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345 days until Ultra Beast redemption… |
One of the things I regret about my formal education is that we hardly ever had “hands on” experience in the gym. Now, to give credit where credit is due, probably 95% of my graduating class had intentions of going on to further their education in the medical field, physical therapy, cardiac therapy, or athletic training, and NOT personal training, so hands on experience in the weight room wasn’t really necessary as far as most of our curriculum was concerned. Don’t get me wrong….we had plenty of hands on experience elsewhere, in things like VO2 max testing, body composition measurements, and taking blood pressures on a test subject that is running on a treadmill (which is exactly as difficult as it sounds). I fully understand biomechanics of the moves I’m attempting, and I can tell you exactly what is happening on the electron transport chain during oxidative phosphorylation of the Krebs cycle during a concentric contraction of a dumbbell curl.
But for the life of me I can’t figure out why my squat form sucks so much.
Now, for those of you reading this who I may have trained in the past: have no fear. I’m spot on correcting OTHER people’s form. I’m just horrible with my own.
Geoff and I have been killing it at the gym/in the box (have I mentioned how stoked I am to have BOTH in the same building?). I’ve been neglecting my cardio other than the occasional plyo, but have been willingly following him around with a relatively intense lifting repertoire. And it’s fun, and I’m learning new things. Like how I’ve gone 30 years with never doing a clean and jerk (and if you aren’t sure what that is, watch this video. Yeah that chick is 14, and totally showing me…well probably all of us…up).
One thing I love about crossfit is that it absolutely pushes me out of my comfort zone.
One thing I hate about crossfit is that I’m not instinctively good at it.
I’m almost always in “beast mode” at the gym.box, and so it’s hard to take a step back and sacrifice my ego for form and safety. I can spring and box jump like a champ, but I suck at deadlifts, squats, and the aforementioned clean and jerk. It’s very hard to have to drop down to an itty bitty 15 lb barbell, with no weights on it, to practice, when everyone around you is lifting heavy. Now, I’ve lucked out in the boyfriend department for oh so many reasons, but one of them is most certainly that he knows his stuff in the gym. And he has the patience to teach me said “stuff” when I get ridiculously frustrated that my biomechanics don’t seem to work the same as everyone elses.
Running has always come easily to me. Granted I’m not the fastest or most efficient runner, but from the start almost 6 years ago, I’ve certainly been able to hold my own in the middle to better than average category without above average training or effort. So facing and attempting moves and exercises in the gym that do not feel like second nature has proven to be slightly frustrating.
OK more than slightly.
But I suppose this is half the fun of pushing yourself in the gym/box/on the road. Sure, there is the health aspect, of which I am a HUGE advocate of. But then there is the other side. The side that pushes to you to be stronger than you were the day before. To push yourself outside of your comfort zone. To try new things, to conquer new things, and to move on to something bigger and more difficult. There was a time this summer when I dreaded the rope climb at all of the Spartan races, and now I climb the rope at the gym with ease every single day. One day the clean and jerk will be old news too.
Everyday. Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger.
What is an exercise or sport that you struggle with? Or , is there something you struggled to overcome in the gym that you are now proficient in?
Renee @ Bendifulblog
I love the picture at the bottom! Get it girl!
Sarah
[I love your blog!] When I started crossfit 8 months ago I couldn’t do 1 unassisted pullup… as a lifelong athlete and runner, fitness always came easy… pull ups? NOTSOMUCH. Which only inspired me to work on it AFAP. And I can now kip and do unassisted pull ups (no need to share my max rep)… but the most important thing I’ve learned through crossfit is that no matter how strong you are… you have to WANT to get over that bar and BELIEVE you can. Its as much will and confidence as it is strength, in my opinion.
Amanda - RunToTheFinish
oh what an interesting question..and I still agree with you that hands on teaching would be more beneficial in pretty much all situations!
Hmm pull ups have been my nemesis, but I’m working on that now and hope before long I can finally get it done
Laura B.
Another with pull up problems. Or toes to bar. I injured my trap several years ago and struggle with control and strength on my right side. I can manage a few unassisted kipping, but I have easily picked up Olympic lifts and the rest. This is going to be a struggle and something I really have to work on.
Kim
For many years all I did was run (a lot). As I got older, I had to mix it up and add in other activities and weight training. For years I couldn’t do push-ups to save my life. Now they are one of my favorite moves and I try all different kinds of challenges with them.
I’m hoping to try cross fit sometime – reading your blog is inspiring me to make it happen!
Brittany
I LOVE your Reebok shirt! I’ve never done crossfit but it looks like a great workout and something I would like.
TwynMawrMom
I never ran a mile before my 30th birthday…it took me 3 weeks to do it without stopping and I wasn’t even overweight! I just always said “I don’t have a runner’s body.” Now I just ran my first half-marathon and still don’t have the body for running, but I just keep running, so it gives me confidence I could “fake” some other things too…
Let’s see a video of some of that beast mode in the gym! Just imagining it is making me LOL!!
Courtney from Journey of a Dreamer
I am right there with you! It bothers me SO bad not to be instinctively good at something. CrossFit pushes me out of my comfort zone, which is why I love it!
Megan
Im the opposite of you when it comes to working out- the stuff in the gym comes far more easily to me than running does. I have to work at it, but not like I have to work at running. After a year, I still have issues with stamina while running. Im thrilled with my 4:1 intervals and consider it a huge accomplishment for me.
but go to a strength circuit class and do a bunch of weighted exercises- im all for it and gain strength much faster.
it also kills me that running is HARD for me. Im all for WORKING hard to get better- but to work hard to even be able to do it at all, just pisses me off. :/