into the gym. But most fitness junkies agree that a long-term drive to stay on track for a fitness journey comes from finding your why. Sometimes, you need to take the time to look deep inside yourself and find your fitness motivation.

Your “why”, or fitness motivation, is a very internal, personal thing. It isn’t related to how other people see your body, or what anyone else is doing or looks like. It’s not something that goes away when you meet a certain goal. It’s an ongoing determination to better yourself and never settle for less.

So, how do you find your fitness motivation?

Realise that fitness is as much a mental journey as physical

One of the most important steps to activating your inner drive is reframing how you perceive fitness. Seeing fitness as a purely physical thing is a limiting view. Through physical fitness, your mental health is likely to see a big uptick. You can improve your relationships. You can become more productive, creative, driven, focused. Your fitness can help you be calmer, more serene, sleep better, and so many other benefits.

Working out ignites the brain in so many positive ways. In the gym, we learn valuable lessons around delayed gratification, commitment and forming habits. Yes, you probably have some physical goals. But think about your bigger, mental goals too. Understand that through fitness, you can make incredible changes to almost every part of your life.

Admit your barriers to working out

To fully look inside yourself, you need to be honest about your weaknesses. Many people struggle to admit their weaknesses to themselves, but then how will they improve?

To find your fitness motivation, take the time to write down what’s stopping you from working out. Is it external factors, like your busy job or all the time you spend looking after your kids? Is it internal factors, like that you often feel lazy on a Friday night or that you, really deep down, don’t believe in yourself to get fit? 

You can only begin to fix what’s holding you back when you’re honest about your shortcomings. If your self-esteem is a big barrier to your fitness, allow yourself to see that. Then, become determined to change it.

Think about a time you enjoyed working out

This is a simple mental exercise but can be very useful to find your fitness motivation. Think about a time you worked out and enjoyed it and then think about why you enjoyed it. Was it the surge of pride you felt after crossing the finish line? Was it the satisfaction of pushing past what you thought were your limits? 

Analyzing these memories can hold useful clues as to what truly drives you. Many people also write down or take a short video of themselves after they workout. This can help them remember that burst of endorphins they feel, and help motivate them to work out again later.

Think about what makes you proud

I met someone who grew up in a family of overweight people. No one worked out regularly, and unhealthy food was the norm. As an adult, he said his biggest fitness motivation was setting a good example for his kids. He wanted to prove to them that through hard work and dedication, that anyone could get fit. His “why” was making his kids proud, because that’s made him feel proud.

Pride can be a deeply motivating factor. As you try to find your fitness motivation, think about your own sense of pride. What makes you feel like the best version of yourself? What changes can you make in your life to feel that feeling as often as possible?

Never settle for mediocrity

A lot of people see fitness as a part of life to trudge through. They view working out as a necessary evil. Stop settling for workouts that are “good enough” or “will do for today”. 

When you find your fitness motivation, hold it in your head all the time. Lean into your drive to be better every day, mentally and physically. Never settle for less.

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Stress affecting fitness? What you can do about it

woman with stress affecting fitness with hair in ponytail and wearing a polo shirt sitting with her hand on her face at a table and with an expression of stress

Stress is so common that it seems to be a staple part of the modern human experience. Balancing running a household, meeting goals at work, spending time with family, and all your other commitments can be incredibly draining. Many people use fitness and working out as a way to unwind. However, stress affecting fitness can be a big barrier to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

How does stress impact fitness?

Recent research published in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology suggests that mental fatigue negatively impacts your workouts. Your mind and muscles are both controlled by the same part of the brain. Therefore, getting mentally tired from stress makes your body physically tired too. 

Trying to exercise with a fatigued brain can do many things to your workout – and none of them are good. Stress increases muscle tension, which can lead to injury. It can also impact vision, concentration, and make it harder to lose weight and gain muscle. Plus, stress can slow down your workout recovery.

That is, if you make it to the gym at all. You may find your stress affecting fitness in the form of a major demotivator. Those with a high stress lifestyle are around 30% more likely to live a sedentary lifestyle than people with less commitments. It makes sense. After all, if you’ve been stressed out at work all day then you probably just want to crash out and watch Netflix after work, not head to the gym.

How to prevent stress affecting fitness

Right, so now you’re probably thinking okay, fine, I get it. My fitness is being impacted by my stress. But what do you want me to actually do about that? 

