by Coach Aaron Hyatt

I relish the feeling of using all my strength and power until I’m spent but regularly training at that intensity is a mistake. As has been said before, “training to failure (all the time) is failing to train”.

I was introduced to CrossFit in late 2011. Like most, I was skeptical that a short-duration, high-intensity protocol could offer significant benefits. I finally committed in November of 2011 and went full steam ahead. I was ecstatic. After a couple weeks of regularly attending classes, I felt like Superman. Whether it was the peak heart rates I achieved or the neuroendocrine response, I felt stronger, faster, better, and more confident in my abilities than at any other time in my life. And the joy of a newfound physical and psychological power made me go harder and faster still.

Although cautioned otherwise, I started doing two CrossFit workouts a day, sometimes along with a session of olympic weightlifting. After all, if a little is good, then a lot is better, right?

In retrospect, my obsessive approach seems quite silly and an obvious mistake. But even now, despite my passing on the caution that I received, I see friends new to CrossFit doing the same thing I did. The benefits of CrossFit are significant, and when those benefits come from such a small investment in time, the money-for-nothing proposition is, for most, too good to pass up.

As a result of my mistakes, I have come up with three rules all newcomers to CrossFit can benefit from.

1. Focus on the volume of work prescribed, not on the loads. The WOD (workout of the day) is designed for the fittest of the fit. Unless you’ve been doing CrossFit for years—or unless your genetic code has something mine doesn’t—I suggest making reps a higher priority than loads. The cardiorespiratory stimulus of completing the prescribed reps at a reduced load seems to be equivalent to or greater than that of taking the significant extra time and rest to get through too-heavy loads, and this strategy leaves something in the tank, which is essential for healthy, long-term training. For example, “Diane” consists of 21-, 15-, and 9-rep rounds of 225-pound deadlifts and handstand push- ups. I recommend disregarding “225-pound” and “handstand” if they feel unmanageable and instead choosing loads that allow you to complete the workout, whether in complete sets or reasonably broken ones. Note: “Handstand” in this case is essentially a load designation. Piked [inverted and bent at the waist], feet-raised [toward a handstand], standard [horizontal], and feet-lowered [as in upward-facing stair push-ups] are all legitimate ways to scale push- up loads.
2. Use speed as an intensifier before weight. Once a personalized WOD has been achieved, I make a faster result my goal, rather than an increase in weight, on subsequent performances of that WOD. I find it much more rewarding to shave seconds than to struggle under more plates. Subsequently, faster times increase my motivation for each workout. The thought “my work-to-weight ratio is higher” is a better motivator than “I’m not as strong as I want to be.” (However, this is a personal bias. Focus on weight if that’s where your priorities lie.)
3. Most importantly, low motivation does not necessarily mean you’re lazy. Lowered motivation may be your body’s way of recruiting your emotions as a messenger that it needs a break. I know most CrossFitters are action-oriented people, so a day or two of sloth or lethargy may not mean you’re a slacker. It could be precisely the necessary WOD for you. When I can ignore my ambition and listen to my body on days like this, I often discover that “yeah, my legs are pretty heavy” or “man, it hurts just to lift a can of La Croix.” Best of all, a few extra rest days mixed into a full workout schedule often brings the snap back. It could be the difference between a workout that is a chore and one that sets a new personal record.

Now that I’ve committed to the process rather than the result and can be consistent in my workouts, my training is more effective and even more enjoyable. My gains are slower in the short term, but over a longer timeline, they are far greater due to my ability to be consistent.

Coach Glassman issued the warning in an issue of the CrossFit Journal: “We have counseled in ‘Getting Started’ and repeatedly elsewhere that the WOD is designed to exceed the capacities of the world’s fittest humans and starting CrossFit by throwing yourself at the WOD 100% will result in devastating failure. We’ve recommended that anyone attempting CrossFit first get through a month of ‘going through the motions’ before diving in with full intensity—establish consistency before intensity. Countless badasses from sporting and special operations communities, long regarded as bulletproof, have been burned at the stake of ego and intensity.”

