NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION CROSSROADS

I coached a lot of the group sessions last Thursday and Friday. It was funny how many times I heard someone say, “This is hard!” I especially heard this from the newer people (noobies). I try to be very encouraging to noobies. Luckily, there are so many people training at the gym now that I can easily point out someone in the session who was once a noobie and provide some inspiration. I can tell the current noobie about the former noobies accomplishments. I was able to point out a girl who did all 2600m of running on Thursday without walking. When she started out, she couldn’t run 400m without having to walk for a portion. I was able to point out a guy who couldn’t finish a full workout for the first few weeks he started, and now he is finishing workouts no problem. I was able to point out a guy who lost 40+ pounds since he started. The examples go on and on.

Most noobies come to One World on the recommendation of a friend. Most of you have never done interval training at high intensity, or lifted weights, or worked out with a group. Yes, everyone is a little nervous about their first group session, but most noobies get over that nervousness pretty quick once the session starts and the group gets rolling.  We don’t usually lose noobies because they don’t like the training environment. Why do a lot of noobies quit? They quit because of that statement, “This is hard!”

I first heard this from James Fitzgerald, aka OPT: What it all comes down with training at One World is your ability to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.  It’s not for everyone. Modern day humans do everything they can to make their lives as comfortable as possible. Noobies quit because after a day, or a week, or a month, they realize that even when they scale their workout to fit what they are physically capable of doing, a One World workout is always going to be “hard.” 

I personally don’t find anything pleasant about short, high intensity workouts. Long distance running actually gives you a “runners high.” Short workouts at One World just make you feel miserable. There is no getting high from doing a workout like “Freddy’s Revenge.” What you do get from One World training is awesome results. Ask anyone who has been training for any period of time whether or not they are in better shape than when they started, if not the best shape of their entire life. If you are willing to put in the work, positive things will happen. You just need to get over the fact that it’s ALWAYS going to be “hard.”

So to all you noobies who started the New Year with the goal of wanting to better yourself by training at One World..... You are now at the crossroads. The excuses to not come to the gym are suddenly getting easier to make. It’s how you act on those excuses that makes you or breaks you. I will tell you right now that the couch is always a much more comfortable place to be than in the middle of a conditioning workout at the gym. BUT.....there is nothing rewarding about watching an entire episode of American Idol. There is a great sense of accomplishment when you finish a One World workout.

Being comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s hard. In the years we have been training people at One World, those that embrace training hard in the gym are usually the same folks who are taking life by the horns and going for a wild and fun ride. When you are done reading this, go look in the mirror. That hard working person is looking back at you in the mirror. Some of you just gotta dig deeper to get that person out. See you at the gym. 

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WORKOUT   2/25/2013

• 5 x 3 back squat
• 5 x 3 press

Then......

Try the workout from the Shoreline CrossFit Masters Competition on Saturday. (Compliments our squat/press strength day perfectly!)

Start a ten minute running clock. Complete 3/6/9/12/15....etc. reps of:

• Hang squat cleans (M:115#/W:80#)
• Hand release push-up
• Box jumps (M:24"/W:20")

First do three reps of each movement, then six, then nine. Every round you are adding three reps. At the end of ten minutes, score your last round plus the amount of reps in any round you don't finish. Let's say you get through three box jumps in the round of fifteen. Your score will post like this:

12 + 15/15/3

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Comments

[ansel]

My line: "We're not here because this is easy. It's supposed to be hard."

[Adam W]

freddy,

I check this site out every day (from Indiana). I am a huge proponent of CFFootball as I know you are too. And I remember you making the comment not too long ago that you were modeling your strength portion after CFFootball. So my question is this... why are most of your strength sets 5X3 instead of 3X5 like CFFootball amateur sets?

[Freddy]

Adam,
No particular reason. Started using 5 x 3 rep scheme and just stuck with it. It's linear progression so it works with 5 x 3 just as well as 3 x 5.

[Brandon (40yrs, 6', 178lb)]

12+15/15/6 RX'ed