Of course, the best thing to do is to tackle the root of the problem. Identify what’s stressing you out, and deal with it from the base. However, it’s not really realistic to fully remove all sources of stress from your life. We all have important commitments we can’t just abandon.

Instead, take some time to practise self care. Here are some key things you can do to nurture your mind and body, and minimize stress affecting fitness for you.

Self care tips to help you relax

  • Take a vacation. If you can find the time, take a weekend away. Pack a bag and head off, either with loved ones or alone. Okay, international travel isn’t exactly possible right now, but there are so many amazing places in the USA to check out.
  • Learn to say no. You may be someone who ends up with extra stress because you just can’t say no to others. If you’re already busy but feel obligated to help out on a school field trip or take on extra work, it’s just going to add to your already full plate. Most of the time, people will be understanding if you’re too busy. Learn to say no when others ask you to do things for them, and say yes to looking after yourself.
  • Spend time with people that make you feel good. We all have those special people in our lives that help us feel calm, and others who…well, not so much. Take some time to go spend an afternoon with that family member or old friend who you know always has good advice and positive energy to give.
  • Get out in nature. There is a large body of research that suggests spending time outside helps us feel physically and mentally better. For instance, this study shows that runners who work out in parks are significantly happier than those who run in an urban setting. Even if it’s just on your lunch break, get out for a walk and soak up some important vitamin D.
  • Do a little self reflection. Taking time to feel your feelings and write them down can have a very calming effect. You could try a journal to process what happened in your day. Or, you can just make simple bullet points of things you feel grateful for. Taking a few moments each day for self reflection can help you learn about yourself, your needs, and your psyche in a positive way.

If none of these are working for you, it probably is time to reassess your commitments. If you let your stress get the better of you for too long, you can get burnt out and may face lasting unwanted effects. 

However, with some practice, self care is a great way to keep your mental health in check. In turn, your physical health will benefit. The mind and body are an interconnected system. Make sure you look after both!

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The Forgotten Link Between Sleep And Fitness

man turned away sleeping in bed for sleep and fitness with soft light on the wall and a white blanket

Many people spend tons of money on supplements, protein this, mass gainer that, energy booster, whatever. But what if I told you there was a super beneficial supplement that you probably weren’t getting enough of, and now what if I told you it was free?! No, this isn’t a bad infomercial. Seriously, there is a free supplement you are probably not getting enough of. You can probably guess what it is. That’s right, it’s sleep. Sleep and fitness are deeply linked, but it’s so easily forgotten.

Working out, and good eating habits will only do so much if you don’t get enough sleep. Without the proper amount of sleep, you will be stalled in your health and fitness journey. Why is that? I am glad you asked.

Sleep and fitness

So what exactly is the link between sleep and fitness?

Our bodies naturally produce human growth hormone, also called HGH. It does exactly what it sounds like – it helps humans grow. It is responsible for regulating body composition, muscle and bone growth, sugar and fat metabolism, and more. Basically HGH really helps us with our fitness.

Sleep is one of the key ways to boost HGH. As we sleep, the HGH works it way through our bodies, helping to repair and restore the damage we did during the day. This is key for workout recovery.

The higher quality rest we get, the more HGH we get. In turn, the more energy we have, the better we feel and perform, and the healthier we become. 

Of course, we all know we need 7-8 hours of sleep a night as adults. If you are getting that, great. If not, here are some signs you are in a sleep deficit.

Signs of sleep deficit

  • Poor digestion, or gut health/increased inflammation. 
  • Hormonal imbalances, especially the hunger hormone and increased food cravings.
  • Insulin resistance – your body will not tolerate carbs well.
  • The “caffeine cycle” – using caffeine to feel awake during the day but then unable to fall asleep at night.

How to boost our sleep and fitness

So, now we know what to look for with lack of sleep. How do we make sure we get as much quality sleep as possible to cash in on this free supplement?

  • Stay off electronics at least 1 hour before bed.
  • Don’t consume caffeine or other stimulants after 2 pm.
  • Watch alcohol intake. It might help you pass out but it doesn’t allow you to actually rest.
  • Be consistent with the times you go to bed and wake up. This consistency will help your body and mind be ready for sleep and ready to wake up.
  • Keep your room dark, quiet, and at a comfortable temperature.
  • Try to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night.

