Do you know your numbers? by J9 150226

Do You Know Your Numbers?!

How many of you know your benchmark WOD times? What about your maxes on your Olympic lifts or your OHS? Or your 2K row time or your max # of unbroken pullups?

One simple thing that I have found to be so valuable in my many years of RedShed training is my training log (or training logssssssss).

As stated in the CFJ article "Know Your Numbers": http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ_2015_Numbers_Beers.pdf, it is also very beneficial to your Coach that you know this stuff.

There are many training sessions where we are taking a % of a max lift and by not being able to provide any point of reference to your Coach, you are preventing your Coach from tailoring the workout to you and helping you get the best results possible.  Everyone loves results! Everyone loves to PR! Write it down…have it handy for when you may need it next!

It’s satisfying to see improvement, and keeping track of data can also tell athletes and Coaches what’s working and what’s not, allowing them to make appropriate adjustments.

It is also great when you have awesome CrossFit training partners that can recall facts, figures, the approximate time it took to finish the WOD, what you were wearing, what tunes were playing or that day's temperature in an instant – and oh yeah, this took place 3 years ago!  It's like having super powers!

Remember when the benchmark WOD "JT" took a calendar to record the length of time it took to finish? Or the agony of the 2009 CF Games couplet of wallballs and snatches? Who won the last round of the row/burpee/du challenge? Is it a risk to eat magic muffins before all of your training for the day is done? What round of "Badger" is the most fun?! Why was Matt Walloga's birthday WOD so damn grueling?! Did you get through ALL your deadlifts in "Diane" unbroken?

What about stumbling across some encouraging words in your training log? Your Coach doesn't care that you were a leaver that day (that could very well be a lie)- because this gave your Coach an opportunity to show you some love that you could flip to on an unexpected day.

Maybe you prefer to track online or with an app on your phone.  Perfectly acceptable.  Logging your exercising is one of the simplest and best habits you can get into if you are training on a regular basis.

The ultimate goal, of course, is improved fitness. That's why athletes decide to do train at The RedShed in the first place. Because this training will always be based on using measurable results to improve performance over time, smart Coaches will find ways to get their athletes to track those results.

Think about it and as the quote on my Lululemon water bottle says: Do it now, Do it now, Do it now!

Rock on and olive the super powers that some of you have (you know who you are)!

J9