Looking Up From The Bench

Hey Guys! Julia here. Today I wanted to follow-up on an article I wrote awhile back about intensity in CrossFit, and how this concept is fundamental to being able to garner results for whatever our fitness goals may be. The question is how do we maintain this intensity? One suggestion, that is the focus of today’s write-up, is to SCALE IF NEEDED. Many (myself included) feel a great desire to Rx the workout. We want to have a shot to be on the leaderboard, or compete with those at a high level. Some may even feel that scaling means they didn’t do the “real” workout and that no matter what, “as prescribed” is always better. However, I’m here to tell you that it is just the opposite. The true progress, strides in our fitness goals, and improvement in our athletic endeavors will come more quickly and easily when we scale to a level that allows us to maintain the stimulus of the workout, and get as close to the goal as possible. In CrossFit, we have many facets of fitness we ar...

In CrossFit we teach a basic hierarchy of importance in our exercise, especially when starting out, form à consistency à intensity. Meaning our first priority is in developing proper movement patterns that will yield safety and efficiency. Second, showing up on a regular basis practicing these skills over and over again. And third, only at this point adding intensity, such as upping the weight used, racing our neighbor, or trying more advanced skills. I recently saw a post online relating this concept to life that I found particularly eye-opening. It’s no secret to any that have read this blog that I am on a quest to overcome the mental deficits I feel hold me back as an athlete and in other parts of my life. After recently completing the Open, these concerns were especially difficult. I couldn’t help but feel discouraged and hopeless by this situation. I was more focused than ever on overcoming these issues and they seemed overwhelmingly hindering the majority of the competition...

Writing is a form of catharsis for me that is incredibly healing. There is something special about removing thoughts from my own mind and putting them out into the world; somehow giving them less power to influence me, and feeling more supported in overcoming them. I have refrained from writing for the last couple weeks due to an inability to bring positivity, or even what I would consider a meaningful contribution to the world. I would like to attempt this today. I do not however, feel the same catharsis from taking photos. Thus, please enjoy various pictures of my cat throughout this post, as I have no new images of myself or workouts that would enhance the blog. I will work on being more consistent with these in the future! The 2017 CrossFit Games Open has ended. The experience I had throughout this competition was remarkably more difficult than previous years. The stress and anxiety I felt, and the subsequent roller coaster of emotions I encountered throughout...