The Year of Health

Bahahaha.

I’ll be the first to tell you that I tend to be a bit of an overachiever. I am chronicling a year’s worth of health goal setting, and so it’s pretty safe to say that I’m going to overshoot with a goal at some point.

Well it happened this month, particularly with my training goals. My goal was to strength train 3 days a week and Crossfit 2 days a week. Mid-month, I dropped that down to 2 and 2 of each. And walking a lot. And doing daily push ups. Overall, it was just kind of a lot. Too much for my current capacity.

I was focusing on strength training because I thought doing Crossfit and a strength program would get me stronger faster. Well, as it turns out, I won’t get stronger at all if I don’t actually get into the gym and lift. Here’s the problem… I don’t like lifting alone, for several reasons. Maybe it’s the juiced up muscle heads at my gym that practice their Flex magazine poses in between sets. But I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I’m painfully social. If I’m alone for too long, I get squirrely. So going to a gym, listening to my headphones, and cranking away with lifts by myself is incredibly boring for me. Also, I don’t like pushing myself. Call me lazy, but I just don’t do well going into a gym and going really hard; I have very little motivation for that. And finally, when I lift after a 9-10 hour day at the office, I simply have no mental capacity to 1. navigate a strength program and 2. get myself focused and jazzed. So clearly, lifting alone at the gym isn’t my ideal. I don’t like it, I don’t look forward to it, and therefore, I just don’t do it.

Nor did I do it in February, despite a specific focus to do it.

Let’s talk about Crossfit. Let’s be clear, I don’t think that Crossfit is the end-all, be-all of fitness. I personally enjoy it, but I know it’s not for everyone. I think it’s ridiculous how the Crossfit deal seems so love it or hate it. People either treat it like a religion, or they spend a ton of time and energy bashing it. Who cares people – try it. If you like it, do it, if you don’t, don’t do it. We’re not talking Socrates level logic here, folks.

Anyway, I happen to really enjoy Crossfit. Particularly at my gym. I’m at an awesome gym with wonderful coaches and fellow athletes. Everyone is so supportive and encouraging. I like getting to take a class with several other people, because that means I have someone to talk to. I also have people to compete against. I am competitive to a fault, so having other people there for friendly competition pushes me much harder than I would push myself. They play loud gangster rap during work outs which I particularly like (nothing comes between me and my Jay Z). Crossfit challenges me to do things I would never do otherwise, like row, lift barbells, climb ropes, flip tires, and other shenanigans.

So, what this month taught me is that sometimes you just shouldn’t try to shove your square self into a round fitness routine. I decided to stop trying to coerce myself into the gym to lift on my own, and instead just do what I really want to do: hit Crossfit 3-4 times a week and go at it hard. Let someone else tell me what to do, draw on the energy and enthusiasm of the other people there, and get my social needs filled. The women there who go consistently are pretty freaking strong, so I’m pretty sure if I go consistently, I’ll get there too.

My favorite line from one of my favorite movies, Little Miss Sunshine, is “do what you love and f*** the rest.” Well February taught me to do that. I’m going to do what I love, and not worry about the rest. I still am concentrating on moving more throughout my day in general,  but from a training perspective, I’m going to K.I.S.S. Thank you, February. Lesson learned.

photo credit: ultimateclassicrock.com