Recently I was asked an interesting question. It went something like this: how do you continue to be motivated at a time like this? The person asking the question expressed finding it very difficult to be motivated to train by themselves. Which is really common, one of the best parts of a CrossFit group class is having your buddies and coaches there to keep you on track on those days you are not feeling it. To be fair I do have an advantage over most of you because our coaches need to do the workouts before we coach them. Which means we are used to training alone. What is important for all of us to take away from today’s blog is the distinction between motivation and commitment.
We have all been that person: January one we sign up for that thing we have been on the fence about for a while. This time it will be different because the motivation is there and there is no way this level of motivation will ever change. From here on out, we declare, it is all rainbows and unicorns because of this motivation. Unfortunately for all of us life sometimes has a different plan. We get sick, our work schedule changes, our kids get crazy, the sky starts falling, etc. Things will come up that shake our motivation but when we are committed we make ourselves able to overcome these speed bumps/setbacks. Motivation is a feeling, it comes and it goes but commitment is something else, it offers a way to work around limiting circumstances.
The other day I was lying on the couch and I happened to have a fifteen to twenty minute nap. Just long enough to feel really groggy and like I wanted to go back to bed. Ironically I woke up five minutes before my scheduled training/WOD filming time. Had nothing ready, felt groggy, and wanted to just live on the couch for the next few days. The only thing that got me off the couch and out the door, on time, was the commitment I have to the process of training.
Commitment at this point may sound like some magic pill, that gets us psyched and ready to go. This is not the case either. We all know those people at work, school, or any other activity that are super committed and will show up to do the things but are negative Nancy’s. We can be one of those people but where is the fun in that? Some days will be harder than others and we don’t want to BS ourselves like the Lego Movie song everything is awesome. At the same time we have a great opportunity to make a decision to put our best foot forward on that day. After my nap I arrived at the gym sleep still in my eyes, after I filmed, the video for the next day’s WOD, I started to set up. In the past what this would look like is thirty minutes of me walking around the gym, moping about how tired I am but in this moment I had a decision to make. I said to myself “you know you are doing this damn thing so let’s get our sh!t together and get started.” In that moment I had my mission and I knew my time line which meant it was go time. To add another layer to this, that could have set me back, the WOD was 7×7 Deadlift which is literally the only thing I was questioning being able to do with the equipment that is not lent out. I put all the plates on the Oppen bar and after twenty minutes of SLIPS got in a fun lifting day.
This situation is hard on all of us and I hope you can see parallels between yourself and my story. Please do not just shrug it off and say “you have it easy because this is what you do”. We all have challenges and they may look different but with commitment and maybe a bit of fake motivation we can keep moving forward.
How are you doing? Do you need support with a routine to help you move forward? Would a little accountability go a long way? Would additional accountability or Zoom personal training support you? If you are struggling or are interested in exploring the above options please reach out to your coach ([email protected] ) and we are here to support your training through this uncertain time.
Motivation seems like the thing but commitment will take you so much farther. At the same time we don’t want to be committed and miserable. By making a decision in those times we lack motivation it will be easier for us to move forward and hopefully come out the other side a little better for it.
We are here to Empower you on your fitness journey please let us know how we can help.
Sunday Notes:
Medball clean is a squat clean
Make sure if you are using a back pack have the straps tightened or tied up
Have the rep scheme written in front of you
Warm up
2 rnds
10 inch worms
20 frog jumps
Tech
Med ball clean ( = squat clean)
WOD
24-21-18-15-12-9-6-3
Med ball cleans
Push ups
Cool down