Crossfit is – constantly varied workouts of functional movements performed at high intensity. The constantly varied workout part is my responsibility. After all, you come in and the workout is written up on the board. That piece is out of your control. Functional movement, also your trainer’s responsibility. The CrossFit stable is filled with functional movements and it is our job to give you a version, scaled if you need it, of those movements. The high intensity part though is primarily on your shoulders. We can encourage, firmly and/or lovingly. We can support, we can cheer, we can tease, we can pit one of you against the other, we can give you direction, but ultimately we cannot force you to work at high intensity. Only you can drive yourself to high intensity. And guess what? CrossFit doesn’t work if you don’t work at high intensity. If you are never collapsed on the floor, never at your literal edge you aren’t at high intensity. If you aren’t struggling to get up from the pushups you aren’t at high intensity. Some of you who came in to us with a pretty minimal fitness base have gotten much more fit, but I still feel like there are many days when I don’t see high intensity. It can be scary: your heart races, sweat pours off, your legs and arms feel like jelly, your stomach hates you. That is called high intensity. If you stop every time you feel this way, your progress will be depressingly slow. Work through it. Make friends with it. This week Luciana has been working at high intensity for the first time. Mike and Jenny have been instrumental in helping Luciana reach that place of being sure it was time to give up and NOT! Sarah too, is gaining some new familiarity with high intensity. It absolutely feels tough and terrible. I want to assure you that you don’t feel that way just because you are new to CrossFit. You are supposed to feel that way-nearly every time! Every person on our record board feels the same way you have this week when they finish their workouts. Progress and results with all this will come when you brace yourself and prepare to feel horrible and then wonderful! Pride in yourself comes not from giving up because things are too hard, but from persevering. There will always be reasons, explanations and excuses for taking the easier approach. Ultimately, it is up to each of us to just go as hard as we can stand. That is what you bring to your workouts. Keep bringing it Sarah and Luciana and everyone. Great work.
I love you guys!
Great Job ladies at pushing yourselves! I know before crossfit, I never truely got to high intensity on my own. Each day my stomach still turns as I drive to they gym in anticipation of what the WOD may bring me, of how wasted I will be at the end. Thanks guys!
Summer posted this before, but I think it is worth repeating here…
– Just came across this quote in the book, “Born to Run, A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World has never seen.” Just thought I’d share with you all.
“Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction.” – William James
Thanks Summer.
And, if you want to see what it truly means to work at high intensity, make it a point to watch Mike Heinz do a workout. It is a thing of beauty…
- Carl
I got so inspired when I read this ‘get crackin’ post I jumped up and karate-chopped my desk in half!! Yeah! Like my old Japanese sensei would always say, “try harder more!!!” I pledge to attack the next WOD and make it mine, or collapse trying. Set up those limitations. Let me plow right through ‘em!
Thanks for not letting me give up… even when I really wanted to!
I definitely thought I was going to pop after Saturdays 2:00pm class. Thanks for putting with the big boys!
Pancho and I went to Jenny’s finre house this morning and got the grand tour. It was great. Pancho was so excited that we came home and had to build something for Jenny and we went to a baby shower this afternoon and he told everybody about it. It really was so great. If any body else wants to go please let me know… Pancho really wants to go back (he actually wants to live there) and we would love any excuse to go.
Thank you Jenny. You are an inspiration in the gym and out…
Ellie
cool, I have never been to a fire station I want to go!!!
I know Gabe would love to go too! Let me know if you go back.
Ellie, It was awesome to have you and Pancho at the station. Everyone is welcome for a tour! It was so fun to have someone from the gym at my station. Crossfit it a family just like the fire department and it was great to bring the two together!