A Smarter Approach to Strength
I never used to consider myself strong in any sense of the word. I always thought that being strong meant that you were the toughest person in any room and that you could out lift everyone. I remember the first time I deadlifted 155 pounds, it was the best day of my life, even though the technique definitely wasn’t up to par. From that point on, deadlifting became my favorite movement. Although I wasn’t incredibly strong or proficient at deadlifting, it became my goal to become a “strength athlete.”
Fast forward 5 years and I still have the same goal to get stronger but with a very different mindset and approach. I learned that if you continuously tell yourself that you are something, then you will make the effort to become that thing. About a year ago I started believing that I am strong and that I can do what I set my mind to. I began to set actual numbered goals in terms of the weight that I wanted to achieve. With that, I began to realize that I would not get there unless my movement quality improved. In order to achieve my goals, I began to spend hours a day working with just a pvc pipe performing the movement over and over again, until I couldn’t do it any longer.
If you haven’t worked with a pvc pipe for hours at a time, it can be grueling. No weight on the bar, just you and the technique. It was obviously not the most fun thing to do at times, but I knew that if I wanted to perform the common uncommonly well, then this was the necessary work I had to put in. Along with my PVC work, I incorporated glute and hamstring strengthening exercises into my regimen every single day. As I started performing deadlifts more and more, I noticed that the weight on the bar was skyrocketing. I went from a 235lb deadlift to a 335lb deadlift in less than a year, and as I take the time to go back to the basics and work on the ‘boring’, my deadlift continues to get stronger.
I now think of myself as a strength athlete who loves Crossfit. I went from thinking I was the weakest in the room, to now graduating myself to being able to keep up with athletes that I look up to. In working on my weaknesses, I was able to boost my confidence in and outside of the gym. I walk into the gym with a mindset of not just wanting to have a great workout, but also with the intent to better myself in other aspects. I think to myself how I can stay humble and disciplined in the gym environment so that it can carry into my everyday life. This has given me strength and confidence outside of the gym.
It is the best feeling accomplishing something that you never thought in your wildest dreams could even be a possibility. To keep growing after the fact is just an extension of that feeling, and really shows that hard work and discipline pay off.
-Coach Jill
Warm-up
10-8-6-4-2
Lateral Up & Overs x 2
Push Ups w/ Feet on Box*
Box Crunches
*ADV- Pike Push Ups
Strength (20 minutes)
10-8-6-4-2
Strict press
Strict Pull-up
WOD
2 Rounds
30 Deadlifts 185|125
15 Handstand Push-ups
30 Box jumps
20 Toes to bar
Level 2- 155|105, 30 Push-ups
Level 1- 115|75, 20 DL&BJ, 15 Push-ups, 20 Sit-ups
ADV – Strict HSPU