Dutch Lowy

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!!

Aw Crap! You are thinking. Is Dutch really going to talk to us about setting goals? What is this a high school assembly with your counselor?
No , No, its not. I am not sure i really understood the importance of goal setting until just recently. Maybe its maturity or quite possibly something else i don’t even realize but lately i have been hammering my clients to set goals.

Lets back track a bit. In order to set goals, you need to know where you are currently. I call this testing or assessing. So your goal is to add weight to your deadlift? We will talk about why thats not the best way to state a goal in a minute but can you tell me what your deadlift is right now? No not what it was 6 months ago or the last time you lifted. I want to know what it was yesterday. With that info i can create a program for you and we will be able to measure your success.

This brings up the first point about setting goals.
Measurable: Is what you are trying to accomplish measurable? Can you put a number to it? Is it a realistic number?
For example, i wanted to snatch 110 kgs by the American Open in December. That is a specific number along with a specific date. make it measurable.

Attainable: Is it realistic? I talked in the last post about having expectations and purposely setting the high as a coach. Understand that just because i have high expectations doesn’t mean they are unrealistic. Set the bar high but allow yourself to succeed.

Now with this info. Sit down and set some goals. Limit yourself to 1-2 at a time and really focus on them. Post them here and let the world keep you accountable.

All too often as coaches we miss a vital part of training. The mental side.
I have watched as people have thought so hard about a lift that they have to step back, look me in the eye, and ask what they were supposed to be doing. Depending on the person i either try to control myself and patiently explain what i was looking for or simply laugh in their face (not the best approach as my fiance will tell you). Most of the best coaches in the world won’t try to tell you they have the best training program, in fact its likely they will have something that works for them because in all reality there is not much difference in programming. As weightlifters, we all snatch and clean and jerk, squat and pull. The Chinese aren’t out there doing some magic exercise that puts them consistently at the top of the world rankings. Football players all run sprints and lift weights so what is it that makes such a huge difference?

A couple things:
1: The mental strength of the athlete. First and foremost the athlete has to want to achieve. If there is no desire then there will be no result. Especially if you are working at a high level. There has to be some form of strong internal drive to succeed. I am not sure if this can be taught. I have played with guys who had far more natural talent than me but would not apply themselves to being successful. Its horribly frustrating to be around people like this but no matter how hard you try, its almost impossible to get in their mind.

2: Expectations. These are both internal and external. The internal expectations come from the athlete themselves and gives them a purpose to win or accomplish whatever it is that they are working towards. External expectations come from coaches, fans, etc. I like to set high expectations for my clients as i am convinced that if they believe that i think they can do something, then they will be convinced of it as well. For example i have a guy who when starting with me could barely snatch 135 lbs. 6 months later he is up to 175lbs and i expect 185 this weekend. When i first told him that 185 was doable within the year he looked at me like i was crazy. I simply looked back and smiled knowing he could do it especially if i showed him confidence. Did i believe he could make jumps this fast 6 months ago? Maybe but that doesn’t even matter. What matters is that after a couple months he started talking about 185 like HE knew he could get it.
Set your expectations high as a coach.

3:Work ethic. Its not cool to go into the weight room, do “a couple squats” and call it a day. If you are truly working towards a goal make an effort to get the most out of your training everyday. I understand that not everyday will be something you tell your grandkids about but please put conscious effort into everything you do so its not a waste of time. Why be there if you aren’t going to get something accomplished?

4: Coaching. This piggy backs well with expectations but as an athlete, buying into a program 100% is crucial. If you are struggling with why your coach is having you do something, then you are less likely to put 100% effort into it. With total buy in up front you will feel less stressed about your program and more focused each day you put in towards your goals.

5: Goals. Knowing where you want to end up is half of getting there right? Need i say more?
More to come on goals later.

Simply said, get your mind right! Whatever that takes for each individual will be different but remember, we succeed first in our minds.