"How far can you go?"

I have a picture on my desk that says, "How far can you go?" I like it because my mind wanders when I look at it to African safaris, the CrossFit Games, or any other random image I have floating through my head. But sometimes I have to think, "How far have you come?"

I'm talking specifically in the last eight weeks. When I signed up for Zach's Oly Lifting in April, I did it to fix my cleans. I really struggled with the hang clean during the I Am CrossFit benchmark workout and wanted to fix it. Now eight weeks later, I wouldn't say that I am perfect with the movement but I have a basic foundation for barbell work that I didn't before. Working on Oly lifting has given me increased body awareness where I can feel what went wrong with a lift and how to fix it the next time. Zach still has to come over to me and break things down step by step but overall I've seen a vast improvement.

I've learned the importance of a workout log. Just as we turn our bodies into science experiments for food/nutrition we have to do this for workouts too. I have pages of notes of things Zach and Crystal or other trainers have said to me that made things click. Statements like "fast elbows", "butt down, chest up", or "concentrate" are repeatedly heard at the gym. Writing down during which lift you should hold your breath or what weight you used in a wod makes the workout science experiment even more precise.

What I like so much about Sicfit Austin is that the workouts aren't programmed for going all out, every single time. The programming leads up to strong lifts by preparing you each class for them. For example, last night we did heavy snatch deadlifts. Are snatch deadlifts ever going to show up in a competition? Probably not, but by doing them and challenging myself with the weight used, helps in the long run towards the technique of the first two pulls of the snatch. It's all about the big picture.

On a different subject, here's great summary of a food workshop from the blog world: Cosmo Primal Girl