Do you set goals? If you don’t, then you are missing out on a significant source of motivation. In setting goals for yourself, you are not only laying out a master plan, but you’re also giving your coaches and teammates fuel to help keep you motivated. In CrossFit there are a ton of goals that you can set for yourself. There is always something to strive to get better at. That’s why we love it! It can be getting your first unassisted muscle up or your first pull up. It can be setting a PR in a lift or a wod. Heck, it can even be based on making someone else better. You may want to be more invlolved with the gym community or get to know everyone in the box better. All types of goals are good. I think it is very important to write down goals that you have for yourself and share them. Start off with a short term goal, something that you forsee yourself doing relatively soon. Then write down a long term goal, something that you want to accomplish very badly. Normally, these goals will take time, sacrifice, and commitment, but with hard work they can and will happen. Last, write down a dream. A goal that is so big it may seem unreachable, but with the right attitude and work ethic might just happen. Even if it never happens, it is always good to dream.
When I was a kid, I had this dream to play professional football as any young football player does. I never really took it too seriously until the summer after my senior year of high school. I had just ended what, in my opinion, was the worst year of my life on and off the football field. I had no direction, and despite wanting to play big time college football, I ended up at Moorpark Junior College. Not at all where I wanted to end up. Feeling sorry for myself one day, I stumbled upon this article about a local football player from Granada Hills who went to a DIII college and was then in camp with the Dallas Cowboys. It just so happened that he also played the same position, inside linebacker, as I did. It hit home with me and I remember thinking to myself, “If this guy can do it, then so can I.” I did not need to play pro ball, but I did want to play for a 4 year school and I decided to post this article on the wall in my room. Every day I looked at it and would read parts of it. For a year straight I looked at it. I studied really hard, practiced like there was no tomorrow, and lived in the weight room. In doing so I found myself after my first year getting admitted to Occidental College to play football. I had a 3.96 GPA and was offered academic scholarships to play ball at one of the top DIII schools in the nation. Long term goal achieved. I still had that dream to play pro ball, but focused on several short term goals that I knew were attainable. I never wanted to get a C in any class. I wanted to graduate on time. I wanted a starting job on the football team and I wanted to get into and attend graduate school. I had a long list, but I wanted to accomplish as many things on this list as possible. I took my artice with me, put it in a place where I could see it in my dorm, and everyday I looked at it. A constant reminder of what I wanted to accomplish. I would never let anyone call me a dumb jock or treat me like I could not accomplish what I set my mind to. I would not let anyone tell me I couldn’t do it, nor would I let them doubt me. I refused to surround myself with negative people who would dream about the future but never doing anything about it. I worked my ass off and dreamed big until one day after a phenomenal senior season, I got the opportunity I had only dreamed about. I was offered a pro football contract to play overseas. Dream accomplished, wow! However, this was after several long and short term goals were accomplished first. I never recieved a C in college. I graduated on time. I got into graduate school, and I was a starter for 2 years. Dreams can happen when you set your mind to it and I got my own article to go right next to the one that had motivated me that summer day.
So I ask you all to do the same. Set goals for yourself. Write them down and put them in a place where you can see them. Find your article if it helps. I have set goals my whole life. Not just athlete-related. Let us know your goals and share them. We want to help you achieve them.
Fitness, Strength, Community!
WARM UP:
400 M. Run / Row
3 Rounds
5 Pass Throughs (Over)
10 OHS
10 Good Mornings
5 Pass Throughs (Under)
20 Sec. Handstand Hold
Then:
Shoulder Mobility
SKILL:
3 Rounds
10 Bar Roll Outs
10 Supine BB Row (Adv. Ring Rows)
5 Strict Pull Ups
5 SHSPU (Adv. add a deficit 2-6″)
LIFT:
Snatch
3 @ 70%
3 @ 75%
2 @ 80%
2 @ 85%
1 @ 90%
1 @ 95%
3 @ 75%
WOD:
“GENKI DAMA” (SPIRIT BOMB)
EMOM…(For as long as possible)
3 Snatch (135/95)
3 OHS
3 SHSPU
*If you complete 10 rounds, add one rep to each movement for each additional minute.
**For example, minute 11 would be 4 Snatch+ OHS + 4 HSPU. Minute 12 would be 5 of each, and minute 13 would be 6 of each.
POST WOD:
Shoulder Mobility and Roll
