It’s weird but my cardio has been creeping up as a major factor in my workouts of late. I am getting used to “running” again and my cardio seems to be increasing somewhat. That means that my progress with 30WOD is slow, in fact I am only on day 8 as I write this of 14 days. Not to worry, however as I noted in my last post my handstand practice which I was keen to start over has really not happened. At least not so far. I have done a few handstands but I have not spent any time into the skill which is what I need to do in order to progress.
My last few days look like this with the 2 miles being at a leisurely pace just to get my legs used to the pounding once again.
Tuesday, 05/12/2015 44 30WOD2D6 3R 100 DU 25KB Swing 20 boxJ 15 Burpee
Wednesday, 05/13/2015 45 Cardio 2 miles – cisco
Thursday, 05/14/2015 46 Cardio 2 miles – cisco
Friday, 05/15/2015 47 30WOD2D7 75 squats 50 Pcleans 100 walking lunge for time.
Saturday, 05/16/2015 off
Sunday, 05/17/2015 48 Ran 2 miles plus 100 reps of OHP
Monday, 05/18/2015 49 30WOD2D8 Wonderland plus 90 reps each of 95lb clean and pullups sets of 5
Tuesday, 05/19/2015 50 Bench for 200 reps
Just like last time, the loose approach has allowed me too much latitude and for some reason I have been over subbing with the cardio. I do feel a bit better, my heavyness in my legs is mostly gone and I do feel a little looser however I think the running may have compounded my back pain that I had on Sunday.
I am once more frustrated with my slow progress, and each day I have a minor debate about why I should or should not cut back further and try to accelerate my progress. Not only because it’s summer and I would like to go to splash works without scaring the public but also because after my back pain last week I am reminded that being 255lbs is a big job in itself. Even dropping down to 240 would be great progress, but it seems I am cursed to repeat this forever or… is there a decision / change point on my dashboard?
It’s competition week this week in Pickering so I actually only have a 2 day work week which is nice for rest but not great for all the work I need to get done. Also, my girls are under pressure to outperform what they did in Orangeville so tensions are high as we get closer to march in. There are some skills that have gone missing, some that need to be redeveloped regardless of if they will be used or not and of course with one eye on the future some skills that need to be learned. We have 4 weeks left until the end of the season and then another 2 until the end of the year.
The big question is who will stay around for next year? We know the groups are going to be different due to level changes and ages, some may leave, some may arrive but I know for sure that there are some kids I consider to be my core girls. I hope that among everything else that they stay. It’s a tough part of the year, the kids have to decide about next year while their heads are still filled with the dread and stress of competition. I have to agree on the distribution of athletes and develop more stringent testing and evaluations for the coming year. It’s a busy time but with the summer at hand, most faces are smiling.
It’s gymnastics competition time of the year, so my life becomes exponentially more busy when we are ramping up for actual competitions. We have a mock meet tonight and then our first competition of the year this weekend. This time of year reminds me just how much competitive sports have contributed to my successes as an athlete away from the gym. Learning how to handle competition is as much about learning to contain your self as it is beating other athletes. The ability to perform under pressure, to get things right each and every time and to rely on your ability to adapt to failures are all skills that my kids are learning and that I myself still use on a daily basis. Some of them hate to compete, they hate being put on show, they hate the pressure to perform and they hate the stress that accompanies the pressure to win. Others, however, take time to appreciate the opportunity to show what they have learned, the chance to be rewarded for their year long efforts and the now unfashionable opportunity to beat other kids. I was one of those kids. I wanted to perform, I wanted to keep pushing, to compete against others and to prove myself. To this day, and occasionally to my detriment I have that mentality, always trying to push harder, to improve and outperform where I already stand. Oddly enough, this is a skill like any other, I have found over the years that you can change an athlete’s approach enough that they can learn to appreciate (maybe not like) competition as an opportunity rather than a punishment. It’s an important skill too because even during training, far from competition season it’s important for them to have pride in their accomplishment and to continue to drive forward. Once they quit whatever competitive sport they have and are unleashed into the world to look after themselves their own sense of competitiveness and drive is the only thing that is going to keep them going. Not everyone can afford to go to a Crossfit box to get camaraderie, some people like me just can’t take that uber happy idiocy while I work out but it’s OK, I have a fire inside me that keeps me going. That is the thing I try to instil in my kids because I would say that even in this day and age of fitness awareness and healthy living almost all of my girls who I have coached have dropped out of activities once they quite gym. It’s actually really sad, because of course once they drop out they usually continue to eat like they are training 9 hours a week which ends quite badly. then they go off to university with little to no self discipline which is the very cornerstone of a successful first year. University is a success for those who have learned self reliance before they get there.
In the picture I am standing as straight as I can. As you can see, the list is severe, moving my entire upper body 6 inches across to the side. On Saturday there was plenty of pain, but no list. I knew the pain was nerve pain so this was confusing, adding to my paranoia and fear. Oh, and a rage that exceeds all reasonable bounds of human decency.
