Dutch Lowy

When I have nothing to say, i just post videos… Enjoy!

So we made it through a 6, 8 , 10 or even 12 week training cycle… Now what?

We need to re-test you. Whether this is a planned competition or a weeks worth of testing you should be ready to give your all to prove the work you have done has gotten you to your goals.

Structure this in a way that you will be as fresh as possible which usually means taking a week or a couple days to taper your training. Following the taper set the environment to help you succeed. For me that is dreaming about being successful and allowing myself to be placed in a positive atmosphere where success is awarded. I do well in competitions so thats where i do most of my testing.

Competitions are not necessary so don;t feel that you have to compete to hit goals. I do however recognize the value in competing and suggest it to all my clients. It is fun to work towards something and have a final point in which to express your training.

Now, Go train and let me know how things progress!!

Whether its lack of time, work getting crazy, getting a dog or just getting a little tweaked from a hard session, things creep up and slow down our training. I am a huge proponent of allowing the body to heal itself when these little things pop up. SOMETIMES its best to train through the little aches and pains and sometimes its best to know when you need a real break. This decision is ultimately up to you and your coach.

If something does come up that forces you to miss some training days, my suggestion is to sit down and determine what you missed that was crucial to your program and try to fit that into a modified plan. Here is when a coach comes in handy. Provided you have trust in your coach you should just be able to say,”hey coach, i got sick and missed a couple days, what should i do moving forward?”
Your coach should have something witty and motivating to say to get you back on track.

You must realize that its not the end of the world to miss a couple days and also realize that getting back to training even after 2 days off will not be fun. Once you are back into a routine things should level out and you will be back on track to hit your goals!

This may sound simple but its likely that if you wrote the program or aren’t bought into the goals 100% you will have some accountability issues. By this i mean you will be more likely to fail or take unnecessary days off and therefore derail your progress.

A side note here: If you are a trainer or coach i hope you are thinking about how to apply most of what we have already talked about to your people and yourself.

Some simple things to do to keep accountable:
1. Tell somebody you respect that you are going to accomplish your goals and by when.
2. Train with somebody that has similar goals or is on the same program
3. Find a coach (recommended!!)
4. Make a bet with someone that likes to beat you.

Notice how all of these suggestion include some sort of outside influence. I want to believe that everyone has the internal fire burning like they used to in college or high school but lets face the facts, unless someone is depending on us to achieve something then its very easy to let it slip though our fingers and just shrug it off.

Action steps:
Go tell someone what you are going to achieve. Quick suggestion: tell your local barista at the coffee shop and guaranteed they will ask you how its going every time you walk in the door.
Get your happy ass to work!!

Recently i did a joint presentation with the beautiful people from Whole 9. Dallas and Melissa are outstanding people and very knowledgeable. I am thrilled to announce that we will be working together more and that my seminar is coming back to life. Our first dual presentation went very well at CF Denton County and i am looking forward to getting things fired up down in Houston at CF West Houston. Currently i am only tagging along when they are doing their trainer workshop but hopefully we can get more of those scheduled (hint hint…).

I am presenting some fresh new content and quite honestly i feel much more organized about it. In addition to that we have squeezed in some movement (weightlifting) coaching for those that are interested. I understand that many of you don;t have the opportunity to search out coaches so i hope to give you the opportunity to have an eye on your lifting and hopefully give you some stuff to work on going forward.

So, come out and see us as we assault you with some knowledge. Sign up here!!

So once we have a plan and a couple specific goals we can step back or better yet hand the plan over to a trusted friend and as them to make sure what you have jives with helping you reach your goals.
If your goals was to run a mile in under 5 min and all you have programmed is pullups and heavy back squats then you are headed down a long road to a 5 min mile.

This post may be a bit redundant for most of you but for some you will need the added reminder that your program or plan should include elements of your current goals and if you see anything that doesn’t push you towards achieving those goals then you should seriously evaluate whether you need it included in your program.

Basically this is a time when you can make sure all your focused energy is going to be pushing you towards your specific goals.
But what if my goal is to be good at Crossfit??
Oh lord! You had to open that bag of worms.
Think about getting better at Crossfit as climbing stairs. The first step is gaining proficiency in a myriad of skills. That doesn’t mean loading up a barbell and thinking you can snatch if your PR is 135lbs. That means working from the hang for 6 months with a coach watching you as well as taking gymnastics classes and focusing on technique BEFORE intensity. Its worth it, Trust me.
The second step is building a base of strength. You choose if it is bodyweight focused or built around outside objects (recommended). Both are necessary so its my opinion that you should build both but i know from experience that one is harder and takes longer to build than the other. I’ll let you ponder that one.
Step three is conditioning. Make it simple. Include rest periods and don;t train at any one time for longer than 15 min. Anything past that for a Crossfitter is in your Head. Use the good shit first and if you need a filler use the easy shit.
The good shit:
Thrusters
Burpees
Pullups
power Cleans and jerks
Power Snatch
Rowing
wall balls
The Easy shit:
pushups
400m run +
Box Jumps
situps…
Step number 4 is about putting it all together and being able to perform as a sport. This is when you think about what you are doing as a competition and you take strategic breaks and try to “game” workouts. The idea is to get the highest score possible or lowest time.

In my opinion the best Crossfitter in your gym is 2 years away from being competitive on an international level. If you are ready for that buy in then i think you can do it. If you get bored after a couple weeks of training then maybe its not for you. Unless the best person in your gym is Chris Spealler then we are talking about a totally different way to train.

So over the last week we have talked about getting prepared mentally for training and deciding exactly what it is you want to accomplish. I presume each of you have had a bit of time for an introspective look at your life and your training to decide what is appropriate and realistic right now. If you haven’t taken the time to do this, sit down and do it now.

The next step is either getting with some one who you trust or sitting down by yourself and mapping out a plan to achieve your goals. In my humble opinion and according to my past experience, it is optimal to get an outside party to discuss your goals and come up with a plan for you. Especially as you get more specialized and more advanced. How many professional athletes do you know that don’t have a coach? I know of 1.

If you look at this plan and can;t directly link each part of it to the accomplishment of your goals then you are not on an effective plan. The more broad your goals are the harder it is to have a really effective program as some things just work against each other. For example decreasing your 5k time and increasing your back squat work in opposition. Not to say they are impossible to plan for but progress on each will be slowed while you would see better results with goals that compliment each other like snatching more and jumping higher.

Once you are happy with your program, its time to get to work!! Trust the process and enjoy the journey!!