Warning: I wrote this post to myself. Like Don Miguel Ruiz (“The 4 Agreements”) says: Never take anything personally.
10. Hold the bar straight.
9. Pay attention to your breathing.
8. Use less chalk. Really.
7. Read the CrossFit Journal articles and watch the videos. What’s this going to take? Like 15 min a day? Worth the time and worth the $25 per year. Stop whining and commit.
6. Stop whining and commit. Yeah, that was so good and simple, it needed to be said again and for like all of life.
5. Put sh** away where it belongs. You might call it housekeeping but, really, it’s a form of discipline. You don’t want bumpers or collars or KBs or whatever all over the place. Pick your item, use it, and put it away. Mental discipline is as important as physical discipline, maybe even more so.
4. Get to class 15 minutes early, all the time. Use that extra time not to chat or work on stuff you’re good at — use it to suck. Suck at L-sits, suck at deadhang pull-ups, suck at KB snatches. All the stuff you and your ego have been avoiding. Put on your big girl panties and do the stuff you don’t want to do. It’s called being a grown-up. And a CrossFitter. Go do it.
3. Shut up about programming. Nobody’s ever happy with programming unless they’re the ones doing the programming. Do the workouts. If you’re getting stronger and quicker and feel better, guess what? The programming is working. And if you’re not getting stronger or quicker and you don’t feel better, grab a coach and address your concerns privately. (Note: I am talking to myself here. If anyone hears me complain one word about programming for the next 30 days, feel free to call my ass out and institute a 10 burpee fine on the spot. If you want to follow this way, that’s cool too.)
2. Pay attention. Stop chatting and daydreaming and goofing off. Focus.
1. Stop praying at the bar. Gather yourself, address the bar, breathe, and lift. Don’t make it more complex — in movement or thought — than it needs to be. Lift the flippin’ bar.
January 27th, 2010 at 2:08 am
Oh hell yeah! back from gay night @ VanDome AND #1 on the blog?! gonna be an amazing day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 27th, 2010 at 2:10 am
Also- 1- I HATE WHEN PEOPLE SHOW UP LATE TO FREAKIN CLASS!!! .. JUST GET THEKIDS IN THE CAR, GET UR WATER & MOVE IT!!!
2- I pray @ the bar– sorry, I’ll stop…..
January 27th, 2010 at 7:27 am
Great post Lis! Something for all of us in it! Thanx
January 27th, 2010 at 8:37 am
Great post Lis! I love every single one. Maybe we should all expand the list to 100 ways to be a better CrossFitter. Now if we could just assign burpee penalties for breaking each rule…
Thanks again Lisbeth for linking to us
January 27th, 2010 at 9:09 am
HOLY SHIT!!! Words to Crossfit too. BTW Lis is crooked because she was favoring an injury. Could be rule #11 “Listen to Your Body”
January 27th, 2010 at 10:42 am
I often wrestle with the running late thing – especially if it is dictating whether or not i get to WOD that day. For instance, last week – running late was the topic of the blog – and of course the THS basketball game i was working finishes and I run to my car (pre-dressed for class in my running shoes) and I begin driving like a maniac. Lots of swearing and slamming in the car as i hit traffic. i ended up being 10 minutes late (just in time for kirk’s group warmup before Barbara).
i am interested from the trainers’ perspective in particular – how late is too late for class? When should I turn left for home rather than go straight for crossfit?
January 27th, 2010 at 10:54 am
Becky, The point is your trying to be on time and we understand that mofos and weather can get in the way of getting there on time.
So say your running late and it’s 10min or more after the hour, the I would say come to the next class. It’s hard as a coach tomake sure you get warmed up and in WOD mode if we are rushing. It also becomes a distraction to those who have started. If you five mins after the hour come in and get at it!
January 27th, 2010 at 10:59 am
That’s a great question, Becky.
I can’t speak for all the trainers – and I would URGE them all to contribute to the discussion — but here’s my perspective:
I run late to many things. It drives Jen nuts but it’s simply a result of too much work, only one Lis. But, I know I perform better in class and I’m more settled when I get there at 5pm and I have a full ten minutes for individual warm-up before the group warm-up starts at 10 min past the hour. Likewise, when I’m the trainer. I want my members to be there on the hour but I understand when they screech in right at the start of group warm-up due to work issues. That’s just life. It doesn’t bug me — and it doesn’t disrupt the group.