Struggling to figure out nutrition, sleep, eating habits, and more? We offer coaching in all of the above and more. Set up your free No Sweat Intro today to learn more. 

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CrossFit Myth: Being Fit Enough For CrossFit

legs of women who are all fit enough for crossfit being all different shapes and sizes standing in a line

One of the biggest misconceptions about CrossFit I often hear is, “I’m not fit enough for CrossFit.”

This belief stems from what most people’s idea of CrossFit is, which is The CrossFit Games. The Games is a series of events and competitions where people compete to see who is the fittest person in the world. CrossFit started hosting these back in 2007. Normal everyday people could not only be selected, but could even win. Panda Express used to sponsor The CrossFit Games. You even drank beer after working out – no joke.  

However, this has quickly evolved to, if you don’t have great genetics, a bombproof training and eating regimen, a long and extensive background in health and fitness…then good luck even making it to the middle stage of selection. Most Games athletes now are/were high level college athletes, and some were/are Olympians or junior Olympians.

Are you fit enough for CrossFit at the Games level? 

No, you are not. There are only a few people in the world who are fit enough for that. 

But, are you fit enough for CrossFit in general?

Yes! You certainly are! Yes!

Everyone has to start somewhere

Humans love to compare themselves to others, even when we have no experience in a subject. For example, when people walk into a box for the first time and they see someone pouring sweat, doing muscle ups, flipping tires, and jumping on top of a box the height of a kitchen table they think “there is no way I can do that”. And they are right.

But, what they don’t think about is that person has been training in CrossFit for years. They had to lose 30 lbs to have those abs and be able to even do a pull up. They started exactly where everyone else did. By simply walking in the door.

When you start a good coach will know that you shouldn’t be pushed like more seasoned athletes. So, instead of doing muscle ups, you will do pull ups. Instead of flipping tires, you will do kettle-bell swings. And maybe you won’t jump on a box but will step up on one. Guess what, that is still CrossFit! CrossFit movements can be scaled and modified. This makes CrossFit a great choice for everyone.

Everyone likes to talk about how CrossFit uses the kipping and butterfly pull ups and how they are not real pull ups. They are just a different version of pull ups that serve a different purpose, just like jumping, banded, and strict pull ups all serve their own purposes.  

Everyone’s fit enough for CrossFit

So the point is, anyone and everyone is able to do CrossFit. No matter what your skill level or your experience is, CrossFit movements can be scaled to meet your level of fitness. And this is important because it allows new athletes to have a workout made a little easier for them. Or it allows more advanced athletes to modify a workout to be harder than it once was.

Are you “not in good enough shape” to start CrossFit and have two minutes to spare? Message us – we only need two minutes to ask your opinion on something.

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Is Weightlifting After 50 Dangerous?

does weightlifting hurt your joints after 50

We all know that getting injured at the gym really sucks, and can be especially common if you’re weightlifting after 50. A painful tendon or pulled muscle can keep you out of action for weeks. When weightlifting hurts your joints it’s particularly nasty, and can impact your performance for months. So much hard work and progress can all be undone in an instant. 

It may seem like weightlifting, particularly weightlifting after 50, is bound to cause some damage. All that heavy lifting is sure to put stress and strain on your body, right? 

Well, kind of. Like any exercise, weightlifting is attached to a risk of injury. However, evidence indicates that weightlifting actually strengthens your joints. 

For instance, this study compared the joint health of 25 weightlifters against non-weightlifters. The researchers found that the weightlifters had healthier, or as healthy, joints as their non-lifting peers of the same age.

So, you don’t need to worry too much about weightlifting hurting your joints. It’s never a bad idea to take steps to decrease the risk of injury, though. Here are some ways to make sure you avoid getting hurt:

Warm Up And Cool Down

Warming up your joints before exercising is a key part of preventing injury. Cold joints are injury prone, because they’re not very good at handling shock and impact. Warm joints are much more receptive of stress.

At the other end of your workout, you should cool down with some light cardio and stretching. This slowly brings your heart rate back to a normal resting range, which is important for healthy and even blood flow. 

Stretch

Stretching helps keep the joints limber. Taking time to stretch promotes healthy blood circulation. It speeds up the healing process after muscles begin breaking down, which also prevents next-day soreness. 

