October Micro-Goals: Getting Back on Track

For those of you that work in higher education, or education in general, you can attest to what the month of September translates to in the amount of time you dedicate to work. After facilitating a three week training for student leaders and preparing for 350 college students to arrive on campus, it's finally time to get back on track.

Finding balance during these busy times has still eluded me. But that's not the point here, the point is that every one is going to stray away from their routine at some point and time for whatever reason. The difference is in the past you slipped and didn't get back on track. That's not what is going to happen here. I think back to the Sickness, Wellness and Fitness continuum. Every decision we make either moves us closer to Fitness or moves us to Sickness. The goal is to create the biggest buffer possible between the two. This buffer allows us to have a cheat meal...or day, or take a week off or become consumed with work and fail to stick to your normal regime. The buffer means that we aren't going to get sick after the holidays because the buffer is the hard work and blood and sweat and tears that moved you towards Fitness. But the buffer only lasts for so long before we are back to square one.

 

I decided I was going to start setting small "micro-goals" to help get me back on track towards my fitness goals. These goals are only for a week and will be small victories that are so powerfully motivating when facing adversity. It coincidentally worked out that Monday in October 1st. A new month, a new week, a fresh start. I love it. 

This week I'm going to work on a weakness that typically holds me back in WODs. Running. My goal is to wake up at 6am (and that obviously means 6:15ish) and run a mile. This is challenging for a couple reasons. 1) I am not a morning person. Waking up at 6am is challenge enough. But I have also been envious of early risers and I hope this will create a new routine to get up earlier and enjoy the day. 2) I am not a runner. I never have been. A mile isn't much, but it's a start. The feeling that I can envision having Friday morning, knowing that I ran 5 miles this week, in addition to CrossFit classes tastes like euphoria right now. I will have to keep this in mind Tuesday morning when my alarm goes off.

The other goal that I am setting is to simply drink more water. The ideal amount of water is to take your weight (in lbs) and divide by 2. That's how many ounces you should be shooting for. It is clear how much better I feel when I'm hydrated. Listen to your body and drink water.

How do you set goals for fitness? Have you ever tried micro-goal setting? If you're interested in setting your own, let me know, we can all share our successes together.

FBC

P.S. This morning's mile time was 9:19. Not a PR by a long shot, but give me a break, it was early! 

Why Do You CrossFit?

I sent out a couple tweets asking folks why they CrossFit. I got a few responses that I thought were pretty cool and insightful into the many reasons people walk into a box to kick the crap out of themselves multiple times a week.

Here are a few responses that I received:

@_Erin807_ "to be stronger than yesterday; and to be even stronger tomorrow"

@Johnarmstrong "Feel good, be healthy, maintain good blood sugar/cholesterol, weight loss. So many more..."

@tickenz "to get in shape, get stronger, and to get motivated by a great community of athletes!"

@thehoss2555 "to be better than the person who doesn't!!"

Sometimes I feel that the innate pressure that CrossFit creates to compete with yourself and others, to get that PR, to push your body to its limits in the gym, allows for the purpose behind the journey outside the gym to get lost.

Why is it exactly that we do this week in and week out? Why is tooling around on the elliptical not good enough anymore? Why do we pay money to do what can only be described as torture at times?

The short answer?

Because it works.

But it only works if you know what you are working for. What are your goals? To lose weight? To get into shape? To be a better parent/spouse/sibling/son/daughter/co-worker/person? To get strong?

But what does it all mean?

So you want to lose weight. Join the club. But what is the purpose of wanting to lose that weight?

What do you want to do with your body and mind that you couldn't do before?

That is the ultimate question that only you can answer for yourself. And it needs to be answered.

I had a vision of myself and my body that became disproportional to reality. CrossFit has allowed me to change the reality, but I've found that my vision has changed as well. I have higher expectations for what I can do and more importantly what I want to do.

This weekend I went on a hike that I haven't done for a couple years. I remember being self-conscious and embarrassed about how tired and out of shape I was the last time. I remember it being a beautiful day, with great people, on a medium grade hike, and I had an absolutely horrible time.

My vision of my abilities collided abruptly with reality.

This weekend was different. I felt great. I had fun. I enjoyed being surrounded by nature, with the bustle of the city far removed from a beautiful backdrop. I had great conversation. I smiled. I laughed.

I paused for a minute and silently reflected, "this is why I CrossFit."

The feeling was better than any PR that I could have hit; than shooting for a sub-(you pick a number) Fran time.

I push myself to the limit inside the gym so that I can push my limits outside of the gym. This is the secret that CrossFit doesn't tell you. That you have to find out for yourself. That an hour a day can significantly upgrade the other 23.

The mental euphoria of those endorphins flowing through your body transfer to reality. And when your reality changes, your vision changes.

CrossFit is simply a tool to get you to where you want to go. In my opinion, it happens to be one of the most effective tools to get you there. But you ultimately decide the destination.

And while you're getting to where you're going, don't forget to stop and enjoy the journey every once and awhile.

So where are you going? Where is the byproduct of all your hard work going to guide you? What do you want to do with your body that you couldn't do before?

-FBC

 Beautiful day and view of the falls.

The pup not used to 90 degree weather. 

He slept well that night!

Monday Motivation

Greatness

"Greatness is no more unique than breathing. We're all capable of it. All of us."

Why Did I Start Fat Boy Crossfit?

I started this blog for a multitude of reasons. The first of course is that I have seen amazing results from this sport of fitness in a relatively short amount of time. I’ve been Crossfitting since January and in seven short months I am completely addicted to functional movements.

When I first walked into the gym, I weighed in at 275 lbs. By far the most out-of-shape that I had been in my entire life. I grew up always involved in organized sports and was for the most part a stand out athlete amongst my peers. This proceeded through high school and into college until all of a sudden workouts were not required. Then the slow and slippery slope to obesity began.

To date, I’m down 30 lbs. and feeling better than ever. My body composition has changed dramatically and my overall level of fitness has skyrocketed. 

So here I am, seven months into the sport of fitness and I decided to start a blog. Why? Because the more I have been into this community, the more I realize how intimidating it is for large folks to get into it. The folks that need to be here the most.

Perception vs. reality.

Did you watch the CrossFit Games this past weekend? So did I. An amazing display of fitness from some of the most phenomenal athletes in the world. But is that the reality? When I look around my box, I see a handful of athletes that look like the phenoms we saw on TV. I see a lot more athletes that look like everyday people trying to non-everyday tasks while they kick the shit out of themselves. Reality.

Put yourself in the perspective of an out-of-shape, overweight, perhaps obese individual. Can you imagine how intimidating it would be to step foot into a Crossfit box thinking it’s full of folks you see on TV?

So here I am. Just a fat dude that is a little less fat than I used to be and hopefully not as fat as I always will be, trying to spread the word that Crossfit is for us too! Once you do get inside, you’ll realize it for yourself. But I get it. Taking that first step inside is probably the hardest. I know I was terrified. My hope is that this can be a dropbox of motivation and a celebration of victories. When you surround yourself with positive people, it makes your own mindset all the better. After all, Crossfit is more mental exercise than physical.

All the best in your own journey. Enjoy it. Share it.

-FBC