I have complete intentions to train for life. How fun is that?
With a number of competing priorities and a fun travel schedule coming up I have to make sure I remain intentional (a core objective), reserve space for reflection and stay present. With that, I sometimes need to remind myself that I am keeping a meticulous training log because I intend to grow in very specific ways each season and I need to be able to assess how my training impacts that growth. It also ensures that I can measure success in as many ways as possible.
I feel like the big picture February story is that diligent work really started to show up in my training sessions. It’s always cool to see specific areas improve when you spend time there. Conditioning is a great example—with modifications for my lower back injury I was doing a ton of varied metcons with less emphasis on squats and Olympic lifts, and eight weeks later my engine feels entirely different.
The ring muscle up progression from Mayhem I started in January turned out to be 6 weeks for RMU and wall walks. The retest landed during the last week of Feb, which was the start of the CrossFit Open, so I opted not to retest the RMU, but lo and behold the wall walks presented themselves for me in 22.1 and I definitely felt prepared 🙂 . I also got a ring dip for the first time!
I did a fun little tally for how much time I spend upside down for handstand walks, handstand pushups and wall walks—turns out that a solid 10 sessions in a month will increase your confidence and abilities in that area.
I was able to pull weight from the ground in the second week of Feb so I’m officially back to training Olympic lifts and squats. The front rack position, however, is much more challenging because of the pressure that pulls me forward but I am happy to be back at 80% confidently, even if it feels like 95%.
In the spirit of transparency: I love love love training and have a lot of fun, but in case anyone reads this and thinks it’s always going to feel great I want to be very clear that I legit struggled through a handful of these sessions, some of them back to back. There are days where it’s HARD to get started. I completed this threshold run on the 15th that was accompanied by some tears at the end and then had to go right into a 10RFT handstand walk paired with pistol squats–it was brutal. In these moments it’s very much less about what I want right now, and more about being committed to the plan. There were also several workouts where the RX seemed way too intimadaitng and I almost talked myself out of doing it. I ended up sticking with it and surprising myself. Confidence really does come with practice.
I’m riding this wave of imporovements with pragmatism–I know that as I become more fit and increase my overall baseline that these jumps will likely become much more incremental. Right now observation comes easily because I have a lot of what I’ll call noticeable deficiencies.
In March I am focused on having fun with the CF Open season, and placing an extra emphasis on nutrition with a goal of leaning out. At this point I don’t really care about my weight, but rather my body composition.
I can feel myself getting excited and jumpy about being able to evaluate my total fitness after the open and to build some specific goals that will include more of a focus on accessory and strength. I am looking forward to a year of developing my weaknesses. I noted last week that I’m experiencing a neat balance between the curiosity and hunger for learning and growth, and the patience of doing what it takes to actually reap the benefits of transformation. I’m here for that.
Top 3
Mayhem
4 Sets, 1 every 5 mins
20 cal row
25 wall balls
100 double unders
–completed in 3:00, 3:02, 3:18, 3:36
Mayhem
EMOM 30
10 cal bike
6 d-ball cleans (70)
10 cal bike
6 rmu transitions
10 cal bike
50’ handstand walk
Nick Welter Workout
5RFT
3 power cleans (145) + 15 GHD situps (half)
-rest 2 mins-
5RFT
3 power cleans (145) + 1 peg board climb
-rest 2 mins-
5RFT
1 peg board climb + 15 GHD situps (half)
–completed in just over 20 mins~
Here’s a link to my complete training log.
All love in life through sport,
GLK