You can finish up your workout with a few minutes of dynamic stretching. Try lunges, yoga poses and leg swings as a starting point.

Many people also like to work foam rolling into their stretching time. Using a foam roller to pinpoint spots on muscles can loosen tight tissue, improving blood flow. Again, this helps your muscles to recover from the workout faster.

Keep Good Form

This is the most crucial aspect of preventing weightlifting from hurting your joints. Proper form is key when lifting anything heavy – even just when you’re carrying groceries.

Keeping good form is particularly important when performing heavy compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts and bench presses. When dealing with such heavy weight, you risk serious injury if just one part of your body isn’t aligned correctly.

If you’re unsure of your form, any trainer in the gym will be happy to take a look and give you some tips. This will not only help you perform your workout safely, but also give a boost to your performance and fitness progress.

Work Deload Weeks Into Your Routine

A deload week is a week when you still go to the gym, but you go easier on yourself than usual. Your workouts should be much easier during a deload week, whether it’s because they’re shorter, the weights aren’t as heavy, or you’re doing less sets.

This gives your muscles a chance to relax and heal to prepare them for the next phase of your training. Many people do a deload week every fourth week. If this is right for you depends on how often and how hard you usually train.

I Have Hurt My Joints! What Do I Do?

Unfortunately, while you can take steps to minimize risk, there’s no guaranteed way to prevent injury. If you do get hurt at the gym you should apply ice to the affected area and then wrap the affected body part in a bandage. You can take over the counter medication to deal with pain.

The most important part of recovering from weightlifting hurting your joints is resting until it heals. You will likely need to take a break from exercise. Yes, this is a bit miserable, but you need to take your time to heal. If you get back into the gym too early, you risk making the injury worse.

What About Weightlifting Above 50?

If you’re creeping past middle age, you probably feel more concern about your bone, joint, tendon and general health than you used to. Luckily, weightlifting above 50 is a great way to keep healthy, strong and in shape.

Humans lose muscle as they age. This process is called sarcopenia. However, exercise helps to combat this. Weightlifting will keep your metabolism healthy and decrease your risk of falls. There is also plenty of research to indicate that weightlifting is a great treatment for osteoarthritis. 

Weightlifting in your golden years is a great way to stay in shape and improve your quality of life. If you remember to warm up, cool down, stretch, keep good form for your exercises, and take deload weeks, you’ll find there are many more physical benefits than risks for weightlifting. Exercise is a crucial way to keep healthy well into your life.

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Changing How You Think About Fitness Progress

women walking to show how they make fitness progress walking together on a path which looks over the beach seen from behind

CrossFitters, and athletes in general are type A personalities. Go-getters. We are competitive and usually have a very strong inner drive to make fitness progress.  I believe this is a good trait to have in life and it also helps us to push ourselves during our training and or competitions. 

CrossFit is the sport of fitness. The revolutionary thing CrossFit did was combined all these different exercises and then tracked the data to see how fit people were getting. This has been great and it has helped thousands if not millions of people be introduced to health and fitness as well as improve their life in the same way.  

However, with hyper-competitiveness and intense training comes some issues. These may include strains, injuries, burn-out, technique failures, loss of proper technique, and many more. So how are we measuring fitness progress and how can we improve the process?

The standard way

Most people measure fitness progress in ways that are as old as time. These ways might include:

  • 1 rep max
  • Volume/rep maxes (such as 3, 5, 10, 20 rep max)
  • Size
  • Weight
  • Body fat

Of course all of these can be important and are great ways to measure fitness progress. That’s a reason they have always been used. They work, plain and simple. 

But to stay healthy and fit for life you also have to focus on recovery, movement quality, and overall well-being and nutrition.

Other ways to measure fitness progress

  • Number of days you maintain heavy work loads or high intensity workouts
  • Ability to stay injury free
  • Improved technique
  • Mobilization improvements
  • Recovery time after an intense WOD
  • Aptness to move in a pain free way
  • Potential to complete life tasks and care for one’s own well being

CrossFit, health, fitness, and life are about much more than how heavy you lift. It’s not about if you have abs or not, or if you can’t sit in a standard airplane seat easily because your legs are so big. I think your health and fitness should be utilitarian. In essence, fitness progress is about how your body serves you in day to day life.

