This is that time of year when us mere mortals start to talk about what we are going to accomplish in the New Year. You know, quit smoking, lose weight, stop procrastinating, etc. But it seems like New Years resolutions are often doomed to failure because us mere mortals think we have all the time in the world to get ‘er done. Well, if you’ve followed the debate about the Mayan Calendar, which may indicate that it’s game over for all of us toward the end of 2012, you understand that time may just be running out.

What does this mean to us CrossFitters?

First, we are ahead of the game because we are already in action in terms of taking care of our health and fitness, and this proactive stance transfers to other parts of our lives.

Second, we want to get to the top of our game with an action plan now.

So how do we actually get going beyond where we are now?

First, what kinds of goals can you set for yourself in the New Year that the CrossFit structure can help you achieve?

Second, what can you do to hold yourself accountable?

We suggest you write your goals on the goal board in the gym, and get ready to work toward those aims each time you come in.

Since this may be all the time that we have, let’s go out on top and make the most of it. Allow me to start by publicly declaring some of my goals, which in essence are resolution based:

-Back Squat 200# by July 8, 2012

-Deadlift 275# by July 8, 2012

-Press 100# by July 8m 2012

-Compete in at least three competitive team events

Post your goals/resolutions to the comments section, and get ready for a rocking 2012!

-Beth

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Power Clean – Find 1RM

5 DB Thrusters (50/25)
Max reps pull ups

Rest 1 minute between rounds.

Score is total number of pull ups.

“If you don’t know where you are going, how can you expect to get there?” -Basil S. Walsh

We start CrossFit for a host of different reasons; to get strong, lose weight, find a mate, make friends, change the blood profile, etc. Over the last few years I’ve noticed that most people get what they came looking for. But we don’t sell those things. We sell CrossFit, and our focus is on increasing your work capacity. To support you in increasing your work capacity, we now want you to declare a goal for yourself. You will notice a new goal board as you walk in the gym. On your right. Can’t miss it. Big. In your face. Grab one of our pretty pens and write your goal, and your name, on the board.

Here’s the deal with goals: They have to be specific, measurable, and have a time line. When I was 15 years old and I discovered kayaking, which rescued me from a wayward, inner city teenage life, I quickly realized I had happened upon the coolest thing on the planet. Within the next few years I made being the best raft guide and best kayaker I could possibly be my goal. As many of you know I have a long list of achievements in the whitewater world that spanned my 25 year career, but had I been specific and measurable in my goal setting 30 years ago I would have gone even farther.

Goals that work: 20 double unders in a row by July 4th. A muscle up by my birthday, 2011. Deadlift 2x my body weight by Aug 1st. One unassisted kipping pull-up by Memorial Day, etc. Notice that these are specific and measurable. They have a time line. They might even scare me.

Goals that don’t work: Become a better CrossFitter. Lose weight. Listen to the coaches. Get better at Clean & Jerk. Practice double unders, etc. Notice that these are nice ideas. Ideas are cool. Nice ideas are even cooler. But nice ideas don’t inspire me to action, and they don’t call me forth to change my behavior.

What movement do you want to improve? What skill do you want to strengthen? Define it. Declare it. Write it on the board. Arrive early to class to work on your goal. Stay after class to practice. Take the strategic steps to walk toward your goal. You will be amazed at the change that occurs, in all parts of your life, from working on your goal at CrossFit.

We believe in you.

-Beth

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WOD

Snatch work

7×7:
7 Power snatches (95/65)
7 Box Jumps (30/24)

What can we say about Thursday?  It’s kind of a boring day.  Wednesday is exciting because the work week is half over. Friday is exciting because, well, it’s Friday!  Poor Thursday is stuck in the middle.  What do you say that we liven it up a little bit.

From now on Thursday will be known as P.R. (Personal Record) Thursday.  I want everyone to think back on the week that we have just completed, and let everyone know about a PR that you had.  I know that there are a lot of them out there because I have seen them in the gym.  These PRs could be a max weight lifted, a new fastest time in a workout, or a goal completed.  Shoot, it doesn’t even have to have taken place at Wine Country CrossFit, tell us about the big sale you just closed at work.  Share your successes with your fellow CrossFitters.

I’ll get us started.  Two days ago, I did the Army’s APFT with the 9:00 class.  I had a PR in the run.  I ran under an 8 minute /mile pace for the first time ever when running more than a mile.  I credit my PR to finally learning to POSE run properly.

I’m also going to use this post to call out a couple of PRs that I witnessed recently.

First, Rocky got his first muscle up a bit more than a week ago!

Second, Jamie cleaned 100lbs this morning in the 6am class!

Alright guys, take it away from here, what have you done that was a PR this week?

Ummm yeah, that's a PR!

My goal as a teenager escaping the inner city was to become the best raft guide and kayaker possible. That goal became a vehicle for international travel, world-class adventure, and extreme athletic pursuit. Without question that goal took me far, but had I made it specific and measurable back in the 70’s when I was 15, it would have taken me even farther.

The Gorge Games are widely known as the Olympics of adventure sport. At the start of the extreme kayaking race in 2001 I lined up at the top of a course filled with waterfalls and pushy rapids. Next to me were accomplished paddlers, most of them half my age. Before the gun went off I told myself I would pull in right behind Brooke, and follow her to the finish. That is exactly what happened, and in the process I beat 10 women, most of them half my age. A good accomplishment you might say, but what if I had told myself before the race that I was going to beat everyone, Brooke included? Did I sell myself short by settling for 2^nd?

We need specific and measurable goals, and we also need not sell ourselves short in striving to be the best. So what does this mean in CrossFit? Are you here to get strong, to learn the pull-up, to gain confidence, to find yourself as an athlete, to discover what your limits are and how to blow them out of the water? Maybe it’s to deadlift twice your bodyweight. We don’t know unless you tell us.

Goals are powerful motivating tools when we declare them to our friends, family, community. There is power in making public your intention. Just so you know this is for real, I’ll go first: My goal is to have consistent double-unders by Christmas. Now, I don’t like working on them, and they piss me off cuz I used to be able to do them, and somehow I can’t anymore. It might be cuz I stopped practicing them. I’ve declared it, and you as a community can hold me to it.

We will post a board that allows you to publicly state your goals. Be courageous, and let the world know what you have in mind. Go big, and don’t settle for less.

-Beth Rypins