Own Your Fitness
Written by Invictus Athlete Josh Littauer
How many of you started your CrossFit journey and very quickly saw a lot of growth, progress, and exciting physical changes? Did it seem like you were hitting PRs constantly and getting stronger and faster every single week…until…well, suddenly you weren’t anymore? Did this lack of progression make you question why or what you might be doing wrong?
Maybe you’re facing this issue right now. You know there’s something that you’re lacking to take your fitness to the next level but you’re not sure what. Are you doing the necessary work to take the next step or are you just waiting around for a quick fix or tip from your coach or another athlete? We’re all looking for something that will help us progress quickly, and often times we’re just looking for someone to drop that one big hint that will magically help us off the plateau and get us back on the path to growth. …. And so we show up day after day expecting that one day we’ll show up and our weaknesses will suddenly disappear.
Well, herein lies the issue: you have not owned your training.
Whether a recreational CrossFitter or a weekend warrior that competes in every competition you can get into, an athlete should own his or her own training. CrossFit is a complex fitness methodology that prides itself on finding an athlete’s weaknesses and exploiting them. No matter what your background is, CrossFit will find a way to make every athlete feel non-athletic and find something they are incapable of. For some it’s a lack of mobility, a skill that seems impossible, a need for greater strength, or maybe a lacking diet. There are so many facets to fitness that it seems there is always something holding us back. But the issue isn’t that we have problems; it’s that we don’t do anything about them. Here are a few quick examples and perhaps some ways to help continuing the progress.
1. Identify the Issue
So workouts aren’t going the way you want or you aren’t seeing the progress you originally saw; now you must identify the issue. What is holding you back? It could be your lack of mobility to be able to achieve some of the movements required in a CrossFit workout. It could be a lack of overall strength that has you scaling the weight on every workout. Or maybe it comes down to your habits outside the gym such as sleeping, eating, or drinking. If you are having a hard time identifying the issue, talk to your coach, search the internet, and start connecting dots to figure out what could be your holdup.
2. Find a Solution
There are countless resources out there on the topic of health and fitness. Whether you have identified your problem as a skill you are struggling with, or you’re not really sure what to do about your diet, the majority of the answers are a few simple questions away. Now here comes the kicker: you have to start asking questions! If you don’t know the answer to your question, or you’re unsure how to improve a skill, or even if you’re doing something wrong, the first and most important solution is to ask somebody. There are coaches all around who are incredibly knowledgeable in the fitness industry and they love helping and seeing you achieve your goals. Check your ego at the door and start asking for some help or advice. I promise someone can give you an answer or point you in the right direction.
3. Implement the Solution
Now that you have gone out and found the answer you were looking for or found the coach to help you with the skill, it’s time to start applying what you know. If it was a skill you needed work on and the coach gave you a progression or some accessory tools to fix your problem, you need to start doing what they told you. Nothing will drive a coach crazy more than an athlete who asks for help but never implements the solution. If what you needed to start achieving your goals was cleaning up your diet, start cutting out the things you know are holding you back. Take some initiative, find someone to hold you accountable or join you in the process. Bringing someone along with you is a great way for multiple athletes to improve and encourage each other in achieving their goals.
So what’s the moral of the story? Figure out what’s holding you back. Find a solution. And then get started applying the solution. Fitness is complex, and there is always going to be something to improve on, but now is the time to take action.
Own your fitness.
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