You know the point. You’ve probably reached it – where you love the lifting and you hate the metabolic conditioning, aka cardio hell, aka not lifting heavy shit. Hate it. Like you wish it dead. Like you want to stomp on metcon’s windpipe until it breathes no more. Or, worse, just ignore it until it goes away, like that kid in the lunch room in high school who always wanted to put his tray near yours. He went away finally, maybe metcon will too.
But, still, somewhere deep inside you, metcon keeps calling you. Or maybe that’s just your jeans, because your ass is growing because you haven’t been doing any metcon. Jesus Christo, you hate the metcon. Why do we have to do metcon?
Stop for a minute and remember your early days of CrossFit. If you’re like many of us, it was just you in your garage or a globo-gym, doing airsquats and push-ups and wall-ball until you wanted to puke. Metcon was fun then. It still sucked but you looked forward to it in a weird way, and once you were in it, life was painful but okay. You couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t think, you could barely function, but it was okay. I am not exaggerating when I say that you found salvation in metcon. It was your first introduction to CrossFit and it saved you from who you were before. It saved all of us.
So, the next time you dread the mini-metcon after the lifting, or the next time you step into your affiliate and the board says “Helen” instead of “Deadlifts 1-1-1-1-1”, don’t groan. Don’t whimper. Don’t bitch and moan. Just do it. Remember those early days. Remember that being fit is not solely being strong. Remember your growing ass. Then close your eyes and bang out 50 airsquats for fun. Open your eyes. The world’s a new place again, isn’t it?
(Words by Lisbeth Darsh. www.crossfitwatertown.com)
August 5th, 2009 at 12:20 am
The days of no posts for 10 hours are over!
August 5th, 2009 at 12:22 am
Wow. Two EXCELLENT articles so far this week. Awesome stuff, Lis!
August 5th, 2009 at 12:42 am
Great post Lis… ur on a roll… also thanks Jen 4 the body contribution! lol
August 5th, 2009 at 5:33 am
I give what I can! Lis, awesome post.
August 5th, 2009 at 5:49 am
K, Are you coming to the noon class?
August 5th, 2009 at 6:06 am
Jesus Christo?
August 5th, 2009 at 8:08 am
Lis does have some potty mouth on her.
August 5th, 2009 at 9:11 am
Leapin’ lizards?
August 5th, 2009 at 9:39 am
Sufferin’ succotash
August 5th, 2009 at 10:14 am
News flash: Sat 8am class has been changed to 10am.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:18 am
For this week or all weeks to come?
August 5th, 2009 at 10:23 am
and as always great post Lis…very motivational
August 5th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Dan, just for this week
August 5th, 2009 at 10:53 am
I love metcon. Always have, always will. The groaning that is heard upon walking into the gym and seeing the WOD is just a sigh of relief. I don’t know if I can make the 5pm, but I will be there or the 6pm. Hopefully we are not doing any heavy lifting. Cindy would be really fun. ( The cool thing about being one of the larger folk, is that even with metcons, I still get to lift heavy.)
August 5th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I’m with David…but everyone alrealdy knows that…I will have to work on my complimentary blog piece about rekindleing the “barbell love” or for that matter, initiating the barbell love, I have come around though.
Jen…hot pic! that should keep just about all of us motivated to keep on the met con train!
August 5th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Is this post result of the nastigrams we left on the whiteboard?
Great post though, you are on a roll!
See y’all tomorrow! Off to Boston to take in some Sir Paul McCartney at Fenway!
Oh yeah – does anyone have an old vga computer monitor they want to part with for the greater good of CFW (read: boomin tunage computer)?
August 5th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
@N8: I actually wrote this on Friday — way before the carnage of last night. LOL Jen told me about the board “love notes” this morning . . .
As for an old computer monitor, there is something sitting in my basement that might be what we need? And I LOVE that you have a plan for boomin tunage! Whoo hooo!
Enjoy Sir Paul in Beantown!
August 5th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Barry and I just had a conference as we read the CFW blog together — we BOTH like Met-cons more than lifting.
He thinks strength bias made him sick of lifting.
I think I am bad at anything that involves heavy weight therefore met-con (especially running ones or ones involving situps) i love.
August 5th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Wow. That is a big turnaround for Barry. Huge.
Now the trick is to do both (heavy lifting and metcon) — and enjoy both. Hmm.
August 5th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
love the 10 am Sat class…gives me time to sober up
August 5th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
where is a close and good natural foods store — i know trader joes in danbury and w.hartford and the place in woodbury — anywhere closer to home?