If you’re not having fun, somethings wrong. Training should be fun! Those days come and go, where nothing seems to be going right, the bar feels heavy and you are dragging your legs through mud. These are the “I suck at this” days.
Mondayitis, Tuesday is so far from Friday, Ugh it’s only Wednesday… You know what? Screw that! This is your time to shine and spend an hour solely on yourself. What if it does start turning into the dreaded “I suck at this” day? Here’s 4 ways you can kick it in the ass.
LISTEN
Chances are that when you head to the box for a session, you’re heading to work after or you have just come from a long day. If you’re one of those people, you might like to use Crossfit as a means to escape for an hour kind of like your power hour or Zen place. That however, doesn’t mean you can or should completely shut down and not listen to what’s going on around you. Listening to coaching cues, movement demos, remembering your scores or what is coming up socially for the month, means that you’re more likely to improve faster but also get a lot more out of your session. If it’s feeling like a “I suck” day, listen to your coach, they may have something to help it feel a lot better.
MOBILISE
No doubt when you train you’re going to find areas that are sore which you had no idea even existed before. Coming in even 10 minutes before or staying after class to mobilise those areas has a massive pay-off. Not only will your session be easier but your recovery and risk of injury decrease as well. You’ll also be able to get into positions you once thought impossible, making your lifts and movements look and feel better. When it starts to feel heavy and sucky, at least you can PB your positions and move better.
GIVE 100% OF THAT DAY
Granted, some days it’s a struggle to train. You might just plain not feel like it. You could be sore, starved for time or just want to stay home curled up like a giant burrito. As long as once you step through the box door you are giving 100% you know that you will leave satisfied and making an improvement to your fitness. Sometimes this can be difficult to do. Find a training buddy, have goals, reward yourself. Whatever it takes to make sure you’re not slacking off. I promise, you’ll come out the other side of your session feeling on top of the world! (once you’ve caught your breath).
JUST HAVE FUN!
This has to be the number 1 rule to not sucking. If you’re not having fun, somethings wrong. Training should be fun! We are lucky to have such a fantastic community with the added bonus of meeting and making so many new friends. You all have the same thing in common so use that to your advantage. Everyone is there to better themselves through fitness and have fun doing it. There’s no point stressing about other people, you aren’t here to get fit for them. You are here for you and whilst the push of your peers will take you to new levels you couldn’t by yourself, it’s only you that will benefit.
So embrace the Crossfit community, listen to your coaches and people around you, mobilize, Always give 100% but most of all, throw some Hi 5’s around and have fun with it!
And you know what? You don’t suck!