As we finish the 2024 CrossFit Open season, it’s time to reflect on your performance and to be really honest with yourself. How did you do? Did you end up where you thought? Were you disappointed in how it turned out?
I’ve found, for me, in almost every single Open I’ve been in, that there have been holes in my training. Things I put off or didn’t do, whether it was due to how the workouts panned out during the week or whether I cherry picked the ones I really liked (I try my hardest not to do this and stick with my set days of training, no matter what the workouts are).
This year, I loved the Open workouts. They were simple and all inclusive, but they were by no means easy. Anyone and everyone could do them and Castro was right… what made the workouts was the intensity you put into it. I mean, 24.3 wrecked my legs for two days straight!
But back to my original question. How did you do? Did it turn out like you thought? Is there something you want to focus more on over the next year? This is the time to set new goals and intentions and start to be more intentional with your workouts and training.
Do you have to add hours and hours into your training every day? Certainly not! But you can be more intentional with the time you are in the gym. Especially if you want to be able to do something you’ve never done before.
A lot of people want to run before they can walk. They don’t want to master the basics and have the mechanics of the movements down before adding weight or speed or intensity. And truthfully, that’s where people get burnt out or injured.
I’ll admit, I had a bit of an advantage over the last 2.5 years because I purposely had to slow down being postpartum and having had an emergency c-section. I took the time to relearn the basics and ensure I was moving the best I could.
Once I was able to get the mechanics back on point and feeling good, I made sure to focus on consistency. My training days for most weeks are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. I don’t tend to deviate from that as it is what works best for me. And I don’t do a whole lot extra outside of the hour class (other than coaching and training others).
What I do during those hours, however, is I pick something I want to focus on training. I don’t try to go the fastest or hardest every workout; I focus on keeping my feet together during pull-ups or toes to bar, for instance. I focus on doing unbroken snatches. I focus on picking the bar back up or getting back on the rig sooner than I’d like. I focus on having a plan and sticking to my plan, no matter what others are doing around me. I focus on hanging on to the wall ball longer than I’d like – yes, I used to do 10 and drop it because I hate them, lol.
I’m working on improving my engine, but also not killing myself to do so. I’m a 42 year old mom with two kids and I don’t think I’ve slept through the night once in the last 3 years. Some days I have no idea how I function, let alone workout, but I make sure I’m consistent, even if my workout for the day is just movement.
This year’s Open for me was great. I was nervous as all get out going into every single workout, because that’s my MO. But I had a plan for every workout, I stuck to my plan, and I did better than I expected in all of them. I could tell my regular workouts prepared me well for the Open workouts. I picked up the bar to do more thrusters sooner than I would have liked, I stayed on the bar to string more chest to bar pull-ups together, and I was able to do all of my bar muscle ups with ZERO fails (that’s huge for me).
Could I have pushed harder? Absolutely. Am I still happy with my results and how I did? You bet your butt I am! This year was a one and done… I gave each workout my all in my first attempt and let it be.
I’m excited to continue on over the next year and see what happens in 2025.
What goals do you have now? What are you going to focus on in your training? And how can we help?
Have an amazing week! And start focusing on one thing in your workouts to improve. I can’t wait to see what you can accomplish in the next year!
Whitney
