Last month we talked about exploiting our weaknesses. Our weaknesses can be found in four different aspects and they were Physical, Mental, Commitment, and Social. I wanted to focus this month on turning weaknesses into strength and working on them to better ourselves.
Turning a weakness into a strength is not an easy feat by any means. And these are not four magic steps. So, recognize that turning a weakness into a strength is going to take time, patience, and intestinal fortitude. You are going to have to do things that you are not comfortable with, and you will have to invest your time. Yet, just because it is hard, it does not make the work not worth it, it just makes the reward that much more rewarding.
(1) Admit you have a weakness. As silly as this sounds it is a critical part of the process. Owning up to your limitations means that you are willing to change them. All too often, it is ignored. The best way to admit you have a weakness is to document it. This where you state the weakness and set a goal to work toward. To help drive this home, we will use my weakness of handstand push-ups.
(2) Start with determining a baseline. This is where the process starts. With the baseline you find out what you can do. This where I do as many handstand push-ups as I can in a row without stopping, or do as many handstand push-ups in 2:00 minutes. Document this baseline so you can go back to it later. Setting the baseline is how to objectively judge whether or not I am making progress.
(3) Set a goal. Remember when setting goals they should be SMART. Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time sensitive. When going through a process like this it is good to have a long term goal. To be able to do 50 handstand push-ups in 3:00 minutes by January 1st, 2014. It is also good to have short term intermediate goals, to be able to 10 handstand push-ups in a row in two weeks, then 15 in a row in one month, ect. Again document these goals. It is important that they are realistic. If you are having trouble determining if they are unrealistic then definitely ask one of the trainers.
(4) Get to work. This is easier said then done. This is the part that takes time and patience and where most people give up. The way that you go about this it to push your limits. Set up three or four tasks/workouts that you can complete each week. For these workouts set them up so that you can really push yourself. They should focus on strength or as many reps as possible. Get one more pound, one more rep, get up one more time.
During this time it is when you get that one more. Stop. Wait for it, when you test your progress, really push yourself to see how far you came. So when you do a strength press and get one more pound. You are done. When you do the AMRAP and do one more rep. You are done. The whole point of this time is to see if you can push yourself to one more. If you can, you succeeded. Enjoy that small success because it has brought you one step closer to your goal. To improve on handstand push-ups I would would set up a Press and Push Press strength work and then AMRAPs that include Dips, Push-ups, and Handstand Push-ups. This is where you would need the most help. So do some research or ask a trainer. If you are really interested in seeing progress, get a personal trainer. They will make sure that your time stays interesting and keeps you on track for achieving your goals.
(5) Test progress on a periodic basis. In most cases you should only test progress every two weeks. When testing progress, you do not want it to be too often as this is when people often get discouraged. You have to give yourself time to grow, rest, and reap the benefits of the work you are putting in.
Battle of the Boxes
On November 9th, CrossFit Transformation will be holding its annual Battle of the Boxes event. This is a six person team event that finds the best box in Michigan. We will definitely be sending a team from CrossFit Macomb to the Battle. If we have enough female participants we will try to send two teams but they are only allowing one from each box at this time. I know we have several male athletes that want to compete. We are going to be holding tryouts for the team all this week, Oct 7th through Oct 11th. We will using this week's WOD to test and find the best three men and three women from CFM that will represent our box at the Battle. Definitely put this on your calendar to watch and support CrossFit Macomb.
If you will be trying out for the team then make sure you let the trainers know so that we can count reps and judge accordingly.
October Macombie
This month, the Macombie for the "Where's the Chalk" award goes to Amanda B. This award goes to Amanda for two reasons. The first, she is asking for the chalk because she says, "Chalk makes you stronger". The second is because once she finds the chalk she takes it with her and chalks everything around her! The jury's out on whether chalk actually makes you stronger, but she has got me saying it now. Amanda has been working hard to bring her elbows in while doing push-ups and has worked on getting upside and doing handstand push-ups. Keep working at it Amanda, because your hard work is paying off.
Halloween WOD - Oct. 31st
On Thursday, Oct. 31st, we will be dressing up for Halloween. You can WOD in you Halloween costume with us. Last year was made special when Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte came to CFM.
There will be no 6:30 PM class that night.
Open Gym
We will be cancelling the Open Gym time for the fall and winter. This week will be the last week for Open Gym.
On Ramp
The next On Ramp will be in October starting on the 28th. If you are new to CrossFit this is a perfect opportunity to learn the fundamentals as well as get a well-rounded approach to health, fitness, and nutrition. The classes will be held for two weeks on Tuesday and Thursday at 5:00pm and Saurday at 10:00am. The dates and times are below.
October 28th, Tuesday, 5:00 pm
October 31st, Thursday, 5:00 pm
November 2nd, Saturday, 10:00 am
Novmeber 5th, Tuesday, 5:00 pm
November 7th, Thursday, 5:00 pm
Upcoming Events
October 1st: On Ramp begins
October 7th to 11th: B.O.B. try-outs
October 31st: Halloween WOD - No 6:30pm class.
November 9th: Battle of the Boxes
December 7th: 1000th WOD
October 1st: On Ramp begins
October 7th to 11th: B.O.B. try-outs
October 31st: Halloween WOD - No 6:30pm class.
November 9th: Battle of the Boxes
December 7th: 1000th WOD
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