1. Change it up! Add some variation to your workouts:
When we do the same thing day in and day out our bodies get really good at doing that one thing. It’s called adaptation and means that the first day of your workout routine will give you a big bang for your buck. After that the workout will get easier and easier as you adapt to it while your results get less and less. Change things up all the time.
Take different classes, do long and short workouts, make some workouts heavy and some light. In CrossFit we vary the workout every day. Different movements, different weights, different time domains. This way the workout never gets boring and keeps us improving month after month, year after year.
2. Make it Functional:
Functional Movements use big muscle groups and help us move large loads long distances – creating great amounts of power. They are the natural movements that our bodies are designed to do. Stand up, pick something up, get off the ground, pull yourself up, put something up high. By training Functional Movements we get a workout that is extremely effective – AND extremely transferable to our everyday lives.
Because these movements move long distances and use lots of muscles they are naturally complex. Start by getting proper instruction on a range of bodyweight movements – squats, push ups, pull ups, sit ups – then move on to weighted moves like deadlifts and shoulder presses. Make sure your trainer is certified in teaching the movements and has hands-on experience.
3. Consistency Day In and Day Out:
Working out once doesn’t cut it. As you start a new program don’t expect to crush it and get astonishing results in a single day, week or month. Progress might come slow at first, keep showing up and putting in the work and pretty soon you’ll be surprised at what you can do!
Remember, our lives are long and we need to live them like that – long. We can have short-term goals, but we shouldn’t break our fitness into 30- or 90-day increments.
4. Turn Up the Intensity:
We have a saying in CrossFit, “Intensity is the number one independent variable associated with all the positive improvements you’re looking for.” With one extremely big caveat: You must be able to maintain good form with that intensity.
Adding competition to your workout can create that intensity. Do a workout “For Time” or make playing a sport your workout.
5. Find a Community:
We all have days when we’re tired, cranky, busy or otherwise tied to an excuse to not workout. Having a group of like-mined people expecting you to be at the gym is the perfect way to pull you through those rough times.
If you feel intimidated and judged at your gym, find a new one.
6. Measure Everything:
Our bodies lie to us. “Feeling” like we got a good workout isn’t enough, we need to know it by making it measurable. If you’re not measuring and recording your workouts you’re really just plodding along in the dark. When you hit a plateau or injury you won’t know why and you won’t know what to change to push through it.
Making a running workout measurable is easy: how long did it take me to run a specific distance or how far did I run in a specific time? Weightlifting workouts can be measured by how much weight or how many reps you were able to do.
7. Diet is the Base of Everything:
The human body rebuilds itself every day with the nutrients we eat. You are literally what you eat. If it’s crap you’ll have a hard time losing weight and recovering from workouts. If it’s a wide variety of good, whole, clean foods your body will thrive!
Start by keeping a food log: write down everything you eat and drink, both the type of food and the quantity. Review it and be honest with yourself. Then make a change. It can be a big change but it doesn’t have to be. CrossFitters generally follow The Zone or Paleo diets and there is a wealth of information out there about each.
8. Try a CrossFit Class:
We hold a free class Saturdays at 11 a.m. for any and all who want to see what CrossFit can do for them!
