Post-Holiday, New Year goals/challenges...bring 'em on!
Time to reboot.
Each year brings new goals and challenges so be willing to take them on. They don't have to be big challenges to be valuable. Small ones can translate into huge transformations. CrossFit has taught me this.
We don't have to look at our goals as "all or nothing". Almost any goal can be broken down into *progressions*. CrossFit has taught me this.
Much of the time it's our own mental fortitude, or lack thereof, that blocks our successful follow through of achieving our goals. We make good progress at the beginning of our journeys, then let excuses sidetrack us. When the excuses become louder than our actions, why continue listening? Become comfortable with success AND set-backs. CrossFit has taught me this.
What will enhance your life? What will bring you joy? What will be an invigorating challenge? What will be push you beyond your current limits? What will challenge your beliefs about yourself?
For me? Manage my time better. [um, this comes up every year!] Read a book a month. Sew a project a month. Play at least one new game/sport in 2013...disc golf maybe. :) Make it back to The Games. [scary to put this out there] ...all for starters! There's still time to add. ;)
Let's call my current trend of reposting some older posts as: **the year in review** Yeah, that sounds good to me. :)
With the influx of new members at Beacon, many of whom are also new to CrossFit, there have been multiple discussions about the language of CrossFit. That said, I knew that the blogpost that follows would be an appropriate repost.
Learn the language of CrossFit, don't be hesitant to use it, and embrace the growing ease of the words flying out of your mouth. It's fun, functional, and a fabulous party game.... too far? Well, it could be a party game, like Password, but with all CrossFit words as the answers! Partner WOD: If you don't get the answer in the allotted time, 1min AMRAP of: 1 HSPU, 3 burpees, 1 swig. GAME ONNNN!
~~second language~~ 2-6-12
I came upon this crossword clue in Sunday's paper: "goat hanger?" (answer: beard... whatever!) What I REALLY came across was a word that I instantly and involuntarily translated into: oh yeah, I need to work on mine. That word was 'goat'.
Goat, WOD, metcon, AMRAP, double under, hspu, Fran, Helen, Griff, Murph, kipping, butterfly, squats, deads, sdhp, snatch, jerks, cleans, Cindy, Grace, certs, throw downs...just to name a few of the words that help make up the CrossFit language. Every CrossFitter knows we have our own language. We learn it through immersion. Once in the box, the process starts. When I first began, I can remember feeling a little embarrassed speaking CrossFit because I felt I hadn't yet earned the 'right' to do so. Perhaps, as with any new language, I also felt I might not be using the words correctly, so I was shy about using them at all. As my confidence grew, I got better at the language.
I try to stick to speaking English when I am around someone who doesn't know CrossFit, especially when there are two or more of us with an English speaking person! It's difficult. CrossFit is a comfortable, exciting, joyful, saucy, happy, bawdy, creative language. Still, I know it's not always appropriate.
Not to blow our cover, but what non-CrossFit speaking people don't realize is that we are always translating English into CrossFit whenever we hear words that double as part of our language. It's hard to avoid. There are so many relatable words we hear and since at any given moment a CrossFitter can be mentally reviewing a WOD, a lift, or contemplating the next goal, jumping back and forth between English and Crossfit is natural once you know the language. Even harder for me, and I'm sure I'm not alone, are those occasions when a translation occurs and a joke formulates but there's no one with whom to share it. Oh sure, I can tell myself that it's good enough to whip out in class someday, but I forget and move on...sighhhhh...what a waste!
I always wanted to become fluent in a second language and just yesterday, because of the Sunday crossword clue: "goat hanger?", I realize that I have. Oh, and by the way, "goat" translates to: a movement in CrossFit that you suck at and therefore have to work on more often. "Embrace the suck" is a common phrase in my second language. :) And all that translates back into English as WAHOOO!
Happy Thanksgiving...yesterday. Not that I need Thanksgiving to remind me that I have much to be thankful for, but 'tis the season for it all to bubble to the surface! Half our family was home, and the other half was a mere "facetime" away, so we all had a chance to hang out with each other. Joy joy joy!
I headed into CrossFit Beacon to WOD yesterday and was so happy to see at least some of 'my' Beacon Peeps, my other family. The community that has/continues to develop at Beacon constantly reminds me how grateful I am that I have been able to be a part of it all since Beacon opened in April '12. We have an eclectic mix of ages and occupations, but the common denominator is that we are all people who have learned the value in becoming a Beacon member and in taking care of ourselves through physical activity, nutrition, and connection. Physical activity: sweating together Nutrition: clean eating...and beer mixed in with the Vita Coco in the gym's fridge Connection: realizing the energizing quality of spending an hour a day in a class of crazy-ass people who laugh hard, work hard, then laugh hard all over again
I am extremely wowed by seeing the transformations people are making right in front of my eyes. It's impossible not to be aware of it. After a few short weeks, I notice these already wonderful people are creating a 'new normal' for themselves: standing straighter, getting firmer, laughing a little louder, getting bolder with their efforts, showing off their increased muscle definition, and talking about their new feats of strength (ie: the wife surprising the husband by rearranging the entire living room all by her dainty little self...BAM Susanna! :] ) It's impossible to take one's health and abilities for granted when you are surrounded by this type of energy daily!
