Set Goals. Break Through Limits. Repeat.
Measurable improvement is a very powerful thing. For example, recording how much one of your lift weights has gone up by, or knowing how much you’ve reduced your 500m row time are both directly measurable modes of improvement. Achievements such as these are generally associated with the ‘warm fuzzies’ that we feel after having broken through a limit/barrier/ceiling, and leave’s us feeling really good about ourselves (after we’ve caught our breath!).
The converse is also true, if we have set goals for ourselves and we want to break through our boundaries, but we just can’t seem to get there.
Either you have utterly plateaued (unlikely; it’s amazing what the human body is capable of – click: Tatyana Kashirina World Record), or something you are currently doing is not working for you (much more likely).
This concept can be applied to any facet of fitness, and indeed most things in life. In terms of fitness, various factors that can impact this are: nutrition, how many times a week you train, what you train, when you train, how much rest you have, how much sleep you get, how much water you drink, etc., etc. But if you are continually hitting a ceiling, and not breaking through, something needs to change.
The human body is incredibly capable at adapting to it’s surroundings and to external stimuli; which is why CrossFit is a constantly varied mode of training. Even in this though, the human body can even adapt to a constantly varied environment – in other words you can become proficient at many things – if this wasn’t the case you would be literally be PB’ing every time you train!
So how do you get around this?
You set goals…and then you make a strategy to break through your limits.
As you continue to hone your skills in any thing you do (including CrossFit), you will inevitably reach the pointy end of what your limits are at this time. In a physical sense, put simply, you are adapting.
And this can be (very) frustrating.
In my time in CrossFit I have hit many ceilings in my abilities and skill levels. When I first started CrossFit I had very frequent PB sessions. As I continued on though I realised I had limits (primarily related to skill and/or strength), and I remember thinking I don’t know how I will ever break through them. Take muscle ups for example – I would try and fail. Try and fail. It took me a year and a half to finally get one. I eventually realised that what I was doing at the time was not working for me, so I changed things. I made sure I practiced rings dips, transitions with a false grip, strict pull ups and chest to bar pull ups outside of class times once a week. It was as simple as that. I eventually developed the necessary skill and strength to complete a muscle up. Done. I set a goal, and I broke through a limit.
So, where do you start to set a goal, and more importantly, how do you break through your limits?
Obviously you need an aim in mind…and this could be anything. With respect with your fitness journey, strategies could be as simple as the following:
· Aim for a few extra unbroken reps of a particular movement in a WOD (i.e. “I’m going to complete 12 reps instead of 10 before I put the bar down, etc.)
· Aim for 1kg PB’s, rather than 5kg PB’s and getting frustrated with yourself (one I personally need to take note of – click: Greg Everett's 1kg Rule)
· Aim to work out for 2 days per week instead of 1
· Aim to even begin working out!
The list is endless.
Don’t get me wrong, recognising that your mind/body is adapting is a great indicator of measurable improvement in real time…and I’m not saying this is a licence for you to throw caution to the wind and train through injury, fatigue and with poor form and/or technique. However if you have goals of progressing in anything, CrossFit related or not, you must set goals, work to reach those goals, break through your limits, and repeat.
-Adam