Placing consistency before intensity will prevent burnout and injury every time.

by Coach Aaron Hyatt

Although it might not be as fun or sexy as a 500-lb. deadlift or a two-minute Fran, taking time to log workout details can go a long way in helping you become a better CrossFitter. This is why we ask you to record your times and weights after a workout. The Triib app is a great resource for this, or you can even use a notebook and pen.

We all, hopefully, inherently understand the benefits of keeping a training log. However, many of us are either not maintaining one or simply going through the motions by adding our score on the board or computer.

A well-maintained training log can provide a wealth of historical data. It can contribute valuable clues about what might have precipitated an injury or what little things you might have done differently the last time you were setting PRs at a feverish pace.

What follows are just a few powerful reasons to take the extra time to keep a purposeful training log and some tips to get the most out of using one.

Injury Diagnosis and Treatment

The most pragmatic reason for keeping a detailed training log is to identify the root cause of a particular injury. While acute injuries leave little doubt as to their cause, most injuries happen over time and are an accumulation of many different types of stressors. These chronic injuries also happen to be the most difficult to diagnose, as well as the most troublesome from which to recover.

Imagine for a moment visiting your physician or therapist with a detailed history of things like specific increases in your training volume, stretching and mobility practices, how much you have added to your squat, and notes on days when a specific movement bothered you. How much more helpful to diagnosis and subsequent recovery would this be than simply telling him or her, “My knee hurts”?

As you progress toward recovery, the training log will continue its usefulness by providing information on what movements aggravate your injury and what movements aid the rehabilitation. The log can also help us learn from our training history so we do not repeat the same errors that caused the injury.

Quick tip:

• Add in the notes section if anything hurt or didn’t feel quite right before, during or after training. It can end up being an important clue should you sustain an injury, no matter how insignificant it might feel at the time.

Setting PRs

Think of the last time all your training just clicked. Looking back at a training log can provide insight into more than just what program you were following, WOD times and the amount of weight lifted. Keeping track of details like overall training time, eating habits, mobility, recovery and weekly training volume will provide just a few metrics that can give you insight into the ideal conditions for maximizing your progress.

With so many variables having the potential to affect your success, a training log provides a great way to isolate and track PRs and provide guidance for replicating what works for you.

Quick tips:

• Keep a month or longer “at a glance” page where you simply plan and track your training at a high level (days on and off, strength vs. met-con, time domains, etc.).
• Note how you perform when you train at a different time of day than usual.
• As an alternative to keeping a detailed food journal, record a simple numeric rating of your daily eating habits. For example, give yourself a 5 if you ate clean all day.

Celebrating Success

For those of us not at the top of the Games leaderboard or members of our box’s elite, it’s sometime easy to lose sight of progress made. A 185-lb. back squat may not be impressive when compared to some of the monsters in the CrossFit community until you look back and recognize you were squatting 100 lb. just a few short months ago.

Formally recognizing and celebrating personal accomplishments like these is how you stay motivated in the long term and continue to progress and grow. This is part of the reason why we keep a PR board and goal board.

Quick tips:

• Track progress on specific movements and WODs on a separate page so you can easily view long-term progress and trends on how you are progressing each time you tackle them.
• Make a point of logging and celebrating achievements on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis.

Goal Setting

Ben Smith, a high level games athlete, used to keep a piece of paper pinned to his garage wall that listed his goals. Ben would cross off  each accomplishment as he achieved them, one by one, until eventually he was Crossfit Games Champion.

What do you think has more to do with Ben’s success: an incredible work ethic or that piece of paper on the wall? The answer is both. The act of writing down his goals made them real and immediately increased the probability he would reach them. Success in CrossFit—or anything, for that matter—is about doing a bunch of small things consistently over a long period of time. Keeping your goals at the forefront and highlighting details of progress toward these goals are powerful motivators.

Quick tips:

• Set specific and measurable goals with a target date (e.g., “Add 50 lb. to deadlift by Aug. 31”).
• Dedicate a page in your journal for major performance goals and make a habit of reviewing them frequently.
• Schedule a specific day at three-, six-, nine- and 12-month intervals to review these goals, close the loop and ensure accountability.

