Well we have just finished another CrossFit Games Open. What are we supposed to do going forward? The Open, while often a great experience filled with PRs and firsts, can also be a greatly humbling experience for many. A spotlight is shown on your weaknesses and areas that you have ignored in your training for the past year. If you couldn’t do double unders in 2017, why were you still unable to do them in 2018? Did you set a goal to acquire them and then work tirelessly to achieve that goal? Or did you give up on learning them when the process proved to be frustrating?

This is a great time of year to set some fitness goals for yourself moving into the next phase of training. But even more importantly than simply stating a goal, is having a plan to achieve that goal and sticking with it. Skills, and strength, take time to develop and even longer to master, they are only earned through hard work and dedication, not wishful thinking and picking up a jump rope for 5 minutes every 2 weeks.

So what are your goals? Double unders? A strict pull-up? A better engine? To be stronger? If you are like many of us, your answer is quite possibly “all of the above”. The mistake many people make in goal setting at this point in time is trying to get better at everything all at once. This leads to lack of focus and frustration when you seem to not be getting anywhere. My suggestion to you is to make a list of every goal you have, BUT to then prioritize that list by what is most important to you to achieve. Focus on the 1 or 2 things at the top of the list until they are accomplished, learned, or improved to a point that it is no longer your one glaring weakness and biggest goal. Then move on to the next one. Even spending 5 minutes every day on your double unders or 10 working on shoulder strength and pull-up exercises every day you come to the box will add up over time, and lead to you making those weaknesses into strengths.

If you have any questions on the best way to approach your goals please do not hesitate to talk to me about it!

~Coach Ryan