Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.

Spartan Shape-Up, Day 518:


VICTORY was MINE!! on Tuesday morning, when I dragged myself out of bed pre-6am and fell into Stacey's car to head to CrossFit. The weather was spitting and slushy and wet and icy.... but we were not to be deterred. Tuesday morning is CF morning, BlogLand, and I'm trying to get back in the habit of reminding myself that it is non-negotiable - no matter HOWcomfy and warm my bed may be.

It was a predominently "heavy" WOD at CrossFit that looked like this (after a warm up, of course):

E3MOTM (Every 3 Min on the Min) for 15 min:
- Push Jerks
5-5-3-3-3 (reps, with increasing weight)
- 10 Toes to Bar

So, I did pretty well with this WOD. It's been a while since I did push jerks, and usually overhead lifts are not my strong point, but I think I've gotten stronger (climbing???). I was adding weight the first 3 rounds, then the 4th round, I stayed at the same weight (85#)... but then I thought to myself, "Am I pushing? Am I doing all I can do?"... and the answer was No. SO, I tacked on some extra weight, to max out the last round at 95#. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. It was difficult, but I could accomplish it. And to think, I might've stopped at 85#, because I was doubting.

Here's the lesson... Ask your self, are you REALLY pushing yourself, and doing your best, or are you just afraid to try a little bit more and fail? Are you doubting yourself? Obviously, you need to keep yourself safe and listen to your body... but you also need to gut-check that little voice in your head that sends you all the doubts. Most often, you can do a LITTLE more, or a little faster, or a little longer.... maybe even just one more rep. DO IT. That is where growth occurs... and you just might surprise yourself.

The Toes to Bar are a neutral exercise for me. I can't quite do them, so I end up doing something like Toes to As High Up as I can Get Them... but, my grip strength has gotten better, so it's begun to get slightly easier to hang through a set of ten... rather than having to break it up into 2-3's as I used to have to. Progress! Slow and Steady.

THEN:

5 Rounds for Time:
50 Jump Ropes (Double Unders if possible)
10 Push Jerks

Again, this was the type of WOD that I like, BlogLand... I really enjoy lifting, and less enjoy things like Burpees and Bear Crawls (but really, who likes that?). I did all my jumps without consequence (haven't figured out double unders, yet...), and beasted through the push jerks.
I scaled down the weight for this WOD to 75# which felt heavy by the last round, but I was able to complete (which says to me that I picked the right weight! Yay!).
Never once, during this WOD did I doubt whether I could complete it strongly. For once (in quite a while since coming back off injuries), I felt capable and powerful again. RAWWRRRR Push Jerk.
Having said that, the last round of 10 push jerks was an effort... 75# gets mighty heavy after the first part of the day and then the rest of the reps.... I had paused before my last two reps, looked at Stacey working her ass off in front of me, and giving me a GREAT example of putting your mind to something.... and taking a deep breath, I focused and banged out two more, good form, Push Jerks at 75#. I won't lie... there may have been some primal-grunting, which is never out of place in a crossfit WOD. I swear, sometimes that grunt or scream or exclamation helps you rally for that one more rep.

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I felt awesome and accomplished all day. A good WOD can do that for you... remind you that your desk and your office job are not all that you are. You are powerful, capable, determined and a force to be reckoned with. How many people in the world can say they were up pre-6am and on a mission to better themselves, before the sun even came up? YOU WIN.

Today, I'm patented CrossFit Creaky.... Those push-jerks have rendered my upper body a wee bit stiff... but nothing too bad. Just a reminder of yesterday's fun!

Tonight, on the schedule is a bit of mid-week climbing, followed by a nice easy 35 min yoga session to stretch it all out. Ahhh yeah. I'm learning to appreciate that, even though I STILL suck at flexibility.

One day at a time, one foot in front of the other, making good decisions one moment at a time....