Planning

Many people use a training log as a place to record and track workouts. It also can serve as a convenient planning tool. Scheduling in advance days to train and days to work on your weaknesses are two uses that come to mind. Using your training log as a short- and long-term planner will help establish a consistent and purposeful approach to doing all the little things right. Scheduling your training time in advance will also protect that time when other competing demands arise.

Quick tips:

• Schedule blocks of time a week in advance for your CrossFit training.
• Take into account any upcoming events or demands that might represent conflicts and plan training around them.
• Schedule specific days in advance for skill training, as well as the specifics of what you will do on those days (e.g., 3 sets of 10 handstand push-up progressions on Tuesdays and Thursdays).
• Schedule recovery days in advance to avoid the temptation of squeezing in an extra WOD.

Accountability

One of the most notable benefits of being involved with Paramount is the accountability membership demands. The combination of a coach and fellow CrossFitters being invested in your success makes it impossible to hide in the shadows and provides an extra push. While certainly no substitute for those things, a training log can provide some measure of accountability.

Benchmarking and recording your fitness level and formally scheduling frequent re-tests and recording results will provide an objective evaluation of your fitness over time. The training log also effectively shines a light on your performances, whether good or bad.

Quick tips:

• Create and record an initial benchmark.
• Schedule a re-test quarterly.
• Track all results on a single page.

What Now?

I doubt anything presented here is anything completely new to you that you probably didn’t already. However, I do hope it gets you thinking about how an extra few minutes and a simple pen and paper can help you achieve your goals of fitness. The benefits I’ve outlined above are just a few things that reinforce the value of recording more than just your WOD time on the whiteboard. What we ultimately get from the data we record is as unique and personal as the reasons why we all CrossFit.

If you are driven and motivated by data, then spending a few minutes a day with your training log can provide as much rich and relevant personal data as you can put in it. Like anything, I recommend starting small; for many of you, that will be simply writing something down. As keeping the log becomes more of a habit, begin to record more variables like warm-ups, mobility and skill work. Over time, you’ll realize what extra information is important for you to record, how to use it to set goals and stay accountable, and what impact it will ultimately have on your progress.

by Coach Aaron Hyatt

We are now a few weeks into 2018. How are you progressing towards your 3-month goals, your year-long goals? Many of you have goals related to specific movements or accomplishments in the gym. Quite a few of you have goals related to getting stronger, getting leaner, or maybe both. We all would love to accomplish our goals but, what I will tell you is, the “easiest” ways to help yourself are the ones you are consistently overlooking. Do not assume the only way to washboard abs is through the hardest of work and the Instagram highlights. In fact, most of the things on this list can’t fit into your 1-minute Instagram window or even be placed into your story, but they will get you leaner and stronger in 2018. Read and apply!

