It's been exactly one month since I started my training for the Open Crossfit competition which will take place in exactly 3 months. I thought it would be good to write a post to assess my weaknesses and strengths that I have come across in the past month.
The post will be broken down into: mentality, training ups & downs, and finally my diet.
1. Mentality:
A large part of training is really mental. Not physical. One of the things I always struggled with is believing in myself and ability, and most of all my strength. There were points where I used to get angry and feel disappointed with not getting the lift I wanted, the weight, or the time, or rounds I thought I could get. In fact, there were times where I literally just wanted to give up. But in the past month I learned that without my failures, I will not grow as a person or as an athlete.
I learned to accept there will be heavy gravity days, there will be days where I don't get what I want, but I also learned through my failures is that I actually wanted to get it even more. So that meant I need to work harder and think smarter. Instead of freaking out about the weight I will be picking, or the workout I have to do, I need to think about my goals, about what I want to achieve - and do my best to achieve it, even if it meant failing again and again.
And to be honest? I got greedy a bit with my lifts and reality hit me when I struggled TWICE to life 85kgs, when I did lift it once 3 times in a row....EASY!
Lesson? Don't get greedy. There will be really good days. Keep working hard. You will see results.
2. Training up & downs:
I recently found out that my body is literally "all over the place." In other words, I have a leg that is slightly longer than the other, one hip has more range of motion (ROM), I don't have full ROM of my shoulders - and it has been a big stumbling block in my training, by the way. Anything overhead SUCKS! Putting it all together is affecting my spine and my "natural" posture...to put the situation in simple words.
Due to the reasons above, a lot of what I need to achieve, I have not been able to - and need physiotherapy for it (still do, but financial situation is not allowing me to do it as often as I need to). Hopefully it will get sorted out soon!
Anyway..., I have been working on my mobility for at least two months now, and slowly I am learning to deal with these "situations." And honestly? Sometimes they freak me out. I wonder if I will ever be able to get my issues resolved to make the best of my strength so I can make it to the crossfit regionals. I often wonder... Will I ever be able to get 40kgs overhead? Will I ever be able to overhead squat more than 20kgs? Will I be able to do a handstand in the right position? Let alone handstand pushups! Will I be able to squat more weight?
I have these fears, but I am not letting them stop me from training or pushing against odds. For all it's worth, let me list down my training "ups" & "need to work on..."
Last month ups...
Need to work on....
3. Diet
People often ask me what I eat and what eating lifestyle I follow. Well, I follow my own guidelines. Yes, there are eating lifestlyes that are the most "ideal", and work for the majority. But not for me. I had a number of people either advising me on what to eat or how I should eat. I only realized by doing so I only became obsessed with food, and every single bite I had made me feel guilty if I "strayed" from what I should be eating.
Four years ago, I actually had a major binging problem - not the point I had to go to someone to "fix it" or "fix me", but I knew I was going through a path of self-destruction. I started dieting, counting calories, not eating certain foods...and then going CRAZY on weekends, nachos, burgers, 3 scoops of ice cream. YOU NAME IT!
Finding myself in that old mentality - again, mentality - I realized you know what? It's not that I don't care what the experts told me is best for me to get the best results, but I know if I did exactly what they told me to do through sudden changes in my eating lifestyle, I am only setting up myself for failure. I was doing perfectly fine on my own as I know the consequences of the food I am eating, I know what reaction I will get from certain foods and whatnot. I understand how to control my weight, how to gain and how to lose.
So in the past two years I have been following my own diet and despite eating the way I did, I still made muscle mass gains, strength gains, I lost 15% of bodyfat in 2 years ON MY OWN in a healthy way - mentally and physically. So I decided I will continue doing what I am doing, and SLOWLY change some eating habits when I see fit according to the advice given to me.
My diet consists of the following food items:
The post will be broken down into: mentality, training ups & downs, and finally my diet.
1. Mentality:
A large part of training is really mental. Not physical. One of the things I always struggled with is believing in myself and ability, and most of all my strength. There were points where I used to get angry and feel disappointed with not getting the lift I wanted, the weight, or the time, or rounds I thought I could get. In fact, there were times where I literally just wanted to give up. But in the past month I learned that without my failures, I will not grow as a person or as an athlete.
I learned to accept there will be heavy gravity days, there will be days where I don't get what I want, but I also learned through my failures is that I actually wanted to get it even more. So that meant I need to work harder and think smarter. Instead of freaking out about the weight I will be picking, or the workout I have to do, I need to think about my goals, about what I want to achieve - and do my best to achieve it, even if it meant failing again and again.
And to be honest? I got greedy a bit with my lifts and reality hit me when I struggled TWICE to life 85kgs, when I did lift it once 3 times in a row....EASY!
Lesson? Don't get greedy. There will be really good days. Keep working hard. You will see results.
