I am often guilty of being drunk on ambition (drunk, hopped up, deluded, possessed). Throughout my little life it has gotten me a big ole mixed bag of success and failure, and sometimes I managed to break even. I have been smart enough to avoid bodily harm and skirt large, insurmountable debt, however, as I start the process of swapping decades I find I'm growing tired of the bloodthirsty-at-all-costs ambition. It's rather exhausting to be constantly one upping myself.
Take my recent battle with the benchmark workout Fran for example. I felt ready for that workout as prescribed. I had confidence in myself, and I was going to get it done. Three reps into those 65# thrusters I started second guessing my decision. Red flag number one. After a dramatic 27 minutes (yes, it really took me that long) I was proud of myself, but in a state of body shock. What the hell did I just do to myself? I can very sweetly check off "get rx'd time for Fran" from the goal list, but do I really feel good about that workout?
No, not really. It was a bit demoralizing to be perfectly honest. My form was terrible towards the end, the pull ups were sloppy and half assed. It also took me five entire days to recover and walk down stairs without white knuckling the banister. Red flag numbers two and three and four. I can only ride the wave of "I did it" so long before it starts to fade beneath a larger question of "but did I do it well?" Meh. No.
So what's a girl to do? There really isn't anything more inspiring than walking away from a workout that you know was a stellar performance. You hit every mark, stick every landing, no skimping on form, and the reps come out in a relatively unbroken melody....that a stellar workout makes. I want more of those.
Here's what this girl is going to do:
Instead of focusing so much on time and weight, I'll be redirecting my intention to form and solid execution of technique. I'm realizing more and more that as the weight increases, more attention should be devoted to proper form. That extra weight exploits every little nook and cranny of neglected technique, and increases the likelihood of injury. Do. Not. Want. Injury. Thanks.
I am really happy with the weight class that I'm at right now and methinks I'll hang out here for a little while and perfect what I know. I have a sneaky suspicion that as I get more on point with the execution of technique it will have a domino effect on my performance as a whole. Can't have 1 = 2 without that other 1, right?
This morning was fantastic.
5 Rounds
10 Hang Clean 75#'s
25 Sit Ups
Time: 15:something
I was a little slow, but it was my second day with the 75# hang cleans. My form suffered from fatigue not the weight, which is totally acceptable. My 800m run got faster by 6 seconds, which is exciting! It doesn't sound like much, but when it comes to running, I will take all the improvement I can however small. 3:54! That is a fantastic pace for an 8 minute mile!
***Side note: Since the rest of my waking world is currently in various stages of implosion and explosion, I've been particularly fond of this site 1000 Awesome Things and it is inspiring me to create a list of my own.
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