What does bug me? When someone consistently walks in late and disrupts the group. Key words are consistently and disrupts. Then, they should just wait until the next class starts.
But the once-in-a-while doesn’t bug me.
And, now, I’ll let the trainers and Jen give their perspectives . . .
January 27th, 2010 at 11:00 am
Let me add that if your five mins late just come in and give the coach five burpees don’t make us ask…..just be on time or early to avoid this! Ha!
January 27th, 2010 at 11:00 am
Ah, Jen posted while I was composing.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:11 am
Jen, where’s your gravatar? Or do you like that monster creature?
January 27th, 2010 at 11:12 am
11 comments today and 5 of them are from Jen and me?
People!
Maybe we’ll start talking about you guys.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:12 am
Then again, I’m waiting for Jen to post her 10 Ways to Better Your Love Life.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:12 am
I mean 10 Ways to Be a Better CrossFitter.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:13 am
What’s wrong with this keyboard?
January 27th, 2010 at 11:13 am
Melis and Kirk are on a plane from FL. We could talk about them ALLLLLL day.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:13 am
Or not.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:13 am
Maybe we should talk about Rockstar.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:14 am
I just had 4 posts in less than 60 seconds. Beat that, beyotches.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Have I ever told my life story?
January 27th, 2010 at 11:15 am
It all began long ago, in a small town in CT . . .
January 27th, 2010 at 11:15 am
A group of feral cats adopted a baby squirrel.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:16 am
And decided to raise her as their own.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:16 am
Oh wait, I need to make a fresh pot of coffee. I’ll be right back and continue with the story. Hang on.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:19 am
Thanks Lis,
My list, not necessarily prioritized…
1. Eat Better – need to remain mindful of what I put in my body every day, not just during a paleo or zone challenge.
2. Get more rest – do I really need to find out what John Stewart has to say. I find it amazing that when I get a good night sleep, I feel good the next day. Why do I forget this?
3. Play more – I’ve been wound too tight lately and need to lighten up.
4. Stop thinking so much mid movement – I have to “shut up” and complete the movement
5. More volume (at times) – I could stand (at times) to dial the weight back and focus on getting done faster and with better form. I believe that my overall progress will be enhanced and not hindered by this.
6. Roll out/stretch – I need to make this part of my routine just like a warm up.
7. Clean up – I do this, but can always be better. When I studied martial arts, we (the students) would clean before and after each work out. The before, would be to make sure that the stuff was ready and the after, well, thats just what we did.
8. Set goals – I have to have something to work toward, a race on the calendar, a bench mark or milestone to hit.
9. Jump rope more and Skin the cat with my sucky things
10. Be patient – change isn’t always immediately visible.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:21 am
What an amazing story Lis.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:21 am
What kind of coffee are you brewing up?
January 27th, 2010 at 11:21 am
I like your monster Jen.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:21 am
Hey is this 4 in less than a minute?
January 27th, 2010 at 11:22 am
DING DING DING! David wins POST of the DAY!
January 27th, 2010 at 11:22 am
Nate should fix that “your posting too quickly” nonsense.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:23 am
I totally agree with your list. Nice.
And, if anyone was wondering, I just brewed a nice “City Roast” blend from Whole Foods. Come over for a cup.
Plus, I will confess that I find the violence of the coffee grinder to be eminently thrilling.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:25 am
I think we need to play CrossFit Horse again. Becky, remember when we did that? So much fun.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:29 am
Off to the nooner for a rest day WOD.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:32 am
what’s crossfit horse?
January 27th, 2010 at 11:35 am
Like the b-ball game, but with CF stuff.
I do 5 pull-ups, you have to do 5 pull-ups.
I toss the medball in the upside down jump box. You do the same.
If you can’t, you get a letter.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Ten Ways to be a better Crossfitter
1. Get naked in public
2. Time is not always fast sometimes it’s slow or kinda fast or kinda slow
3. With most movements there’s more then one way to do them correctly. Think outside the box
4. Prehab
5. Ego’s should be left at the door
6. Get naked during class
7. What you eat and how you sleep shows up in your WOD!
8. Do your best whatever that is at that time.
9. Cheer for others
10. Pull down your pants and press your butt up on someones window!
January 27th, 2010 at 11:48 am
That sounds like an awesome warm-up you can do in teams of 2.
