Challenge yourself!!
Whether it’s in the gym or at work, do you try to constantly challenge yourself, or do you stick to what’s comfortable? Do you go outside the box or stay within the area you feel safest? I used to tend to stick to my comfort zone, never really trying to challenge myself. Mainely I believe like most people I was afraid to fail. I was happy being the big fish in a little pond. Then I found CrossFit. In order to be successful with CrossFit you have to dig deep, find new ways to tackle the challenges head on. I remember when I did my first full clean and almost fell over backwards I was pretty embarrassed. I thought “there’s no way I’m going to get this move down!!” But I just decided that I was going to keep working at it until I got it right. I wasn’t concerned with adding weight I was only concerned with doing it right. The same thing happened when I started doing pull-ups. I grabbed the bar and pulled myself up 4 times then thought my arms were going to fall off. Was it embarrassing? You bet your ass it was!! Then I thought about it….I’ve been coming to this gym for 2 years now and never see ANYONE attempting pull-ups so why should I be embarrassed?? I kept plugging away and now I can crank out 25 dead hang pull ups and upwards of 40 kipping pull ups. Then I was introduced the muscle up…..It was a movement that just looked impossible to me! I watched as my buddy demonstrated it for me then asked me to try it. It was a laughable attempt! I barely could raise myself up high enough to transition to the dip! What the hell?? !! I can do all these pull ups and dips but I can’t do ONE muscle up!!?? Well yes, that was the case. So I kept at it and kept practicing and finally about a week ago I set up the rings with the intention of doing 5 but ended up surprising myself and getting 10! A few days later I went back and knocked out 17! Today I am doing a WOD that I created to help me work on two of my trouble areas, muscle ups and double unders. It’s going to be As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 20 minutes of 5 muscle ups/20 double unders. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes. The point I am trying to make here is no matter what your routine is, always look for new ways of challenging yourself. If you’re weak at Dead Lifting, then add it to your next routine and learn the movement. If Squats are your kryptonite then grab a bar (no smith machine) and start squatting!! Remember, leave your ego at the door, attack a new challenge and you’ll see the progress, I guarantee it!!
