I started stripping and got stronger!

I have mentioned in a couple of my recent blogs my new found appreciation for focusing on form, mechanics, and stripping off the weight stacked on the barbell. It has now been a couple of months, and I am still learning the correct form and proper way to use my muscles. Yes, my ego has been bruised a couple of times, I have felt frustrated and eager to get more weight back on the bar, but truth be told, every time I push my limits, I am slapped in the face with the reality that this is a process and cannot be rushed. It’s going to take time to relearn a couple things, and that’s okay! The flip side is what really matters…. I am getting more out of each and every workout, I feel stronger, my muscles are more defined, and best of all, I am sore where I am SUPPOSE to be sore. I am using muscle groups I haven’t ever used before, and I am loving it!

Having 100% proper form in each rep may not mean very much to some athletes, trust me, I was one of them. I wanted the weight on the bar, I wanted the kipping pull-up (even if I couldn’t do strict pull-ups) , and the highest box jumps. All I wanted was to just kick ass no matter how I looked, or if I got hurt. Thinking to myself….this is CrossFit damn it-I’m here to kill it! I couldn’t have been more wrong! That is NOT CrossFit-and certainly not what we want at CFRR.

Once I re-set my focus, and let go of my silly little ego I discovered I was doing most everything with improper form. No wonder my shoulders hurt all the time, no wonder I couldn’t get that PR no matter how hard I tried and trained for it. This lead me to thinking….what else can I improve on?! That’s the magic word right there!! IMPROVE! So I quickly stopped beating myself up and started learning how to improve in all aspects of training. I soon discovered that it isn’t just about the barbell. It’s the squat, the push up, the lunges, and the burpee!! Do you know what it feels like to do 20+ burpees start to finish with perfect form?! It’s a little shocking to be honest, and has motivated me to an entirely different level. It is my personal goal to get through an entire workout, at the speed I use to with 100% proper form!! It’s a challenge for sure, but I am more than willing to put in the time, work and effort to make it happen!

If you think you may have a few things to improve on, or are feeling like you should have reached one of your goals by now, and can’t understand why you haven’t…..PLEASE, I urge you to go back to the beginning and find the missing link!! Take the time to see what your body is capable of when you are not rushing it-or demanding too much from it. I assure you, reaching that goal will be so much more attainable!