Until recently, I kind of realized that while I do not take my own health and abilities for granted, I don't always appreciate my own gains because I have been living my current lifestyle for over two years now, so it's my *normal*. I also happen to be lucky enough to have a family of my husband and all 8 of my children (my 4 daughters and their spouses/partner) who all live very healthy lifestyles as well. And my granddaughter will have no choice but to grow up thinking 'normal' translates to being physically fit and eating cleanly. :) Because of this, I just don't really dwell on where I used to be...that was a place of relative health, although being 35# heavier and feeling as though that would be where I was destined to be the rest of my life.
from May '10 to Aug '12
I began CrossFit in May 2010, connected with it immediately, started dialing in my nutrition within about a week of starting, and am forever thankful that the combination of both has changed me from the inside out. Well, okay, I kind of like the changes from the outside in, too. ;)
There was no way I could have imagined my own transformation. To know my own, however, makes me totally appreciate the courage it takes for a person to walk through Beacon's doors and make the commitment to themselves to become healthier. Often they come in, as I did, knowing their former 'athlete' is inside of them somewhere and they want that person back. What they may not realize is how far their transformations can take their attitudes/outlooks in their lives in general. The journey becomes a series of wide-eyed joy and discovery of one's true strength, both inside and out.
'Tis the season to be thankful, but as the days pass and holidays are behind us, never forget that it's just plain healthy to appreciate one's own transformation. There's a "then and now" in all of us. Some of it may be physical, some emotional, but it's there. Enjoy the "now" by getting a little sweaty, enjoying a few laughs, and swigging a good beer in celebration of all your hard work!
There has been an uptick of talk about CrossFit shoes lately. I thought it appropriate to repost an entry I wrote back in January (see below), and as I was rereading it, I couldn't help laughing at how much has changed even in my world of shoes!
Back in January, I was the proud owner of my third pair of CrossFit shoes. Nike frees, then Vibrams, then NB Minimus. The Minimus were what I thought I would stick with forever. Fast forward to: "I should get used to the Reebok Nanos since I might have to wear them at the Games." LOVE them. They are comfortable and fit my duck feet even better than the Minimus, with a tad more sole (and here, I mean just sole...Minimus might still have a little more soul).
This is pretty much what I live in...when I can't be barefoot. Even my slippers are flippers! And look at that, I've got so many now that I didn't even include my Minimus or Vibrams, both of which (along with those black Nikes) I use when I'm walking the dog or mucking around. They don't get the CrossFit respect they used to, but I love to have comfortable shoes for those activities too! :)
So, in less than a year, I have gone from a minimalist when it comes to shoes to just another shoe hoarder. I'll venture to say I'm not done. :)
**OMG, shoes** 1/12
There is one unending discussion among CrossFitters... ...well, there are a few, but what I am talking about at the moment are SHOES! We love our shoes. We look high and low for the perfect pair of shoes that will perform well for the highest box jump or the need for 'heels down' in a good overhead squat.
Brand loyalty is fleeting because companies are always coming up with new shoes to lure us CrossFitters out of our current brand and into theirs'. For tough mofos, we are kind of weak in that department! Personally, I wish I could go barefoot all the time. That's not reasonable in the winters in Maine or on the streets for running (although I have been known to run the 400m warm up barefoot). It's also a little difficult to be shoeless for box jumps, double unders, and rowing. Consequently, I had to really search for the perfect shoe for my 'duck feet'. I have a pair that are wide enough to accommodate my quackers, no rise on the sole to simulate being barefoot, and because of both those features, they are as close to the feeling of being barefoot as I have found. Thank you, NB Minimus, with the Vibram sole...or is that soul. ;) That said, I doubt I am forever done poking around the pages of "shoes for the CrossFitter" because it's just kind of what we all do. We all like to think we are finding that edge that will help us go faster, jump higher, be steadier on a lift.
I hate to admit that the shoes really can do that. I am well aware that if we think they give us an edge, then of course they do! So, if I have to partake in the shoe world for CrossFit, then let me say to CrossFit: I want to put on my my my my my Boogie shoes, just to boogie with you....
grip: the act of grasping; a seizing and holding fast; to attach by a grip or clutch
A totally unexpected side effect of having to lay off strength/barbell work for just three weeks was the reduction of my grip strength when I started back in. I have some numbness still in the fingers on my right hand, but that doesn't prevent me from being able to hang on to a barbell. I was shocked at how weak my fingers/overall grip/forearms were. Shocked!