2. Training up & downs:
I recently found out that my body is literally "all over the place." In other words, I have a leg that is slightly longer than the other, one hip has more range of motion (ROM), I don't have full ROM of my shoulders - and it has been a big stumbling block in my training, by the way. Anything overhead SUCKS! Putting it all together is affecting my spine and my "natural" posture...to put the situation in simple words.
Due to the reasons above, a lot of what I need to achieve, I have not been able to - and need physiotherapy for it (still do, but financial situation is not allowing me to do it as often as I need to). Hopefully it will get sorted out soon!
Anyway..., I have been working on my mobility for at least two months now, and slowly I am learning to deal with these "situations." And honestly? Sometimes they freak me out. I wonder if I will ever be able to get my issues resolved to make the best of my strength so I can make it to the crossfit regionals. I often wonder... Will I ever be able to get 40kgs overhead? Will I ever be able to overhead squat more than 20kgs? Will I be able to do a handstand in the right position? Let alone handstand pushups! Will I be able to squat more weight?
I have these fears, but I am not letting them stop me from training or pushing against odds. For all it's worth, let me list down my training "ups" & "need to work on..."
Last month ups...
- Deadlifting 85kgs x 3
- Shoulder press position improved significantly
- Got wall handstands & one free handstand
- Squat form improved GREATLY within 7 months
- Improved kipping
- Split jerk @ 35kgs
- 1RM Squat @ 65kgs
- Push Press @ 32.5kgsx5
- Capacity and endurance improved
- ...mostly? Mentality by the end of month one. Patience has set in and determination.
Need to work on....
- Improving mentality every single session
- Gymnastic skills: handstands, ring dips...to name a few
- Up on the list is DOUBLE UNDERS! They are a MUST in competition, and I ain't got them
- Improve my Olympic lifts: Clean&Jerk and The Snatch (technique and weight)
- Other skills: Knee to Elbows, Kettlebell swings with big weights
- Need unbroken box jumps
- Hollow rocks
- Running (I am a fast sprinter, but not a good runner!)
- Increase amount of weight lifted overhead.
3. Diet
People often ask me what I eat and what eating lifestyle I follow. Well, I follow my own guidelines. Yes, there are eating lifestlyes that are the most "ideal", and work for the majority. But not for me. I had a number of people either advising me on what to eat or how I should eat. I only realized by doing so I only became obsessed with food, and every single bite I had made me feel guilty if I "strayed" from what I should be eating.
Four years ago, I actually had a major binging problem - not the point I had to go to someone to "fix it" or "fix me", but I knew I was going through a path of self-destruction. I started dieting, counting calories, not eating certain foods...and then going CRAZY on weekends, nachos, burgers, 3 scoops of ice cream. YOU NAME IT!
Finding myself in that old mentality - again, mentality - I realized you know what? It's not that I don't care what the experts told me is best for me to get the best results, but I know if I did exactly what they told me to do through sudden changes in my eating lifestyle, I am only setting up myself for failure. I was doing perfectly fine on my own as I know the consequences of the food I am eating, I know what reaction I will get from certain foods and whatnot. I understand how to control my weight, how to gain and how to lose.
So in the past two years I have been following my own diet and despite eating the way I did, I still made muscle mass gains, strength gains, I lost 15% of bodyfat in 2 years ON MY OWN in a healthy way - mentally and physically. So I decided I will continue doing what I am doing, and SLOWLY change some eating habits when I see fit according to the advice given to me.
My diet consists of the following food items:
- Lean meats (chicken, steak, turkey...and now introduced salmon)
- Eggs
- Lots of veggies (mixed greens, carrots, broccoli...etc,)
- Wholewheat rice or white rice occassionally
- A bit of dairy (a cup of milk every other day and an ounce of cheese in my salad)
- Healthy fats: nuts, avocado, olive oil, coconut oil...
- Sauces: balsamic or lemon olive oil.
- Ice cream (specifc flavors!) or chocolate (I only eat lindt milk chocolate actually!) on specific days post-workout (Disclaimer: it works for me - it may not work for you, so don't try it!)
- I should eat fruits, I don't as much as I should. One fruit a day would be enough for me.
The above is just a quick run through of the kind of foods I eat. Most of my calories come from protein sources and healthy fats, and some from carbs. Also, I often stay away from junk food: i.e. fried foods and pastries. I eat whole foods 80% of the time, so the results I see are from my diet and not just training Just how I turned my eating lifestyle around in 2 years, I will turn it around even more with time. Baby steps!
Like I say...achieving a healthy lifestyle is a process, and it's not a procedure. Keep that in mind everytime you slip off the wagon - it will still be there for you to hop up on. If you choose to.
Yours truly,
GymFreak @999fitness
Like I say...achieving a healthy lifestyle is a process, and it's not a procedure. Keep that in mind everytime you slip off the wagon - it will still be there for you to hop up on. If you choose to.
Yours truly,
GymFreak @999fitness