January 27th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Mmmm. Coffee. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3175039&l=20265641a0&id=802954520
January 27th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
1. Eat more food (6 chicken thighs for lunch today! 2.3 lbs of pork tenderloin in two days!)
2. Fix my oly technique
3. Legitimately warm up
4. Take rest days seriosly – foam roll, skill work – don’t just eat gobs of chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream, but that’s fun too, especially when watching biggest loser
5. Push Jerks every now and then
6. Quit my job so that I don’t have to wake up at 4:30 every morning
7. Help out more. Just because it’s not my gym doesn’t mean that I can’t give a hand, especially to noob’s
8. Do a metcon, at least once a week
9. Drink more water
10. Get a coach (or at least somebody who will yell at me to keep my chest up, thanks PAMMER!!)
January 27th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Nice, Eric!
Anybody else?
January 27th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Oh — and the very first meeting of the CFW Hundred Club is this Sat at 10am (after the 9am WOD).
January 27th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Is the CFW Hundred Club anything like Patrick Ewing and the Gold Club:
“The girls danced, started fondling me, I got aroused, they performed [not G rated]. I hung around a little bit and talked to them, then I left.”
January 27th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Here I am breaking Lis’s rule #2. This conf. call and the project plan I’m trying to do are not very fun at all. So, I’m goofing off and checking the CFW blog.
To Becky’s question about being late. I’m pretty much on the same page as Lis and Jen. Because I mostly run the 6 am, here are a few additional comments I have about being early/on-time/late.
- It’s even more important to be early to the 6 am to get a good warm-up. I’m there by 5:35 for a reason. Not because I like to get up early.
- The 6 am is a small group and the next class is not till noon, I say come late to my class if you have too (as long as it’s not consistently happening). I’ll try to work out something but no guarantees if you later than 10-15 mins.
- Late doesn’t bother me (unless it’s happening consistently).
- If you come late, don’t expect me to drop everything to bring you up to speed.
January 27th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Eric, it’s the same thing!
Or not at all.
January 27th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Here goes:
1) Always have fun
Riches rule #11 is right on: Listen to your body!
2) Do your best while not taking yourself too seriously
3) The love you take is equal to the love you make
4) Listen to your coaches
5) You do this to better yourself, not to be better/faster/stronger than the person next to you (though if that happens that is fine too)
6) The most impressive type of inspiration is born out of effort
7) Always try to go a little heavier. And if you are not sure, wait for Sue to add something extra to her bar at the last minute and follow suit.
9) There is no point to skipping reps or rounds, see rule #5
10) Always cheer each other on and be respectful to all!
There’s my sappy and crappy list.
January 27th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
This is my list for me…
1. Work out with integrity. There’s no greater satisifaction than knowing you’ve earned every rep… and every sore muscle.
2. When you are out of your comfort zone, don’t freak out and get grumpy. (See Burpee/Deadlift workout for my personal example) Do the best you can.
3. Laugh. Laugh at yourself.
4. Remind yourself of how far you’ve come. Cut yourself a break.
5. When you want to give up, remember, there are people out there who stuggle just to live. (That always keeps me going.)
6. Give gratitude to the coaches… without them, we’d be lost.
7. Push a little harder than you think you can.
8. Always try to go heavier. (Thanks Nate!) If you’re lucky, you’ll have someone next to you who pushes you to do that all the time!
9. Cheer others on…and, in turn, allow yourself to be motivated by others who want you to succeed.
10. Appreciate CrossFit Watertown: the trainers, the space, the people, the support, the friendship, the community and the fun… how lucky we are to have such a unique place.
Ewww… I’m such a cheeseball.
January 27th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
Butt really my number 10 way to be a better Crossfitter is
10. Enjoy the fact that we have Crossfit and that it makes us healthy and happy! Smile and lift something heavy! Then press your butt against the window and smile!
January 27th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
1. Go in with an “I can” attitude. Set your goals high while being aware of your limitations.
2. Increase your intensity and weight without compromising form ever.
3. Tweak your competitive edge as to not create injury.
4. Have fun with yourself and others.
5. Focus when lifting or conditioning.
6. Always strive for increase mental endurance and physical will follow
7. Respect what your coaches have to say.
8. Multiple coaching does not help.
9. Support others.
10. Always love yourself.
January 27th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Jackie,
I ALWAYS love myself!