1. Sleep more.
   Okay, there is a reason this is number 1! It is literally what will dictate your hormones the greatest outside of you taking anabolic steroids of some sort. Nothing is more anabolic than sleep. So how can this work for you? I got it, go to bed earlier. Simple. It is not sexy, it is not fun, you may need to pass on your Netflix obsession until the weekend, but it will be worth it. Trust me. Aim for a solid 7 is what I tell most people who ask. If you can get more, then please do so, more will only help the training athlete.
2. Eat whole foods.
   Again, another one that is not the fun part. This isn’t slamming heavy weights and posting to Instagram, but this is what moves the needle the most, folks. A 6-pack is made in the kitchen. How can you attain one? Well like Coach Glassman said in Fitness In 100 Words, “Eat meat and veggies, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and NO sugar.” It’s pretty simple and even explains a brief idea of HOW MUCH of each to consume. As many meats and veggies and nuts and seeds as you want, less fruit than veggies, less starch than fruit and yes, you see it, NO SUGAR. That’s the hard part but also where the magic happens. Another simple application to this is to shop on the parameter of the grocery store and avoid the isles, envision your menu each day consisting of food you could hunt and kill or grow yourself.
3. Say no to refined carbs.
   For some reason, many athletes that come into the gym one hour a day think they need to eat pasta and rice and oats in order to get jacked and lean. Stop it. You are not a bodybuilder and you don’t train like one. Unless you train two sessions and have a vision for competition, you are really just making things harder on yourself. Stay safe and avoid things that come in a package. This goes a lot with number 2, but you can get all of your necessary carbohydrates from fruits and veggies and, when you need something more dense, a sweet potato will do!
4. Eat at least five meals a day.
   There are a few reasons for this and the primary being it keeps you from overindulging at any one particular serving. We know that the optimal goal is to keep our blood sugar fairly even through the day to avoid “lulls” and “spikes” and the best way to do this is to eat frequently. The hard part is that it takes planning. Be sure to plan your food at least one day ahead. My advice is to use the day of the week you have the most spare time, maybe that’s a Saturday or Sunday, and use an hour or two for food prep. It is best to make sure you have enough protein prepped for the week and then you can always find carbohydrate sources from fruits or veggies even when in a pinch.
5. Drink MORE water!
   Okay, by this point you are like, “Coach, c’mon man, we know this stuff.” If you do, then why aren’t you doing it? There are several different guidelines on how much water we should be consuming and it will differ from person to person, so I don’t have an exact number. Some sources will suggest around ten 8oz. glasses a day for men and eight 8oz. glasses a day for women. If you can shoot for something like this throughout the day, you’ll perform better in your training session for sure. And this is the number one hunger satiate we know of keeping you from making bad food choices.
6. Set a training schedule!
   Look, everyone is busy. We all have lives and some of us are in the hustle as a stay-at- home parent and some are business owners and others are servicemen. We come from diverse backgrounds but finding time to train is hard for everyone. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. You have to set your routine, then set your goal within that routine and give yourself some wiggle room. Know what time you will train each day as well so you can block it out in your schedule. It is important to have the ability to say “No” to things that can get in the way of your training if you want to reach your goals. An example of a great goal for most people is to make it to the gym five days a week. Let’s say for most CrossFit athletes out there they go Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. BUT the world we live in isn’t perfect and events come up that force us to reschedule. Maybe you have a big meeting on Wednesday but you still want to make it into the gym five days that week. So you simply change some things up and head in on Thursday so you can substitute that training session. This gives you the wiggle room that allows you to “make up” for what you can’t make happen. The point is, you must be willing to say NO to things that get in your way when you can.
7. Lift heavy weights at least three days a week.
   I know to many of you reading this it is an obvious point, but to other people out there training, they don’t see the benefits of heavy multiple joint movements. Men and women alike that want to get leaner and stronger MUST lift heavy things often. Movements like squats, lunges, press, push press, dead lift, bench press, the clean and jerk and the snatch are all very beneficial to building physique. Right now there is a trend of a lot of people wanting to do a lot of what we call “accessory” work to look like the people putting it out, but you won’t. You must understand that the foundation of any strong and lean physique was built through multiple joint movements done heavy, for years! Accessory movements are great and have their role but stick to moving as much weight as you can through the foundational lifts listed above and you’ll get phenomenal results. And don’t worry, we’ve got your back here! We lift heavy all the time!
8. Increase the loads.
   In order to do this correctly you have to track your progress. So the first thing you need to do is record your sessions somehow. It could be in an app or in your notebook. Doesn’t matter. But track! And do your BEST to increase the weights as you go! The truth is again that everyone wants fancy percentages and sexy numbers to perform movements based on but the best results happen when you simply go as heavy as you can from set 1 until you are done. Simple. The more the loads increase the more the strength gains continue to climb and in order to move weights you have to grow muscle! Which, if you are reading this, this is one of your goals anyway. Keep it simple.
9. Cardio?
   Yes, it will be necessary. In fact, you will still get many good anabolic effects when this is done correctly. If you keep this short and intense it will allow you to hold onto your strength gains and allow the physique to keep going in the direction of GAINS! The downside to long, slow cardio is that it is boring and it takes forever! It can be very beneficial and if you plan on being a competitive exerciser or even a physique competitor, it will be a necessary evil, but you will not need it to see that 6-pack! Keep your conditioning sessions between 8-12 minutes for the most part and train multi-joint movements in different combinations as much as you can. You know, basically do CrossFit. You can also add in single modality work like rowing, running, or swimming, but keep most of those sessions to interval-based efforts. This will help you keep the intensity high, get great results and not force you to go LONG in order to do so.
10. When in doubt, eat more protein.
    The bottom line is, protein is the building block of our cells. We need it in order to create more lean body mass. The more we get, the better, for the most part. When it comes to how much you should take in, it differs depending on your body size, but it is often recommended to take a minimum of 1 gram per pound of body weight each day. A 200lb. male should be consuming 200 grams of protein per day. If you have any experience with tracking food you know that eating that amount each day can be hard. Which is why it is important to have a supplement that you can take in order to help get those grams, especially after your training session.

