Why give 100%

I have written a little on here about how to give 100% (check it out here)

The benefits of giving 100% are remarkable, a huge difference compared to 99%. Giving 100% comes from every aspect of life, not just during a workout. Being 100% in all aspects of life take commitment and will help to take your fitness to the next level. These are things like eating perfect, sleeping, recovery techniques, and stress management whatever that may be for you. These things all go hand in hand. I had a bad night of eating recently and thought it didn't affect my workout, but during the workout I didn't really achieve 100% and I probably did not recover like I should have. I just got through the workout. I noticed the night I ate bad that I slept terribly, making me more tired and stressed the next day. You see how they all are connected? People always try to get better by doing more, but why not try doing better? Ever heard of quality, not quantity? I truly believe in this and it is something I have learned over the last year or two. Try making every aspect of your life 100% and getting the absolutely most out of your workouts. What's the difference between taking 1 sec off of your wod time? Well at the elite level it can be huge, it can make all the difference in the world. So every workout that I do, I start with that mindset; it's the Crossfit motto of "every second counts!"

Here is an excerpt from a very good coach pushing Olympic athletes to reach their limits. It comes from OPT's blog back in February 2010.

Q: If an athlete hits a personal best, you usually stop the workout, regardless of what's left on the paper. Why is that?

CF: Well, it's dangerous. The time people get hurt is the next session after they've had a tremendous performance.

Q: Because they're trying to top themselves?

CF: Not just because they're psyched up and trying to beat their PR, but because their bodies haven't recovered from it. With very heavy weights it can take ten to twelve days to get over a maximal lift, same thing in sprinting. There's a huge difference between 95 and 100% performance. So instead of the 100 meters in 10 flat, it becomes 10.45 or 10.50. The difference in output and effort is unbelievable. Even though it's in the 95th percentile and qualifies as high intensity work, it's a joke. Keep in mind this only applies at the highest levels. If a kid gets a personal best, so what? We're talking about world record levels.

Q: In your book, The Charlie Francis Training System, there's a picture of Mark McKoy benching 315. The caption reads, "This is an indication of the upper body strength required to be a 10.19 second 100-meter sprinter and the number three hurdler in the world in 1987." Can you clarify that? Does a person need to bench a certain amount to be a contender?

CF: It's not a formula that says, you've got to be able to bench this and squat that. What it means is that high-quality performances are the result of high-quality training. There's nobody who can go out there, for example and say, "Oh, I want to beat Michael Johnson in the 400, well, I'll just go do what he does." Look, if you can't beat him in the race, you can't do his workouts! It would take years to build up to those things, so who cares what he does in his workout? You can't do it, so don't worry about it!

love it...

Fight Gone Bad

There are times when I hate Crossfit.  Sometimes I feel beat up, stressed for my workout, and it becomes a job making me tired all the time not permitting any kind of social life.  But every once in a while I'm reminded why I love it.  It's like golf, the most frustrating game ever, but it just takes one great shot to keep you coming back.  Today I had one of those great shots.  I was very nervous going into FGB.  I took a few days off the prior weekend due to a small injury and I did not feel like I was prepared.  I thought there was no way I could even come close to my previous best score and started making excuses for myself to not go hard in the workout.  I finally got over my fear somewhat and made a lofty goal for myself of 435.  I went into the workout trying to stick to that pace.  I came out with a score of 440.  That wasn't all that surprised me, I didn't even feel that bad, I think I had more in me.  I felt great!  The previous times I did this I was rolling on the ground for ten min afterward.  I needed this workout to boost my confidence.  I was struggling the past week with an injury, lack of energy, eating poorly through the holidays and all this made me lack motivation and most of all confidence.  This workout was a confidence booster.

  I always say there is a moral to every workout.  Here is the lesson I take from this; there are going to be times when things get tough.  It is inevitable that things will not always go your way, but it is how well you can claw and scratch to get back.  I feel confidence and motivation go hand in hand.  Both were down for me this past week.  I really did not want to do this workout for a million excuses I could have made up.  I told myself to just do it.  I didn't want to give myself a big goal to shoot for because I thought it would be too painful.  But I told myself just stick with the plan and see how long I can hold on, don't let fear hold me back.  I didn't just give up or make excuses of why I couldn't go hard.   It got my confidence up and now Im motivated to keep on going.  It kind of got me out of my slump.  I talked with OPT afterward and he said "learn from this, it has just begun!" Here we go...

I feel you can apply this to any aspect of life.  Don't let fear hold you back, just try it and you may just surprise yourself.  This will increase your confidence and in turn motivation.  Coincidentally on OPT's blog he just put a quote that applies perfectly.

• No one thought it was possible to run a mile in 4 minutes; Bannister does it, then 4 people do it in 1 year, now high school kids do it regularily; how much are we limiting ourselves based upon what we know?
  The athlete I want does not know why they are doing what they are doing; they are just doing!
  

Even more coincidental is on the crossfit mainsite for today, they also have a quote on motivation that applies.  You think that motivation is a big part in achieving your goals?

• "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily."
  - Zig Ziglar
  

Here's the FGB video!

Fight Gone Bad from Joseph Warren on Vimeo.

"broken"

Every once in a while you find yourself broken down.  While this is discouraging it is a good time to reflect and grow.  It humbles you and brings you back down to earth.  We all can relate to this, if it is in every day life, work, family, or friends.  We have to know our limits so we can protect ourselves from injury and we know where we need work in order to progress.  Everything you do takes progression and you must take the first step with a goal in mind and a path determined of how to achieve that.  Most greatness happens when the journey is enjoyable, not just the outcome.  Sometimes during a workout when Im in extreme pain, I try to smile because I know its supposed to be fun!  

Today I did a workout called "unbroken".  It broke me down.  Here is a video of me getting my ass handed to me.  I had to cut the video short because I had to take too much rest before completing the workout.  Even though pushing the limits is great to improve your fitness, and what I try to get all my clients to do, sometimes I need to know my limits or I will fail miserably.  Its one of the hardest things to do in crossfit, figuring out how to pace yourself.  When do you push through the pain, and when do you breath?  Today I failed.  It was on 20th rep of the last set, I just couldnt do another one.  I was at 5:20 at that time, I waited 1 min tried again and failed at 18 reps.  I rested a while again and finally completed 20 unbroken pullups.  This was 9 min later for a total time of 14:25.  I was 1 rep away from 5:20, and failed because I didnt know my limits and 9 min later I finished my last set. Enjoy watching me get "broken".

The workout was:

20 unbroken pullups

500m row

20 unbroken pullups

500m row

20 unbroken pullups

"unbroken" from Joseph Warren on Vimeo.

Working hard!

Not much activity on here lately, been very busy getting our new Crossfit gym opened which will finally be happening tomorrow.  With that I have been writing most of my thoughts on our gym's main page website crossfitcadence.com, so check that out.  I have still been working our very hard, maybe too hard with how busy I am with everything else (may be taking a toll on my personal relationships, sorry Tay, you are very supportive of me and everything I do).  I am probably working the hardest I have ever worked in my life.  We will see how it pays off in my next competition on November 14 & 15.  Stay tuned and lets see where it goes.

Here is a clip of one of the greatest efforts I ever put forth during a workout.

Fight Gone Bad - 422 from Joseph Warren on Vimeo.