5 Training Thoughts and Ideas For 2022

  1. Positive thoughts and habits

Most of you will have a handful of health or fitness goals. Having goals are important drivers for us and keep us striving for improvement, they also prevent us getting stale or stuck in a monotonous training pattern.

Imagine if we set a goal for you to get 50 unbroken push-ups within 30 days (proper, chest to the floor, no floor humping push-ups) Firstly, that’s a tough challenge, but it’s something we would all like to push ourselves to achieve. If this is a new movement for you, maybe that goal will be 20 unbroken, or 20 unbroken incline push-ups. We want you to achieve your goal, not be disheartened by it. It needs to be realistic.

You might start with doing 10 sets of 5 within 10 min, for the first week then increase that for the second week.

Another idea for goal setting, is to work on 1 goal at a time, it’s like having a list of things to do in a small amount of time, you may get them done, but at a sub-par standard, and likely need to go back and redo them, and let’s face it, you don’t want to have to half clean the toilet twice. If you can’t Pull up, a bar muscle up might not be the most realistic immediate goal. So, pick your goal, stick to it, have a plan and be thorough with it, once it’s reached, plan your next goal… are you thinking what I’m thinking Pinky?!

Be smart about it, be realistic, talk to your coaches, Annie will cheer you on, Dave has so many years of experience and various drills to try, Bonnie will critique the crap out of your push-ups, I mean, happily explain the standards and how to reach them, breaking down the movement and making it easier. You’ve got this, and we’ve got you

  1. Sleep

Get those z’s in. There are articles out the wazoo on how important sleep is, for your recovery, for your mind, for your soul, for world peace.

Its so easy to get into bad habits, so easy to finish one more episode on Netflix, pushing that bedtime back further and further. 6 or 7 hours isn’t enough, that short amount of time isn’t enough for muscle recovery, its not enough for your body to reset, you’ll probably find that if you sit down in the afternoon, your eyelids will feel heavy and might even unintentionally have a disco nap. If you train on a tired body, injuries happen, when injuries happen, that affects your frame of mind, then sets you back on your goals, and that Jenga tower just keeps tumbling down.

Sleep. Aim for 8 – 8. 5 hours. You’ll thank me, or your body will, or we’ll silently just pat ourselves on our backs when you PB

  1. Overtraining

Don’t do it. Thanks for listening to my ted talk.

Hahahah, I’m not even kidding, just don’t overtrain. Most of us aren’t getting to the next CrossFit Games, I mean, even in the Master’s category, they have a 5km Run… that’s me out.

Its so easy to get excited, the CrossFit bug gets under your skin, you’re reaching your goals, you’re improving, you’re PB’ing, you’re getting stronger and fitter. You’ve watch Redeemed and the Dominant 3 times, and critiquing Matt Frasers lifting technique and comparing your 6 pack to Tia-Clair, and you’ve got a deposit on the plane trip to Madison… But in reality, we have jobs, families, we may or may not be on a first name basis with the Bartender at our local (absolutely no judgement there, it’s just common decency). Our fitness journey is meant to complement our lives, enhance our quality of life, it’s our hour of sanity for ourselves. Yes, be consistent, yes, come in, yes train hard, yes set goals, yes get your chest to the floor on your push-ups. But unless you’re sponsored by FitAid, own 47 types of no bulls, see the physio 4 times a week , Have a nutritionist set a tailored meal plan specifically for you, sleep 8  -8.5 hours a night  and have been training consistently for years, don’t come in morning and night 7 days a week, that will burn you out, lead to injuries and push you back and make you feel a little disheartened…. Back to that tumbling Jenga tower. See point 3.

  1. Find a Balance

So yes, don’t overtrain, also yes, be consistent. Training regularly is physically beneficial; we benefit mentally from it too. We must put the effort in, come into classes, be present. Coming once a week won’t balance out the weekend beers, try for at least 3 days. Maybe to compliment your training, you do a yoga class once a week, try some guided meditation before bed, or add some stretching and mobility to your daily routine.  Have the high intensity and the low intensity > balance. There are many programs out there to compliment your training to help rehabilitate, stretch and strengthen. We’d be happy to point you in the right direction. You can ask Dave about his extensive warm up, stretching and mobility routine he does daily

  1. Steps

Get your steps in, set a goal, and do it. 10,000 a day is a great goal, most of us have a smart watch that tracks our steps, which leaves no excuses. Take the stairs instead of the escalators, walk to the corner shop instead of drive (to buy milk, not a slushie) Go for a 30 min walk before work or on your lunch break… is very manageable. Meet up with friends and catch up on the goss , or vent about your partner not putting their damn dirty socks in the washing basket. Therapy and steps, it’s a win win!

Happy 2022, train hard, play hard

Coach BONNIE

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