I still can remember very clearly when I was a kid my mom told me that I could be anything I would like to be when I grow up but… I would have to work hard for it.
At the time I didn’t believe her and frankly I didn’t really seem to care.
If you would ask me now, I would say that my mom is a smart woman ;)
So how do we become who we want to be? How do we reach our goals and dreams? And why is it that we succeed and fail? How do we set Goals and Crush them?
First of all we will need to take a good look at ourselves and discover why it is that we do what we do… CrossFit.
So ask yourself this question and write the answer down: Why do I CrossFit?
This might seem a simple question but if you think hard enough it isn’t… why is it that you’ve chosen CrossFit and not just any other fitness related sport?
After you’ve deeply thought about this question and have written it down, you’ll have a better understanding on how to create goals that are supporting your "why".
Because I’ll be honest… I also want to podium at the CrossFit Games and beat Mat Fraser, but taking a good look at myself, I realize it sounds cool but it’s not supporting my “Why”.
Because we do constantly varied functional movements at relatively high intensity most crossfitters have an endless list of things they want to achieve and because the list is so long we get discouraged easily.
My advice is to stick to max 3 goals which are the most important and relevant to you.
This way we can focus better and won’t get distracted that easily.
So let’s start with a goal… how do we formulate it well so it will give us a clear vision on where we want to finish. To do so we are going to use the S.M.A.R.T. principle.
A goal needs to be:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-bound
A great formulated goal is pretty nice and all, but it’s means nothing without the daily effort you put into it. So after formulating your Goal, we need to make a solid plan. A plan that is manageable in the time that you can spend on it.
Let’s say as an example your goal would be:
10 unbroken kipping pull-ups before the CrossFit Open starts (that’s end of February in case you didn’t know ;)
That sounds pretty doable, but still we need to have a plan on how to achieve that.
To create a plan is to start at the beginning of this journey by really thinking about what we’ll need to be able to do, that eventually will lead to our goal.
We have to be really specific and precise and how we are going to work towards our goal, step by step.
So as an example our steps could be:
Step 1: 5 x 1 min Dead hang on the rig
Step 2: 5 x 5 Ring rows
Step 3: 5 x 1 Negative pull up (5 seconds)
Step 4: 5 x 1 Strict pull up (rubberband)
- fast forward -
Step 7: 5 x 5 Strict pull up (rubberband)
Step 8: 5 x 1 Strict pull up
Step 9: 5 x 2 Strict pull ups
- fast forward -
Step 12: 5 x 5 strict pull ups
Step 13: 5 x 3 Beat swings
Step 14: 5 x 5 Beat swings
Step 15: And so on... and on... and on...
Now that's a long list, I know! But before you get discouraged be aware that all this work is something you can do easily every day or any other day and it will only take you around 10 minutes to do so.
There is no secret ingredient to success, so you will to have work hard for the things you would like to achieve.
So why is it that even sometimes when you have a solid plan, it still doesn’t work out as you hoped it would? That’s because every solid plan has flaws and we’ll need to evaluate on a regular basis to see if we are still on the right track. That’s why most CrossFit boxes have an wod tracking app which tells you what the workout is of that day, the leaderboard and where you can put your scores and such.
While most people see this app only as a leaderboard app to see who is first or second, I hope that after reading this you’ll think different about it.
This wod tracking app should not be about leaderboarding, it is a tool where you are gathering data so you can measure and track your progress!
So when we need to evaluate if we are still on the right track we can use our app and see from the data that we’ve gathered if we are progressing or not.
If you don’t have an app or anything, then go old-school and use a pen and paper.
Write down the most important stuff you’ll need to measure to track your progress.
So after evaluting if you are making progress it turns out you are on the right track: that’s awesome! Just follow your plan and you’ll get there.
If you are not making progress then we'll have to take a close look on the question: why aren't you?
Is it because you have too much on your to do list? Or maybe you don’t have the time to do all the work that is required?
If you have too much on your to do list then be smart and break your plan into smaller manageable pieces so you will still be able to do it all. Do realize that this will increase the time that you will be busy reaching your goal, but don’t worry… you will still be able to reach it.
If you don’t have the time to do it all then ask yourself this: How bad do you want to reach your goal? Because let’s be honest, who doesn’t have 10 minutes a day to work specifically on their own goal…
So what are your priorities…?
If you can set your priorities straight and schedule time to do the work that is required, you will be succesfull.
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard is a common saying and it’s true. Those who are willing to put in the work they’ll need to do, will be more successful. You will fail many times, but never forget that failing is learning and you’ll become more knowledgeable on how to reach your goal.