Keep the big (life) picture in sight

You might move heavy weight, you might be 5% body fat, or maybe you have the biggest arms around. But if your joints constantly hurt, you have zero energy and are cranky, or you can’t reach behind you or across your body then what’s the point?!  

Your body is a machine, and it has to be taken care of. Like all well-built machines it can take a lot of abuse and mishandling before an important piece fails. And I promise that if you push too hard, eventually pieces will fail and break.

But a machine that is run at the appropriate RPMs, paid attention to, handled properly, and gets regular maintenance will serve its owner for a long, long time.  

Start caring about your body, it is the only one you get.

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Getting Stronger: Energy, Fat And Protein

woman in white tank top getting stronger flexing her arm and standing on path

There are a few topics that people bring up to me and have questions about quite often. These are fat or weight levels, energy during WODs, and overall health or getting stronger. Today I thought we could hopefully offer some guidance about these issues and how to keep your fitness goals on track.

I’m lacking energy in my workouts

Or, a similar issue: it takes me a long time to recover from a WOD.

A lack of energy could be for a number of reasons. Sleep, hydration, nutrition, stress, getting over being sick, not being active for a while, age, the list goes on. 

If you’re a generally healthy athlete that is used to CrossFit-style workouts, gets adequate sleep, water, and so forth, then the answer could be calorie levels.  

Your body needs fuel. Even if you were to lay on the couch and not move a muscle your body is still working. Your lungs, heart, brain, kidneys, liver, digestive system. All of these organs take energy to keep working properly.

Now take into consideration all the hard work and exertion your body does during a typical WOD. If you want to get stronger, you have to make sure you’re refuelling your energy levels.

What do you mean “refuel energy levels”? 

First, food is energy. 

Our bodies are able to convert food into an energy source our body uses to function. We call this energy source ‘calories’. For your body to function, complete WODs, and recover in a timely manner, then you must have calories to burn. 

Think of a car. When the fuel level on a car is low or empty, then that car can’t go, or at least it can’t go very far. Same thing with your body. 

So how do humans refuel? We eat!  

I like getting stronger, but I don’t want to get fat

To make this easier, let’s just say “gain weight” instead of “get fat”. That means we could be gaining fat, or getting stronger and gaining muscle, but the point is that our weight is increasing.

First, gaining weight for an active healthy human who eats healthy is hard. Like really hard. For an inactive human eating poorly it is not hard. Yes, age, gender, genetics can all play roles, but for most people it is difficult. 

Think about losing weight. It is a process. You can’t eat one or two healthy meals and expect to drop those extra 20 pounds. Same goes for eating one or two unhealthy meals. They won’t make you fat.

Second, if you are active in some form of exercise that requires moving weight you will most likely see increased energy levels, firmness of muscles, and strength gains before seeing much actual weight change. You’ll also notice your clothing fitting better, improved rest, and more definition of your muscles. Most, if not all, of these changes will happen before you gain weight or get fat.

But I am a female and I don’t want to get “bulky”

I wish I got paid every time I heard this. Most times it is a female worrying lifting weights will make her bulky, and the simple answer is, “don’t worry you won’t”. 

Here’s the rub. Most females don’t naturally produce enough testosterone to get bulky. Males do produce more testosterone, but even then you probably won’t look like the people on the cover of fitness magazines without some help. And in this case, help means performance enhancing drugs, estrogen blockers, testosterone boosters, etc.

You will put on muscle, but this will be good solid toned muscle that will make you wonder why you didn’t start working out sooner. Also, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn and the easier it is to shed fat. 

Lastly, by eating plenty of protein and getting stronger you will be able to lift/move more weight. This will show you how awesome you are because you will be doing things you didn’t know you could do. You will feel very accomplished and confident in your fitness abilities.

Getting stronger in review

  • If you are lacking energy, or it takes a while to recover after an intense WOD, try eating more. Focus especially on good fats, carbs, and proteins.
  • Your body and muscles use these proteins, fats, and carbs as building blocks and fuel. Proteins help the muscles get strong, carbs and fats help the muscles actually move and function.
  • Gaining weight is much harder than you think. If you are active, healthy, and eat nutritious foods then it will take a lot of time, effort and energy.
  • Females don’t produce enough testosterone to get bulky. And muscle helps burn calories and shed fat. You will look/feel better, and be able to lift more weight. All of these will help boost confidence and you’ll feel great about your accomplishments.

