Strength Work
Wednesday’s Foundations workshop got me excited about working more on ROM, so I decided to do strength work today instead of hitting the WODs... first things first, right?!I started with snatches and then broke them down into front squats, OHS, and GHDs - all the while keeping it light (between 65-85#) and just plugged away. They felt really good and I had fun, but they weren’t as consistent as I’d have liked. Every time I failed more than 2 reps, I’d drop 10# and just do more.
With Stephanie and Emmit coaching me along, I did at least 6-7 sets of 4 with additional corrective reps thrown in, then hit the GHDs for 4 sets of 10.
Big takeaway: consistency and engaging the glut/ham chain better. I also felt better squat depth using Kurt’s cues from Foundations - rotate the dinner plates & pull the string !! These cues gave me more position awareness and a little more consistency.
Reflections
Looking back, I worked really hard last year, learned some basics, and had solid gains, but I think my biggest lesson from training was working smarter. I didn’t pay as much attention to ROM integrity & consistency back then, all the while hitting these solid PRs with only 8 months between day 1 and basecamp ... the conclusion being how greater the gains I can have this time around armed with more knowledge, 12 months, and a history to glean from. Very exciting, but I need to be more patient.
Speaking of which, I think of Tucker discussing a lot of this in his gymnastics class. He said that a sign of a great athlete is one who has great body awareness and control (i.e., kinesthetic awareness). They can quickly assess what their body needs to do and execute it with efficiently.
That really stuck and has been inspiring. Climbing for decades made my body accustomed to carrying a lot of weight over long distances, so I should feel patient and confident enough knowing that I can let go of my ego and focus on where the coaches are trying to get me.
Reading: Diet and Addiction
I am an addict ... I have substance addictions with sugar, caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. The latter of the 2 never became a problem for me because excessive use isn’t socially acceptable, there are many support systems out there to help you, and I nipped these issues pretty early in life. However, sugar and caffeine is marketed, rationalised, and defended on an epic level ... like crack cocaine, it’s all cheap and highly accessible. Consuming extraordinary amounts of sugar and caffeine has become part of the mainstream American lifestyle. It's ok to give someone the stink eye if they're in public with a ciggy or carrying a 5th of whiskey, but heaven forbid if you give a 2nd look at the big chick in the corner stuffing her face with ice cream?! How is that not seriously FUBAR?!
Anyway, someone suggested I take Concerta to deal with what seems to be ADHD, but I thought about taking a closer look at my behavior and trying at least 1 holistic method before getting an RX. After reprioritising a few things in my life, controlling my intake, and giving my schedule more structure, I’m starting to feel like I’m normalling out in 2 weeks... I immediately noticed fewer of those weird ADHD spurts/crashes after that caffeine-rich post-wod drink or junk food sugar fix.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a strange and energetic character, but I don’t feel so jittery and like I’m jumping out of my skin. Also, my skin texture seems a little less clogged, I feel more motivated/positive, and I’m sleeping a bit better overall.
Chipping away at this book and a few articles thus far:
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