CrossFit Tough
The end of summer is a wonderful time.  Everyone is energized, fresh off summer vacations and filled with the best intentions.

CrossFit attendance soars, energy soars and blessed with uncharacteristically wonderful Vancouver weather our members positively glowed.  With great consistency and energized classes came numerous personal bests.  August, September & October have been banner months for CrossFit performance!

But the weather is turning, Dunbar Street is darkened with rains and the days grow short and cold.  Getting up gets harder.  Our gorgeous mountain view is replaced with low lying clouds.  Our routines are no longer fresh and new and exciting and after all our athletic break throughs and personal bests we may find ourselves hitting a plateau.  There are exams, papers, sick kids, sick co-workers, sick spouses.

Quite suddenly attendance drops, consistency falters, the energy in the classes subsides and performances falter.

But only for the novices.

In fitness it is mindset, not experience that separates the novice from the veteran.  You will find novices training hard every January & February (New Year’s resolution) , May & June (bathing suit season ramp-up), September & October (post-vacation return to routine).  In between those key times the novice struggles to stay consistent training only once or twice a week (or less!).

Veterans on the other hand find a way to grind through.  Throughout November & December veterans will keep on working hard and when the novices return to action in January they will be surprised to find that the veterans have jumped up several fitness levels while the novices were away enjoying Christmas vacation.

It is all about mindset.  Are you willing to dig in and keep training even when it gets tough?  Can you do it year after year?

Personally I look forward to these times.  Everyone can sprint ahead when the course runs downhill but how many can keep pushing once we hit the steep incline?

That’s where I make my gains, that’s where I intend to leave the rest of the pack behind.  Are you with me?