Hopefully this will help you relax about the rumors that come with stepping into the health and fitness arena. 

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Proper Weight Distribution In Workouts

woman standing outside bending over with weight distribution in workouts touching toes in sneakers

The human foot is truly amazing, 26 bones, 30 joints, and over 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. At one time in human history, the feet were used as a second set of hands. They helped us hold things, climb trees, carry heavy loads and pick up items off the ground. Nowadays most feet don’t have to work that hard, and it shows. This is another reason exercise is so important: it helps our feet be useful again. Keeping proper weight distribution in workouts is often an overlooked part of fitness, but it’s very important.

In modern times, the one thing our feet can still do extremely well is balance our bodies. Before you say, ‘but I don’t have balance’, I can assure you that is not true. If you have ever walked without falling, stood on the tips of your toes, jumped, or any other movements that almost everyone has done then you have balance. 

Science time

Weight feels easiest to lift the closer it is to your natural center of gravity and the more inline it is with your base. This is usually directly over the center of our feet, between the balls of our feet and our heel.

To illustrate this, go grab a gallon of milk, water, or something that is roughly 10 is pounds. Hold it in front of you and keep it touching your chest. Hold it there for about 10-15 seconds. Pay attention to what your body is doing. Are you leaning? Are your toes grabbing the ground? Do you feel even weight distribution?

Now, extend that arm away from your chest and try to make your arm as straight as possible. Can you hold it in that position for 10-15 seconds? Did you notice what your body did as your arm extended? What changed the longer you held that position?

Most people will be able to stand with the weight touching their chest with relative ease. But as our arm extends in front of us, it changes our center of gravity in a much different way. You might have felt pressure in your toes as the weight moved forward. Then you may have felt your body adjust and the pressure went to your heels as you leaned back to compensate for the weight change.

So what does this have to do with CrossFit and lifting?

For safety and best performance, it’s important to do our lifts to a high quality. Some common lifts in most any gym, especially a CrossFit box, are squats, deadlifts, presses, and olympic lifts (snatch, clean & jerk). All of these require moving weight, usually a barbell along a vertical path. Anytime you add outside weight to your body, your body has to move and adjust to make up for the change.

Of course in functional and dynamic movements like the ones above there are many variables that can determine how well you complete the movement. A reason you might be having trouble lifting heavier weights, or you keep missing reps is due to how your feet are affecting weight distribution in workouts.

Take push press for example. A common error is the weight shifting into your toes when you bend the knees to start the movement. This is often referred to as the ‘dip’. So, if you dip and feel your toes grab the ground you will either not be able to complete the lift because the weight will drive out in front of you instead of overhead. Or, your body will get used to this happening and adjust/compensate so you can complete the lift.

Of course you might be strong enough to complete the lift even though you dipped into your toes. But think of it this way: if I were going to push someone would I use just my fingertips to apply pressure? Or would I put my whole palm flat against them and then push? I would definitely be able to deliver a much more forceful push with my whole palm compared to just my fingertips.

Applying proper weight distribution in workouts

Start paying attention to what your feet are doing in your lifting. You might need to slow lifts down, or break them into pieces, especially the more dynamic and aggressive ones. 

When you deadlift do you feel pressure evenly through the whole foot or do your heels lift up and the weight presses into my toes? Has a coach ever told you to lift your toes off the ground during a squat in the hope you keep your heels down? Side note, this is a terrible cue, don’t use it. What about when you catch a clean or a snatch – what are your feet feeling? Do they feel stable and secure or do you stand up quickly because you are losing your balance?    

Remember there is a reason your foot is the way it is. Parts of it provide balance and stability while others provide a solid platform so we can apply power and drive to move, carry and live healthy. Listen to your feet, often they are telling us minor fixes for weight distribution in workouts that can help in major ways.

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Your Fitness Journey And The Road to 10,000

woman on a fitness journey running up a hill in the distance

I have coached CrossFit for the last 5-6 years. During this time I have had the great privilege of coaching hundreds of people on their fitness journey and watching thousands of reps. 

I watch people do things like cleans, or snatches. Sometimes they will make a mistake. Before I can even say anything they will look at me and say something along the lines of “I’m not very good at these”.  

My favorite example is when we are practicing handstands or handstand walks. Someone who has never done a handstand, or maybe they have but 20, 30, or 40 years ago, tries one. It is not the same as an Olympic gold medalist handstand performed at the peak of their career. They will look at me and most times say “I suck”.

