--Sometimes you just have to round your back to deadlift the barbell. By this I mean that sometimes you just have to put yourself out there, and you can't be worrying about good form. Sometimes you simply have to risk looking ridiculous, desperate, or being wrong, to get the job done. Sometimes you have to break the rules to get what you truly want.
I once drove 1000 miles to "go see about a girl". It didn't work out but I don't regret it. I took my best shot and lost. I had to see if something was there, and that is what did. I left everything I had on the court, gave 110%, all your favorite overplayed sports cliches. No what-ifs here.
I once drove 1000 miles to "go see about a girl". It didn't work out but I don't regret it. I took my best shot and lost. I had to see if something was there, and that is what did. I left everything I had on the court, gave 110%, all your favorite overplayed sports cliches. No what-ifs here.
--But if you're rounding your back all the time then you are doing something wrong. Bad form should be the exception, not the rule. Most of the time you *shouldn't* be rounding your back on the deadlift. "Whatever it takes" form needs to be something you are doing in only those special cases. Otherwise you risk burning yourself out and being inefficient with your energy. Driving 1000 miles to see about a girl once or maybe twice in a lifetime is awesome. Driving 1000 miles to see about a girl every month is just stupid (unless it is the same one each time and you both are in a great relationship, in that case congratulations). If you're putting more into your job, your life, your friendships, your relationships, and even your workout than you are getting out of it then perhaps you need to reevaluate.
If you are doing CrossFit right, you will find yourself thinking about efficient movement patterns. Maybe we will also find yourself thinking about being smart about other things too. Life is just easier if we don't make too many dumb mistakes (although we all make dumb mistakes of course). There's a reason why they tell you to wear a suit to job interviews (in most fields), to not try too hard to impress on a first date, pay your bills on time to avoid late fees, drive a certain way to save gas, think before you say something inflammatory, and so on.
It's hard for me to do sometimes I admit. On the one hand, I can be quite analytical to a point where it doesn't serve me, being too cautious instead of taking chances. On the other hand, I often push too hard too. I'm loyal, I'm stubborn, I hate to give up on someone or something I've put a lot of energy in. But I think I've gotten better at both--at knowing when the moment calls for bold action on the one hand, and when it calls for being rational and sober on the other. I've had to do things such as give up on projects that were going nowhere and end relationships that weren't working anymore. Painful for me to let things go but I learned that I had to do it.
--You're doing it right if you are growing in your weaknesses. I learned this during the Open. CrossFit is really about effective movement patterns as much as anything else. If you come across something you struggle with and you work on it, you are improving in a way you truly need to improve.
When it comes to our life away from CF: I think of a great bit of advice I got: "Pick the journey for the way that it will change you at least as much for the final destination". Isn't that why we like certain workouts? I mean, getting under a heavy barbell isn't fun in itself except for what we know it is doing for us. I think that applies to life outside the box too. Don't just think about what you will get out of it but how it will enable you to grow and contribute. Will you finding yourself liking yourself better or will it blunt your soul working for a cause you don't really believe in to make money? I think about that was why I joined CrossFit, why I made the move to Maryland, why I decided to get my certification. I am looking forward to help others get stronger and fitter and lead more effective lives. I'm looking forward to helping someone get in touch with their inner athlete perhaps for the first time in their life so that they feel empowered and more confident. At the same time I also know that coaching will make me a better person and man--more empathetic, a better leader and communicator.
If you are doing CrossFit right, you will find yourself thinking about efficient movement patterns. Maybe we will also find yourself thinking about being smart about other things too. Life is just easier if we don't make too many dumb mistakes (although we all make dumb mistakes of course). There's a reason why they tell you to wear a suit to job interviews (in most fields), to not try too hard to impress on a first date, pay your bills on time to avoid late fees, drive a certain way to save gas, think before you say something inflammatory, and so on.
It's hard for me to do sometimes I admit. On the one hand, I can be quite analytical to a point where it doesn't serve me, being too cautious instead of taking chances. On the other hand, I often push too hard too. I'm loyal, I'm stubborn, I hate to give up on someone or something I've put a lot of energy in. But I think I've gotten better at both--at knowing when the moment calls for bold action on the one hand, and when it calls for being rational and sober on the other. I've had to do things such as give up on projects that were going nowhere and end relationships that weren't working anymore. Painful for me to let things go but I learned that I had to do it.
--You're doing it right if you are growing in your weaknesses. I learned this during the Open. CrossFit is really about effective movement patterns as much as anything else. If you come across something you struggle with and you work on it, you are improving in a way you truly need to improve.
When it comes to our life away from CF: I think of a great bit of advice I got: "Pick the journey for the way that it will change you at least as much for the final destination". Isn't that why we like certain workouts? I mean, getting under a heavy barbell isn't fun in itself except for what we know it is doing for us. I think that applies to life outside the box too. Don't just think about what you will get out of it but how it will enable you to grow and contribute. Will you finding yourself liking yourself better or will it blunt your soul working for a cause you don't really believe in to make money? I think about that was why I joined CrossFit, why I made the move to Maryland, why I decided to get my certification. I am looking forward to help others get stronger and fitter and lead more effective lives. I'm looking forward to helping someone get in touch with their inner athlete perhaps for the first time in their life so that they feel empowered and more confident. At the same time I also know that coaching will make me a better person and man--more empathetic, a better leader and communicator.
