Workout of the Day:
Shoulder Press
5-3-2-1-1-1
and then,
As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:
5 x 135/95 lb. Push Press
10 x Pull-Ups
15 x 30″/24″ Box Jump
Congratulations to CrossFit Invictus SuperStud Christina for completing the SuperSeal Olympic distance triathlon yesterday.
The Choice
Written by Mark Riebel
Nearly every day that I coach I’m asked by someone how they can get better. The questions vary depending on the day’s exercise or workout, and range from issues of timing, optimal joint placement or something as minute as a grip adjustment. These questions are encouraged and I like the fact that so many people are taking such an interest in their health and physical performance. While I will always do my best to answer your question, the answer may not lie with me or any of the other Invictus coaches. Sometimes you’ll find that the answer lies within you.
When you walk through our door and look at the whiteboard, or log on to our website and see the workout of the day, you have a choice. You can choose to dread the workout and think about how much it will hurt or how bad you are at the exercises in store for the day, or you can choose to use this opportunity to improve on your weaknesses and push yourself harder than yesterday. You can choose to drop the bar when every muscle fiber you have screams in agony, or you can choose to bang out a few more reps before time expires. You can choose to slow your pace because your head is swimming from lack of oxygen, or you can choose to bear down and finish the last stretch in a sprint.
Was that missed rep a consequence of pulling too early, or was it because you let the thought of attempting a heavier weight get in your head and scare you away from a PR? Was today’s slower time caused by you not having a perfect running stride, or was it because a fellow CrossFitter passed you on the last round and took the wind out of your sails? You may think these slip-ups are form related (and they may be), but they could be an issue of you being willing to face down your demons.
The coaches at CFI are facilitators. We’ll give you all the tools you need to achieve superhuman levels of fitness. We’ll encourage, instruct, tweak, and advise you in every way we can. But we cannot, and will not, drag you to success. The effort must come from you, and ultimately, the choice to unleash that effort must come from you as well. So what’s your choice?
Tags: Motivation
Congrats Christina!
Christina! You are so awesome! Great job SuperStud
YAYYY Christina!! Good work sister!
Nice work Christina!!
Way to go Christina!! Awesome job!
Awesome job Christina, you go girl!! Keep up the hard work….
Mark,
Good post on a topic that deserves regular treatment. I am the kind of person to see some workouts and say that I dread them, but also WANT to do them because the dread comes from a need. Thanks for bringing on the motivation.
Cheers.
Outstanding article Mark. I read something very similiar from the trainers at CF Ranier last year. I printed this out and have it posted near my desk at work:
“You’ve Got to Want This”
“I had a conversation the other day that got me thinking. I’m in the fitness business, not the hand holding business. I have a system that takes ordinary people and turns them into athletes. I can look our women in the eyes and remind them of that day they asked if they would be a weakling forever. Now they groan and throw 65# on the bar for overhead squats, and they squat below parallel and reach full extension for each rep. They didn’t get there by being dragged along.
I didn’t hold their hands. I may have pushed, poked, and prodded. I may have yelled, encouraged, and told them that the last rep didn’t count. But not once did I mistake the source of their motivation. It came from them. It came from within. And I had nothing to do with it. They wanted this.
That’s what makes a successful CrossFitter. Of course there is always the desire to not look stupid, have the slowest time or lowest weight on the whiteboard, or be the one sounding like a B rated porn flick playing in the back room. Group dynamics certainly play a role in motivation.
But it’s YOU and your desire to “get better today” that keep you walking through the doors for your daily dose. Whatever your reason, be it for camaraderie, competition, weight loss, or that next PR, you make it through the door. I’m not holding your hand; I’m not dragging you along. You’ve found your stride and you’re using it to reach better fitness, better health, and better job safety. Your determination is inspiring; your motivation is praise worthy.
I like being around you, so does everyone else. The one who needs their hand held is the one who brings the group down. Its like the drowning swimmer who attacks their rescuer, suddenly a good deed becomes dangerous for both parties. Morale plummets, motivation wanes, and its like being in globo gym where everyone spreads misery like Pigpen’s dust cloud. Not exactly a recipe for success.
Unmotivated people who want fitness bestowed upon them won’t float here. Our job is to lead, guide, and support. We can’t do the work for you. And we won’t hold your hand.
You’ve got to want this”
(courtesy of CF Ranier)
Nice, Christina!
Great article, Mark! As coaches, we can only go so far to get people moving. Ultimately, it is the individual’s self-motivation and personal moxy that carries their success.
WOD – 115# shoulder press; 4.3 rnds w/95# PP, jump-assist pull ups, 24″ box jumps.
YAY X-Tina!
As much as Christina didn’t want me to give that pic to CJ, I just couldn’t resist.
For those of you that don’t know, Christina’s training was entirely CF based. She’d regularly do the posted WOD at CFI, then later in the day do a CF Endurance WOD, that was often a series of intervals or other high-intensity piece of one of the three disciplines of the triathlon. It was a training program that had drastically reduced volume, but highly increased intensity. So how did that “unorthodox” training style pay off for the 1500m swim, 40K bike, and 10K run? I think the smile on her face in the home stretch says it all. Great job girl!
Way to go Christina! Smilnig during the run is hard to do!
WOD: 7 round + 3 box jumps Is it me or since most of the staff has turned 30 that it seems 30 is the new 24?
OMG Mark! U r so gonna get it! Is this payback for those burpees???
Serious…Thanks so much for the props peeps! This was my first Olympic distance & I have to say…I luv the CFI/CFE training method & the race went really well!! In my opinion, traditional long slow distance training takes up way too much time without yielding greater results. I can not wait to hit this race up again next year!
FYI–I did have the best swim buddy ever who was also following the CFE swim WODs with me & he kicked major ARSE on the 1.2 mile swim of the SUPER FROG!!!…..Awesome as usual Mr Riebel!!!
….& I think I may have a pic of him looking very super-hero-esc in his super tight wetsuit….