Follow some of the above steps or follow them all. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel to help you reach your goals in 2018, keep it simple.

Best of luck! If you focus on these ten steps you will begin to see progress heading in the right direction in a matter of weeks.

by Coach Vanessa Dickens

As a coach, when I travel to a new city, my favorite thing to do is check out the local CrossFit gyms. It leaves me with the impression of community that comes from being a “CrossFitter”. No matter how far away from home you find yourself, you’re always welcomed with open arms. I love seeing how they run things, I discover some unique coaching cues that helps me improve a movement I’ve been struggling with and get inspiration for new warm ups, plus it’s always beneficial to be observed by a new set of eyes and being exposed to different opinions.

Here is my mental checklist when visiting a box:

1. Look for boxes closest to your location, try to narrow it down to 3-5. CrossFit boxes are like Starbucks, there is one on every corner!

2. Research their website and social media pages, get a feel for their community and overall vibe of the gym. For me, I’m looking for a fun group of people, not very competitive. I don’t care if they have coaches or athletes that have been to the Games.

3. Find out if they post the workout online or even a week of workouts, this way you can get a feel for the program and if it’s a good fit for you.

4. Review their drop-in policy, some boxes have a health waiver to fill out online, others require you to pay a fee or just buy a shirt—if you’re like me, I love buying a shirt!

5. Contact them ahead of time. As a coach, it’s a bit unsettling to suddenly have a drop-in. I have to quickly assess their fitness level, if they have any injuries, and sometimes have a delay in class in order to accommodate them. Save the coaches and gym the hassle and shoot them a quick email before popping in.

6. Give yourself some buffer room, time to get lost, to find parking, to introduce yourself to the coaches and members. I give myself at least 30 minutes because I always get lost and take forever to warm up.

7. Take a class, even if a gym has “open gym” you’ll get the best experience. The mutual suffering and victory high fives are the best. I love meeting cool people and learning about the city I’m visiting.

8. Introduce yourself and be friendly. I go out of my way to smile and meet everyone, I like to listen to other CrossFitters’ stories.

9. Respect the box. Get a feel for what everyone else is doing, are they slamming down bars? Are they neatly stacking plates? Is chalk everywhere? I am messy. I tend to leave piles of gear everywhere, so when I visit a box I do my best to be neat and tidy.

10. Take a picture. In our social media driven world, it always helps to give free publicity, and you can share the happy moment with everyone.

by Coach Vanessa Dickens

The other day I was having a conversation with a non-CrossFit friend, yes believe it or not I do still have a few of those that I have yet to convince to drink the proverbial Kool-Aid.

Initially, I was going to answer “Why Do I CrossFit?” with my standard “Because lifting is cool, AMRAP, EMOM, FOR TIME, is a neat way to challenge your overall metabolic conditioning, to look good naked, etc.” Then, I actually took a moment to really think about it, “Why do I CossFit”? It dawned on me that I’ve been doing it for so many years that it’s just what I do, kinda like brushing your teeth, you do it because it’s good for you. Plus, I’m a coach so it’s a given to actually take part in the daily beatings.

