5 Lies I Buy Into
Crossfit has been a major part of my life for multiple years now and has impacted me in some incredible ways. One of the greatest joys of my life is having the opportunity to coach people every week and hopefully see them impacted the way I have been. While I love coaching and strive to grow every week there are still little traps that I fall into and have to actively work against in my training. While some are easier for me to conquer I will admit that some of these are areas I tend to truly struggle in as an athlete and have to remind myself of every day.
- High intensity workouts mean you can eat whatever you want.
- Anyone else with me on this? I was sitting with some of friends of mine laughing about how I am much more likely to grab some ice cream after a really hard workout because I have “earned it.” The reality is that I need to repair my body with nutrient dense whole foods so that I can achieve the results I want from the hard work that I have put in. It’s slightly like working really hard all week for a paycheck and then getting it and throwing it in the trash when you should be paying bills or investing your money so that you can move forward.
- Having a great body is all about training and has nothing to do with nutrition.
- This one ties along with the first point but in a slightly different way. I have this idea from time to time that if I just train more and train harder I will achieve the body I want without any hard work in areas like sleep, nutrition, and overall recovery. Hard training is good and necessary to reach your goals but it isn’t the only piece of the puzzle.
- Your body is invincible and there is really no limit to how much you can train.
- While I do believe that training hard is good and produces benefits I don’t believe that you can just go 100% every workout. But I will confess that I struggle extremely hard to remember this truth in the middle of some workouts. I like working hard and I like putting all my effort forward but not every day is a day to spend yourself.
- Warming up isn’t that big of a deal.
- I am definitely improving on this as I grow older but from time to time I have to check myself and remind myself that prepping the body to perform is a must in training. When I say “prepping” I don’t mean a slight 45 second jog either. I now try to do a full body prep before every session to the best of my ability. I also am the most injury free I have been since about 16 years old too. Hmmm. I wonder if there is a correlation?
- Slowing down just makes you slower.
- I really struggle with slower paced workouts. I like to go! Growing up as a basketball player I learned to push the ball up the court, make quick cuts, and shuffle over as fast as possible on defense. When we ran we ran all out sprints and when we drilled I went full speed. In Crossfit that isn’t always the case though. Some days are very long workouts where you are required to rest and required to take your time. Having to remind myself that slow workouts are beneficial for me is difficult until I am finished with them and I am worn out. Finish your workouts before you judge them. A good amount of them may surprise you.
So what are some areas that you struggle in? How do you deal with them? Start by acknowledging them and then make it a point to work against them every single day until they are no longer issues and you have developed better habits in your training. Never hesitate to ask your coach for help or guidance as they have most likely experienced the exact same things you have and are still working to correct them themselves.
Billy Holman
Crossfit Level 2 Trainer
