I'll tell you in a moment why you started CrossFit or whatever your fitness company of choice is. A bold prediction, I know. And here it is:
Nobody really wants to get fit. And nobody just wants to lose weight and tone up.
Why do we train?
Losing weight and building muscle are means to an end, just like CrossFit is to you. Ultimately, we do all of these things to make us feel better. Losing weight and building muscle are just ways for that.
The really big discovery of CrossFit is when we realize we can feel better based on what our bodies can do, not how it looks (or more precisely, how we think we're looking in the mirror).
We may have originally joined a gym because we weren't happy with the way we looked or felt. Somewhere there is a sense of inadequacy. "If I lost just a few pounds, I would feel better."
But how quickly does that go away when we find ourselves in an environment that accepts us for who we are?while at the same time encouraging ourselves to improve ourselves. People around us believe that we are capable of things we haven't seen yet, and that leads to victories that we never thought possible.
The power of a strong community
On our first day we hit the gym and saw superhuman beings lifting monstrous weights and controlling their bodies as if they existed in weightlessness. Now we're part of the same club.
"Remembering why we started and looking back at how far we have come takes a little effort as we tend to recognize the challenges and our shortcomings."
However, over time, that feeling of doubt or inadequacy can come back with our physical ability. We adapt and often forget that we laughed once when someone told us we could do a pull-up. Now we're pissed off that we can't get ten uninterrupted muscle gains. What is it about?
This will keep you positive about your progress
If you are frustrated with your (alleged) lack of progress, Here are five tips to help you enjoy the process and stay satisfied with what you are doing:
# 1: Remember – you are with friends
Remember you are among friends. Seriously, remember. Name another environment where everyone around you just wants to see your success. Do they greet you with a big, happy hello and poke in the office, or do they tell you about the latest fire that needs to be put out? Does your family look excited to see you or are they telling you the washing machine is broken?
# 2: Enjoy having time to yourself
This is your headroom. Everything else matters for an hour or two each day. For those excruciating twenty minutes of this horrific burpee and rowing workout, you don't think about the guy who didn't write back to you. In the thirty seconds before a PB back squat, you're not wondering how to tell your mom you won't be making dinner on Sunday. Forget everything. This. Is. Her. Place.
# 3: remember the progress you've already made
There was a time when you dreamed about it. You never thought that you would be addicted to exercise. Gyms were for Meatheads, and you were just an office worker. Now you're a certified badass in Metcons, with brand new wrist wraps that will definitely help break that overhead squat barrier.
# 4: Don't focus on perfection
Nobody is perfect. You know that. That guy with a torn six pack? He wished he hadn't blown up on 400-meter runs. That super fast guy? He wished he didn't have to roll so much foam because his calves were sore. That muscle building ninja? He really wants to leave his Power Clean PB behind. Nobody is perfect.
# 5: be your own best friend
If that was your best friend who told you this, what would you say to her? Yes, yes, I know it's different with you, because of that and because of this other thing. But what would you really say to her? Would you tell her that you are proud of her and that she makes herself great and that she inspires you? So take some of your own medicine and find out that you are fine. And be happy, damn it!
Reflect on your progress and challenges
Remembering why we started and looking back how far we have come takes a little effort as we tend to recognize the challenges and our shortcomings. When we lose our chest-to-bar pull-ups, it's so easy to get frustrated. We can keep hitting our head against the wall and try to force it. But we are much more productive and successful when we are happy and in a good mood.
So take a deep breath and look at all the great things that you have achieved since you first walked your gym door. Get off the lucky treadmill. It's probably not a TrueForm anyway.
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Photos courtesy of RX’d Photography.