Good afternoon CFTP,
Learning new things
Yesterday I partook in a full day of horse riding lessons with a group of Veterans and First Responders. I learned a lot about riding a horse but also learned a lot about how to learn in a group setting.
Never too old (Advanced) to learn new things
I've been riding for about 8 years now and while I don't ride as often as I should, I have gotten pretty comfortable on a horse for a city slicker. It didn't take me long to realize that I have barely scratched the surface on what I am able to do on a horse and it takes hours and hours to really perfect even one move.
I could have gone into this training with the attitude that I didn't need any of this and I ride just fine. I chose to learn. I made the conscious decision to listen to Shamus (the instructor) and get as much out of it as possible.
How often do you come into the gym with the attitude that you already know what you are doing and you just turn off your brain when the coach is going over the movements? How often do you get told to do something a certain way by a coach but in your mind you say, "my way is just fine"?
I think we have all done this. When Shamus told me to do something a certain way that was uncomfortable for me, I could have easily just gone back to the way I was doing things before. The way I do it gets the job done but does that mean it's the only way and does that mean it's the right way? Changing habits is hard but there is a reason coaches ask us to move a certain way, grip the bar a certain way, run a certain way... It's because we have learned either through our training or experience that this way works best for most people.
I had an awesome experience not too long ago with this recent high rep deadlift cycle. I had April in one of my 5:30 AM classes a few weeks ago and this says more about her than me. As she was deadlifting, I noticed that her first rep was a struggle and she seemed to lose her lumbar curve but her next 2 reps were beautiful. I suggested to her to approach the lift like her first was her second. Get set up, tighten the core, take a deep breath, lower down to the bar like the bar was already in your hands and lift.
Then this past week she told me,"with that one change, I went up 30 pounds in my 3-rep max". Guess how long April has been doing CrossFit? 8 years. Not only that... She's a trained Level 1 Coach. Even with all of that, she listened to a coach and she improved.
Recently I am sure you have noticed a shift in the programming. It's taken some getting used to and we are doing movements that we haven't done in a while. I hope you are taking advantage of this change and improving on these movements. We're in this fitness journey for the long haul. We will always be going through different movements and cycles. There will be some that you love and there will be some that you dislike but that doesn't mean they aren't helping you make progress. Be consistent and listen to your coaches.
Thanks for trusting us with your fitness goals. Looking forward to the upcoming Level Method testing that starts next week!
Coach Dan
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