Workout of the Day:
Four rounds as quickly as you can of:
12 x Deadlift
9 x Hang Power Clean
6 x Front Squat
3 x Push Jerk
15 x Pull-Up
(Set up one bar and storm through as quickly as possible. Suggested weights: Men – 135 to 155 lbs./Women – 95 to 115 lbs.)

Amazing Women, Amazing Athletes

Ladies, It’s Time We Talk
Written by CrossFit Invictus Charter Member Courtney Johnson

After Fight Gone Bad on Wednesday I sat down and had a chat with Lil’ Cheddies McBean. We were both griping about our performances. After a few minutes of our pity party however, we realized that we were being ridiculous. We were getting down on ourselves when we should have been congratulating each other on accomplishing a tough workout.  After talking for a few minutes we realized that we’ve seen many other women go through the same thing lately. It seems as though most CrossFit men seem to take their performances, good and bad, in stride. But many of us women tend to be a bit tougher on ourselves when we don’t perform as well as we think we should. 

In any fitness or athletic endeavor, especially one as intense as CrossFit, athletes go through periods of highs and lows. These periods can last for days, weeks or even a month or so. I personally have been experiencing a low for the past few weeks.  We have all been there, and unfortunately, many of us have beaten ourselves up over it. But getting down on yourself does not help you bounce back; in fact, it does quite the opposite.  A lot of us women feel pressure to be amazing mothers, wives, girlfriends and employees, and the added pressure of setting a new PR every day at the gym can be overwhelming. But just because you had an off day doesn’t mean you are a failure, and it doesn’t mean you aren’t improving. Sometimes, it just means you had a bad day and we need to shake it off and try again the next day. 

We need to remember why we love CrossFit – because it has helped to make us strong and confident women. Unfortunately that confidence has been shaken for a lot of us at times, myself included. The whiteboard we have in the gym is meant to showcase others’ accomplishments and achievements, yet many of us come in, look at the board, and think, “who do I have to beat today?” I am 100% guilty of this; somewhere along the line I lost my perspective on why CrossFit is important to me.

A few months ago I was peaking and often found myself at or near the top of whiteboard. But then I had a few off days which led to a couple inconsistent weeks at the gym. Suddenly I wasn’t at the top of the whiteboard anymore. This was a tough pill for me to swallow, and I let it affect me.

When I look back on how my performance started to improve a few months ago, I can see that my goals were different. I had just started doing workouts as prescribed, so I went to CrossFit every day, not with the intention of being the best, but with the intention of pushing myself to achieve something I hadn’t before. The second I started focusing on just beating someone is when I started to not perform as well.  I lost my focus.

I know I am not alone with this experience. There are a lot of women who have lost their perspective on why we love CrossFit and why we show up every day to put ourselves through tough workouts. We need to come together as women and remember what studs we are, forget about the bad days – they happen and will continue to happen.  However we need to let go of the pressures we put on ourselves to be super wives, super moms, and super athletes. We are already super studs because we are CrossFit women. We need to come together as women to celebrate our achievements and put the “bad days” behind us.

Michele, Coryna (”Cheddies McBean”) and I decided that it is time for the Women of Invictus to head out for ladies night to celebrate our strength and beauty. On Friday, June 26 at 7:00 p.m. we will meet at CrossFit Invictus and head out for a CrossFit Ladies dinner party from there. Please RSVP on the whiteboard or to michele@crossfitinvictus.com.  Please RSVP by Thurday evening so we can make reservations.