I'm forever learning new things about the human body through my own experiences with CrossFit and through other's. Add this to my reference file!
Grip strength is something we discuss in CF. We know how important it is and how fatigued our grips can become. However, I would venture to say that when a break from strength work is necessary, we mostly think about how it will effect our shoulders/bi and triceps. Forearms and hands were certainly never thought about by me.
There is so much we take for granted re: our body mechanics. Of COURSE we don't sit around and analyze/visualize every *domino effect* movement our bodies go through when in motion. (Although I know a few people who might...) That's why it's so interesting when awareness pops up unexpectedly. Who doesn't appreciate one more reason to love and want to keep our amazing machines in good working order?
The beauty of CF is that since all the movements integrate one's entire body as a single functioning machine, we don't really have to think about its separate parts. Even with a bias toward a certain area, integration of all our parts allows us to get stronger all over. Isolate a body part to strengthen it? No need, and besides, that sounds pretty boring.
Thank you, weakened grip, for yet again reminding me how beautiful CrossFit is as a way to keep this middle-aged body strong enough to keep playing and enjoying life without having to worry about every little movement it makes.
Listening from the inside out is different than internal dialogue.
Internal dialogue is mental. It can kill the mood or turn us into pompous asses at any given moment. U s u a l l y, internal dialogue is mean spirited. Why do we allow it? I once read a great quote regarding that. It went: "If we talked to our friends the way we talk to ourselves, we wouldn't have any friends." So, decidedly, internal dialogue is a nasty beast much of the time and we definitely need to learn to tame it.
Listening from the inside out is physical. This is something we don't always do because we get caught up in the moment and forget to pay attention to little changes internally in our movements. This is always important, and moreso when you're holding a buttload of weight on the barbell, or performing high reps with a kettlebell, etc.
It's also a factor in your rest and recovery. CrossFitters are told from the start how important R&R is to your general health and wellbeing. But this is where it's important to be accountable. Coaches can wag fingers at athletes who are WODding too much (and yes, I've been known to do this :/ ), but if you, as an athlete, WANT to WOD multiple days in a row, then listen to what your body is telling you and just don't WOD at 100% every day. That is extremely hard to do, but can be done. Listen. Feel the "tap tap tap" of messages your body is sending you. Don't let it get to the point where the "tap" becomes a boulder crashing down on you. Conversely, if you feel the need to take a week off every now and then, just do it! We all respond differently to everything in life. Guidelines are important in that they can help us lay out our own outline. Ultimately, however, only you know what is actually going on from the inside out.
After the Games last summer, I took a week off. I did that because I was listening to what people were saying I should do, when in fact, I felt great and wanted to WOD. Big mistake! I should have listened to myself and WODded because when I did go back after that week off, I felt like crap and it took a while before I regained any sort of CF rhythm. If I had felt like crap after the Games, I would have gladly rested. It didn't help hearing this arguementative internal dialogue all that week, and all because I wasn't listening to my own body. Lesson learned.
We definitely need to hear both messages, but listening from the inside out will be far better for you physically than just relying on that pesky internal dialogue.
All it takes is one person... That's all it took for 14 of us from CrossFit Beacon to furiously sign up at the last minute to run in the 1st Annual Bug Light 5K. It was organized as a charity run for the city of South Portland's Historical Society and their Land Trust, which is improving their parks and walking trails system, some of which we ran on today. Tyson, Beacon buddy/athlete/coach/instigator wanted to run, put it out there for interested others, and this morning we were light-blue tee shirts strong.
For a couple of Beacon Peeps, it was their first 5K. For a few others, it proved a morning 5K PR. And for all of us, it was a great time with the usual banter between us filled with equal parts smack and respect...yeah, that's the usual banter. :)
Some of this group are runners and CrossFitters, but most of us are just CrossFitters. The beauty of CrossFitting is that you gain the confidence and the ability to *game* pretty much any activity you choose to try/do, including a 5K. It's very cool! It makes last minute sign ups for a 5K possible.
When I told Laurence that I was going to sign up for this just on Friday, he didn't even hesitate to also sign up. This was his first 5K, and while he does not CrossFit, he hears enough about it to know that by figuring out how to *game* the race helped with his mental outlook toward it. He did a great job sticking to his plan of not walking and going at an easy jog the whole way. CrossFit attitude by osmosis! :)
One CrossFitter, CrossFit confidence, and the CrossFit propensity for participating in charitable activities all make for some amazing memories {and memorable smack talk :) }. That's all it took for today was one CrossFitter putting out a suggestion for a day of fun doing something that we all love...challenging ourselves!
