In class, I am constantly reminding others to keep their movements clean, saying, "I would rather you go slow and make it pretty, than go fast and do it ugly." or "Only go as fast as you can and still maintain the standard. I advise members to accomplish small victories that will eventually win the war.
In the past, I have been one of those stubborn athletes who will push through pain and just keep on going at any cost. Lately, however, I have taken my own advice as well as the advice of Jim Wendler's 5-3-1 Strength Program. He states that slow steady gains will eventually turn you into the strongest person in the gym. Today, I am listening.
As the open is drawing near, I hear Michelle's words in the back of my mind, "Now is not the time for an injury." While I want to push myself, I have to change my viewing goggles and look at my workout in a different way. With every work out I am getting stronger, faster, and harder to beat. With each small victory, I will win the war.
I have two stories for you of my experiences with my workouts today...one of success...and I would say the second is one of success as well.
Story one:
WORK OUT OF THE DAY:
7 Rounds Of:
2 Rope Climbs
10 Power Cleans (64lbs)
I am not a strong rope climber, so I was eager to get some practice in. I have always used the "wrap around method" because I feel more secure on the rope, but I know that it is not the most efficient way. So today, I decided to work on the "j-hook" method. My first couple of rounds were brutal. I even fell from the top of the rope all the way down on my a$#. I was feeling a little defeated. I was struggling. I could hear voices around me, some of cheers and encouragement, others of ..."just try the modification". I was determined to win this battle. By the time I got to round 6 and 7, I had figured out how to get up that damn rope! My 6th and 7th round were my strongest ascents. Small victory....SUCCCESS!
Story #2:
My hip flexors have been a little tight. (Specificially my iliopsoas muscle...Which technically makes up 3 different muscles: the iliacus, the psoas major, and the psoas minor).
I felt really good after my WOD today and decided that it was so beautiful outside that I would go on a 3 mile run. About 400m into my run, my hip flexors tightened up and made it very uncomfortable to run. My normal running stride was now dysfunctional. I had bad mechanics. I told myself, to keep going, it will work itself out. 400m later, no luck.. it just got tighter. At this moment, I decided that I was going to not be the "normal stubborn me" and take my own advice and not complete the 3 mile run. I am going to listen and give the attention my tight muscles need and complete my 5k another time. I walked instead. SUCCESS... Listen today and come back stronger tomorrow.
I came home and studied my muscle anatomy books to see what exactly my problem was so I could fix it. I also went to MobilityWod.com for advice as well.
Kelly Starett... I needed to see/read this today... Thanks for keeping us all in check...
Hey Mwodies,
Today’s episode is about shifting our thinking away from a reactive model of movement dysfunction to a little more sustainable way of thinking. Athletes are stubborn “if it ain’t broke and I’m kicking your ass, don’t fix it” kind of people. We are asking the wrong questions. We should not be asking, how good are you? We should be asking, how much better can you be? Minimizing movement variables, force dumps, and torque bleeds, is the same thing as protecting the athlete from injury. The data sets are huge. Run like a jackass, get hurt. Pull with a crappy back position, get hurt. Eventually. And this is the problem with the reactive model, if we wait for pain or dysfunction to inform us that we need to change technique then we are being suckered out of finding out how much better we can be. And, now we have to deal with that torn labrum or fried heel cord. Sweet. We have to few movement with a different lens. Open circuit positions and over tensioned systems are the root cause of 98% of the problems that the typical athlete faces. This means, that sore elbow from squatting and pullups? It’s a preventable disease.
i love your ass
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