Allow me to share a few of my reasons, and I invite you to take some time to reflect on why you are CrossFitting too.

I do it to quiet the crazy and insecure thoughts in my head; there’s something about Cleaning more than my bodyweight that just shuts up that negative self-talk.

I do it to remind myself to be thankful for my healthy and able body; gritting through a high volume of double unders and pull ups until my shoulders are screaming and my lungs are burning, is truly a daunting experience.

I do it to have direction and focus; setting concrete fitness goals and the pure sense of bliss that follows when achieved.

I do it for the love of coaching; sharing fitness and helping people see the joy of working out brings a genuine smile to my face.

I do it for the friendships formed over the years, all the cheers and high fives fill me with joy on a daily basis.

I do it for the competitions, stepping out of my comfort zone and finding the strength within to keep pushing.

I do it to embrace my eccentric personality, literally covering myself in bright colors from my lifting belt to my barbell collars.

And most of all, I do it to evolve and make the most of this human experience called ‘life’.

by Coach Aaron Hyatt

There are three ways to approach goal-setting. First, the goal must be concise and specific. For example, “I want to complete 50 kipping pull-ups in a single set.” Second, the goal must be expressed in the positive tense. Such as, “I want to safely perform a free standing handstand hold.”vs. “I don’t want to fall while trying a free standing handstand hold.” Lastly, the goal must include a time frame that is challenging yet realistic and achievable.

A goal must be specific.

Before an athlete can go down the path to achievement, the athlete must understand the desired end state. The more focused the definition, the more opportunity there is for precise planning, preparation and training. In addition, by specifically defining a goal, the athlete can evaluate with precision when the goal has been met.

A goal must be expressed by the athlete in the positive tense.

In order to maximize human athletic potential and harmonize the mind-body connection, athletes must realize the significance and power of positive expression. The conscious and subconscious brain will either promote or inhibit athletic perfor- mance. If an athlete tells themselves consciously, “I don’t want to fall in the handstand,” their subconscious brain in fact hears, “I want to fall in the handstand.” This is because the subconscious does not hear the negative tense. By telling yourself what you don’t want to manifest, you actually create a blueprint for exactly what you intend to avoid. The key lesson for athletes, therefore, is to keep in a constant state of positive affirmation of the goal’s desired end state.

A goal must include a timeframe that is challenging, yet realistic and achievable.

The final point is perhaps the most important but least understood: a goal must contain a timeframe that is realistic and achievable, while at the same time providing the athlete with a certain amount of challenge and motivation. A goal set too far in the future will lack the urgency and fail to create the internal desire needed for accomplishment. On the other hand, too short a time frame may lead to discouragement and despair.

When deciding upon the time frame for a goal, a certain degree of self-assessment on the part of the athlete must take place. For example, if an athlete states that their goal is to perform a single set of 50 pull-ups in three months, they must realistically ask how many consecutive pull-ups they can currently complete. How specifically the athlete can answer that question will help in determining the best approach to supporting the achievement of the goal. If the athlete responds, “I’m not sure how many pull-ups I can do right now,” we need to find out immediately! The approach that should be taken to setting a time frame for completing 50 consecutive pull-ups will vary greatly if the athlete has five pull-ups as compared to 45 pull-ups.

When the lesson of goal setting is implemented by the Athlete, an exciting and rewarding journey suddenly awaits the five-pull-up athlete whose goal is to achieve 50 pull-ups: he or she has an opportunity to set and reach several smaller and more immediate goals along the way! These mini-triumphs will reaffirm to the athlete their ability to succeed and provide them with motivation and confidence. Remember, well before an athlete can reach 50 pull-ups, they must first reach 10, then 15 and then 20 pull-ups. Each of these seemingly small increments can in fact become a huge milestone and a chance for the athlete to say, “I can achieve that which I set my mind to.”

Athletes can use this advice to set goals that are concise and specific, expressed in the positive tense, and have a set time frame. This will help athlete stay motivated and achieving milestones well into the new year.