Like any red-blooded American, I want instant gratification. And I want it NOW. Oh, I'm eating paleo? Boosted energy and fat loss, please. Crossfit? How soon 'til I look like this...
Annie Sakamoto at the Crossfit games. Yes, that "Annie."
image courtesy of www.girlswithmuscle.com
On the paleo front, I can't really complain. A whole 30 challenge takes a lot of energy and discipline, but by the end, you can really see and feel a difference. Just ask my coach, who just completed his first 30 day challenge, lost about 20 lbs, and plans to do another 30 days.
Strength training, however, is a completely different story. Some days, I finish a WOD (workout of the day for non-Crossfitters) and feel great. Strong. Powerful. Usually these WODs are met-cons (metabolic conditioning, typically for time) or bodyweight exercises (I'm small, what can I say?).
Other days, I finish a WOD feeling disappointed in myself (these usually involve lifting very heavy things). Either I finished the workout slower than I wanted to, or the weight felt heavier than I would have liked. I feel like I'm not getting stronger and the prescribed (rx'ed) weights are moving further and further from my grasp.
It's never fun to finish a workout and feel this way. If it happens too often, it's easy to get down on yourself and give up. After all, workouts are supposed to make you feel good, motivated. Like you're moving toward a brand new you! And that new you has a six pack! ...So if you don't feel that great, why continue?
If you're challenging yourself appropriately, feeling disappointed after some workouts is part of strength training. At least that's what I tell myself. How do you know you're challenging yourself if every workout feels (relatively) easy? What goals should you be working toward? What are you capable of? You'll never know if you don't put a little more weight on the bar. Sure, you might not get that 195# deadlift the first time you try it. And you might feel crappy.
In such cases, I find it helpful to remind myself of three things:
(1) I am a small person and sometimes I won't be able to lift as much weight as my beast of a roommate... just look at those traps!
(2) I have only been going to Crossfit regularly for 3 months.
(3) Building strength takes time.
These are not meant to be excuses. Rather, they are meant to be a kind of "patience mantra." A little boost, telling you not to give up. Your patience mantra will be different than mine because you have different goals than I do. Similarly, my patience mantra will change with my goals. But, if you keep working and using your patience mantra, one day you will deadlift 195#. And you'll remember the day you couldn't, and it'll all be worth it.
Ok, did you have to put up a picture of me with major duck lips?!
ReplyDeleteI didn't even notice the duck lips, I was too focused on Ros' badassery. (FYI, she started kicking my butt in kettlebell class after a week when I had been there like two years!)
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