How many times have you tried?

First, you don’t suck, and maybe you aren’t the best at something. But how many times have you tried? Like really mentally and physically engaged and tried? 

Sure, some people have a natural talent or ability to do certain things. Some are naturally good at running, some understand math, some have an eye for photography. Some of us have a mind that just ‘gets’ music (this was not me, I failed the recorder in 5th grade).  

But, the majority of people that are good or great at something are not the most talented at something. They are simply the ones who put the time in. Have you put the time in doing handstands, cleans, or working on mobility yet?

Don’t compare your fitness journey to others

Yeah, you are not perfect at something you have never done. So don’t think you will be after 1 try. 

Social media is cool (I guess) but it gives us a false idea of work. We see someone do something absolutely incredible. For instance, they throw a ball off a waterfall into a basketball goal. They paint a painting upside down while blindfolded and in a building that is set on fire. Of course in the video they show you the result is perfect. What you don’t see is the 10,000 tries that were way less perfect before that.

Stop expecting to be 21 years old if you haven’t lived for 21 years. Stop comparing yourself to others. You have to put in the time, effort and work. If you want to get better at handstands, you can’t just focus on them for 20 minutes a couple times a month. Of course you will get better at handstands than someone not practicing at all. 

But, if you are tired of feeling like you are taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back, start on your fitness journey to 10,000 and put in the time.

Learn deep, not wide

Want to get better at/master something? Dive into that subject. Stop adjusting focus to every shiny thing that enters your field of view. 

I think of it as having a teacher mindset. If you need to teach a subject, you try to know everything you can about that subject. If you just have a student mindset, you try to know the bare minimum about a subject.

Start focusing and start working, otherwise you can’t seriously expect to get better. We can help get you from 1 step to 10,000 on your fitness journey. Contact us today to get started.

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World Class Fitness in 100 Words (Part 2)

fitness in 100 words group of healthy women

So as a follow up to part 1 of this post, I wanted to break down each aspect of fitness in 100 words. The great thing about the mindset is the simplistic takeaways. The lack of specialized words or terms makes it very easy to read, and actually comprehend.  So trying to stick with that same theme, let’s dive in to take a look at these parts.

Eat meat & vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.

Choose healthy foods that provide your body with lots of nutrients. A bag of chips doesn’t have many nutrients in it. Lower amounts of starch means you don’t need them with every meal.

I know what you’re thinking, and yes, fruit does have sugar. The “no sugar” that this is referring to are things like candy, or sweets with high levels of sugar and no other vitamins or benefits.

Keep intake to levels that will support exercise, but not body fat.

Measure your foods for optimal fitness.  If that doesn’t work for you, just try not to overdo it. Eat healthy foods, when hungry.

Practise and train the major lifts:

Deadlift, Clean, Squat, Presses, Clean and Jerk and Snatch.

These are multi-joint movements that train large (and more than one) muscle groups at a time. Compound lifts are shown to be the most effective at developing muscle and gaining strength. Vary the weights and reps you use when training these lifts.

Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics:

Pullups, Dips, Rope Climb, Push Ups, Presses to Handstand, Pirouettes, Flips, Splits and Holds.

If the major lifts build your large muscle groups, then these train the smaller ones. These exercises are great for helping you stabilize and balance, rather than move large amounts of weight.

Bike, Run, Swim, Row, etc… hard and fast.

It’s crucial to do enough cardio. Aim for easily repetitive movements that can be done intensely without major risk of injury. Focus on sprint intervals with these, not distance.

Work out 5 or 6 days per week. Mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy.

The majority of the week you should be combining these lifts, movements and exercises in endless ways. There should be an underlying structure to how they are combined. But, try to stay out of a strict routine. Don’t get in a rut of doing the same things over and over. Get creative with how you incorporate workouts into your life.

Keep workouts short and intense.

Intensity is king. Common knowledge would say longer is better. However, this is not true. There is a reason sprinters look like power houses and marathon runners look like twigs.

Regularly learn and play new sports.

Learn new movements and create lots of neural pathways. Teach your body and your mind how to do lots of things!

Fitness in 100 words: a simple philosophy

There you have it. That is fitness in 100 words (plus a little extra).  Ready to get fit? Book your free intro today.

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