These words of wisdom came into my email box last night via FemaleCrossfitters yahoo group. Thank you Janet!
She writes regarding Tuesday's SP/GHD couplet:
I was surprised to see how many of you all decided to go with the full55lbs on yesterday's workout. My max shoulder press is in the low60's. The idea of trying to push close to my max weight overhead 147xin a short time doesn't make sense to me. The 55lbs is a weightrecommended for athletes who have much higher max sp. The jolies andevas . . . Not that I do not aspire to being able to do such a workoutbut I do not think that gutting it out for 30 or 40 minutes to achievethe high weight is the most efficient way to achieve this ambition.
Yesterday's workout was meant to be a metabolic conditioningworkout--lots of reps in a relatively short time. If one takes 35minutes to do the work out it means that they did approximately 4.5reps per minute= 13 seconds per rep. At this pace the workout changesfrom a metcon workout to a strength workout. The Crossfit journal'Template'article of FEB '03 gives a very clear and succinctexplanation of the flow and order of workouts.
But what about getting stronger? Rippetoe says incremental additionsof weight make a difference--even just adding a pound or two. Yourbody is smart and grows from even the slightest tweaking even when itseems inconsequential to our conscious and driven selves.
We have a set of fractional plates, 1lb, three quarter, half, and ondown. Talk about feeling silly lifting a long, large bar with thesepuny little weights on them. Yep, that's me . . .
Lastly, if you all have not learned how to dump a bar PLEASE do sonow. I dropped one on my neck doing a shoulder press in March. I hadonly raised the weight a pound or two but it was more than I could do. Ihad never thought about what to do in such a situation. I assumed Iwould always have a sense when I was at my limit. It fell and hit myT1 vertebra as I tried to fold under it. What an uncomfortableevening that was. Though I prolly got off lucky.
So, in conclusion . . . start small and safe, keep moving it up even if it seems like a superficial and insignificant amount, and dream big. . . the 20 fluid pull-ups and big weights are just around the corner.
Janet
This is great reminder that I need to suck up my pride and keep perfecting my form while slowly adding weight. Perfect form leads to the ability to move the heavier weights well. It's hard to do, since I'm starting to get so competitive. But I just have to remember, I'm not competing against anyone but myselft (Until I get to the games!). Constantly competing against my last effort to beat my former time and prove to myselft I've gotten better.
So here's to starting small.
1 comment:
Angela, this is an important rule to remember. We always want to beat ourselves, but form is the most important thing. You will find that you will start moving more and more weights as you are more dialed in on your form. It's annoying to wait for that moment because we are all so competitive, but it will come. If it is any consolation, think of this. When I began CrossFit in September of last year, I did not know how to clean a bar. I used to reverse curl things. I did not learn to properly clean a bar (because I couldn't break the habit, not because Jerry didn't try to teach me) until about February/March of this year. It took awhile. When we worked cleans the other day, I maxed at 120. Form form form. It will come. :)
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