From CrossFit Southbay
With your fitness, have you hit a dead spot?? Lost your motivation or focus, without knowing why or what you should do next?? Questioning why you push yourself so hard in the gym?? With CrossFit, and fitness in general, people often go through stages of progression with regard to their abilities and focus. (These periods can be dramatically different depending on your starting level of fitness)
Day 1 – 3 Months
This is the portion of CrossFit/fitness where you are generally just figuring out the program. In CrossFit, this is the time where you learn the lingo (AMRAP, KBS, HSPU) and the basic movements,what makes a “good” squat, pushup, etc. Normally you will see some results during this time, but often, the gains are small. Additionally, this is usually when going to the gym is simply “showing up”. You are making fitness a habit and part of your routine. If you can endure the soreness and can keep coming to they gym during this period, you will start to see awesome results in the month ahead.
3 Months – 6 Months
Results time. The results seem to come faster now, you are lifting way more than when you first came in and are starting to feel comfortable with the basic lifts. You have now started to incorporate good diet and lifestyle habits into your daily life. Maybe you experimented with Paleo, or are just trying to avoid that extra cupcake at work. This is usually the time when you have started to notice changes in your body, you feel better-sleep better. Your clothes have started to fit better, and you are seeing muscle definition in areas that you didn’t before.
Depending on where you were when you started, sometime between the 6 month mark and the 18 month mark, you will likely start to plateau on your results. You have now surpassed your “beginner gains”. This is the stage where you will look up at the times on the board and think things like “I will never catch THAT guy”, or “how did she get SO fast”. Additionally, you will have likely achieved what you set out to (get in shape, lose some weight, keep up with your kids). Thus, this is often where you will start to question why you continue to work so hard at the gym. Questioning things like “why am I doing CrossFit?”, “will I continue to get better?”, “should I try something different”.
This is the stage where you will need to start evaluating your fitness and your goals. Maybe your goal is now to have a “great” body, not just a “good” body. Maybe you want to get back to more surfing or volleyball. Maybe you want to see what you are capable of in the gym. Maybe you want to compete at CrossFit, triathlons, etc. This is the time to use all the capabilities you have acquired and re-assess where you are at. One of the best ways to do this is by using a Skills Chart. We are currently in the process of creating our own, but one of my favorites is over at CrossFit Portland. By using this skill chart, you can see where you need to spend more time. Maybe you are strong, but your running and rowing are awful.
Depending on your goals, your fitness needs may change. Maybe you just need to do CrossFit a couple days a week to maintain your results while using the extra time to enjoy what you love. Maybe you want to specialize in something you found at CrossFit (more gymnastics, more Pilates, more weightlifting). Or, if you want to test yourself, try to move up a level with everything on the skill sheet.
1.5 Years-Infinity
Often, your next few years will be spent bouncing around in the fields of fitness and sport, using your newfound abilities to enjoy life. This is also when you try specializing in one thing that you like. If you get tired of that one, try specializing in something else. There are tons of things out there to try and take advantage of, from advanced gymnastics to specialized Olympic weightlifting to endurance training. Truly, there is no limit to what you can accomplish if you dedicate yourself to it. Also, CrossFit will always provide a new challenge when you need one… The original CrossFitters are still setting new PR’s on a regular basis… 10 years after starting!!
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