Quite a few people have told me that I think too much. I over analyze and over strategize in everything I do. I do this at work while planning and I do it at home with I play games with my kids.
This over analyzation creeps its way into CrossFit mostly because there are so many different ways to approach each workout. This article will be a glimpse into what goes on in my head when I see a WOD.
When a normal crossfitter sees a triplet they see 3 movements with X amount of reps. They might think about the total reps required but their thinking typically ends there.
I see 3 movements, the reps per round, the total reps per movement, the transitions between exercises, where can I push and where do I have to hold back, where should I take planned breaks to avoid death, should I wear a headband for the extra strength, the list goes on.
What I Do
Before 3, 2, 1, go, I have gone through the workout in my head 3-4 times already. This is a simple AMRAP12 triplet but how do you approach it?
Personally, I struggle with DU’s. On a good day I can typically string 20-25 together. On a bad day I leave the gym looking like I have just received a lashing with a cat o’ nine tails…
I know the DU’s will be my limiting factor.
Front Squats @ 115×10 will be easy and C2Bx10 is the easiest part of the triplet for me. Using this information I formulate a plan and set goals.
My Plan
The DUs are just max effort. Get as many as I can in a row, get frustrated…get a few more, get frustrated again until I reach 40.
Obviously the plan would be 40 unbroken but I am realistic and don’t work on this weakness enough to expect this to happen (It’s on my to-do list…). This is also the point where the coach would tell me to only do 30 per round so the class doesn’t go over…
Immediately after the 40 (or 30) DUs, I will transition quickly over to the barbell and squat clean into my first front squat (saves time and energy). This is where I start trying to reach my mini goals.
Goal 1
My goal for this particular WOD was to do the front squats unbroken in each round. I knew my lack of skill in DUs would give me sufficient time to recover and ensure these front squats were unbroken.
Also, 115×10 is a very achievable number and who wants to clean the bar an extra time? (I would not have done this if the weight was 155 or higher. You always have to take your personal capabilities into consideration when setting these mini goals within a WOD.)
I also take unnecessarily long breaks when I stop. For someone reason I think I need to completely catch my breath before getting back into it. I have just recently made the groundbreaking discovery that you can still workout while out of breath.
Goal 2
After rep 10 I head over to the rig for C2B. I enjoy anything on the pullup bar so these are fun. My goal would be first round UB and then 5-5 for each subsequent round.
I have recently acquired butterfly C2B so doing the first round unbroken would be for some confidence and the rounds after would be more of a strategy to ensure I didn’t go back into DUs too fatigued. I am bad enough while fresh so I wouldn’t want to add any additional layers of difficulty.
In this particular workout I was able to hit my mini goals. In many ways these goals help me but I also see how they hurt me. There are many occasions where my plan puts me at a slower pace than I am capable of and I am typically too stubborn to speed up.
Wrap Up
Am I thinking too much? Maybe, but CrossFit appeals to me for many reasons, one of them being the strategy involved in team/partner/individual workouts.
I know some of you are shaking your head because you don’t think nearly this much about your workouts. You simply go and that works for you. I approach almost all workouts like this and as my fitness improves I change my strategies and learn my limits.
I surprise myself one day and disappoint myself the next day but each day there is progress made which is why almost all of us do CrossFit.
I probably think too much about work outs and there are definitely people out there that don’t think enough. The sweet spot is usually right in between the two extremes.
Think but don’t over analyze. Plan but don’t over plan.
Know yourself and your limits. Set SMART goals and then achieve them.
Seek out weaknesses and destroy them. Be awesome and get better every day.
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