Perceiving Progress in Fitness
Whitney Reese always impresses me with how much breadth and depth she has command over in our conversations. It doesn’t seem to matter what the topic is, she always has such intelligent words back. This conversation was no different. I wanted to ask Whitney how she has experienced and coached people through long term fitness progress and mastery. I was curious about that because we often hear today that people want to “get better now.” Of course we want to help people do that, but it’s when we can help somebody align the “right now” with the bigger picture that they enjoy the process and ultimately have more likelihood of success in the beginning, middle, and end.
What does it mean to progress in the long-term?
Whitney really thought about this and gave a well articulated answer of “it depends” haha. She didn’t use those words, but she did go into the truth that the goal partially determines what progress looks like.
If you are working on a skill goal, Whitney used a rainbow move in soccer, you simply need to do it over and over and over again until you’ve “got it.” However, once you’ve got it, you need to then decide what you’re going to do with it which is where Whitney’s brilliance really came out.
Once you achieve a goal, either you decide to press on and build on that goal you just achieved, or you decide to change focus and go after something that isn’t necessarily correlated to the work you’ve just put in.
Whitney has seen a pretty consistent personality style that correlates to what decision people often make. Me, I like to hit new goals in a search for ongoing experience and wisdom. Many others, they love to continue to build their specific pathway to mastery!
Where do you fall into that spectrum of jumping from thing to thing vs sticking to things for longer-term mastery? There isn’t a right or wrong answer there, there is only what you take sustained fulfillment from. But, like everything else, there are tradeoffs to the good and bad based off of where you fall
The ebbs and flows of progress
Whether you are a “jumper” from goal to goal, or you’re somebody into a goal for longer-term goals, you will have ups and downs. Whitney spoke plainly that she generally sees larger ebbs (downs) for people who are specifically focused on 1 goal because it’s so much more clear what you’re focused on as well as it gets harder and harder to progress the better you get. It doesn’t mean it’s a negative experience, though. It simply means you need to be prepared for it to take time and not be linear. Whitney referenced a mountain tree line where the trend is certainly going up the mountain, but it’s not a straight line up.
Sometimes people who experience ebbs quit early. Oftentimes that says that the expectations weren’t set very well up front. They need to know that it’s not always a straight line to success.
What does mastery mean?
For the person who likes to change things up, they often find that expressing themselves physically is the underlying motivator. If they are clear on the goal and why they want to achieve it, they can go all in on it and feel completely fulfilled even though they may leave that goal to never come back to it. Whitney has found that many people also change as they age. They like to experience different forms of expression in different phases of their lives.
Contrast that to somebody who wants to master something over their lifetime - I think of Katsumoto from the Last Samurai - much of the fulfillment they get is in the journey toward understanding, optimization, and potential within the goal they are seeking to attain over time.
I then outright asked Whitney what's mastery meant….
Whitney reminded me of a mastery cycle of:
● Unconscious incompetence - you don’t know what you don’t know
● Conscious incompetence - you know what you don’t know
● Conscious competence - you know what you know
● Unconscious competence - you don’t have to think about what you know (also called expert amnesia)
As people walk through those different stages, they begin to find that the mastery “goal” is more about the continuously cycling through those stages by reaching out to more and more people whom they can work with, mentor, and then teach. Whitney mentioned that the ultimate form of mastery is to give back and teach others because it opens up questions that perhaps you hadn’t yet thought about. As long as you’re interested in that cycle, you’ll continue to build on your mastery, but when it’s time to hang it up, that’s called retirement
However you view progress and mastery, the more aware you can be about who you actionably are, and the better you can setup your own expectations - or you and your coach aligning your expectations - the better experience you will have and the better probability of short, medium, and long-term success for you will be
Thanks so much for reading. Leave any comments below or check out the other content to continue to progress yourself forward
2019 - 2020 Wodapalooza Team Qualifier Strategy Guide
From the feedback post Open, our community loved the CrossFit Open Strategy Guides. So we wanted to stay in the conversation and be able to help you achieve your goals throughout the year, not just in the Open. The best way we can think to help is by providing Strategy Guides for as many of the CrossFit Sanctional Qualifiers as possible. So to start, OPEX RC coaches, Carl Hardwick and Sam Smith, give you their 2019 - 2020 Wodapalooza Team Qualifier tips and tricks for success.
Workout One
Sam Smith’s Tips
● Want to keep a constant tempo
● 225 total reps
● Extended version of 20.2 (cadence has to slow down for most people)
● Break Thrusters and T2B if needed
● Top times will be sub 11
Carl Hardwick’s Tips
● Shoulder muscular endurance will be challenged in various angles through the front rack and press in DB thruster, scapular control and range needed in the T2B and the press and dynamics of the burpee box jump over.
● The load is light enough where the DB thruster shouldn’t be a huge issue, but consider fractioning due to 105 total reps.
● Don’t “lose it” on the T2B. 15 will feel good on the first few sets but going from the bar to a very similar hip extension and flexion movement in the burpee box jump will not do you any favors. Fraction these with quick breaks.
● Save yourself if you are a more “powerful” athlete, once you lose it it’s gone!
Workout Two and Three
Sam Smith’s Tips
…
Carl Hardwick’s Tips
● Score is total absolute score. For example, if Athlete ‘A’ goes 225 x 6 and Athlete ‘B’ goes 225 x 4, the total score is 450 lbs.
● Know yourself and your teammate! Although the 1RM OHS is relevant, it is not the entire story. For example, if Athlete ‘A’ has a 250 lb 1RM and Athlete ‘B’ has a 230 lb OHS and ‘A’ does not have great positions, trouble reaching depth, poor wrist and should mobility and stability, they should not take on the bulk share of the reps if athlete ‘B’ presents with great mobility and stability. Use ‘A’ to hit as close to their 1RM with as many reps as possible and ‘B’ finish off the 9 reps based on their ability to keep positions longer with heavier loads.
● Warm-up well, take your time, no clock here.
Workout Four
Sam Smith’s Tips
Total time is the score
Females for 500/1k
Males for 2/5k (these 2 are more important as they will account for more total time)
Power/time curve (500m: male - 1:20 / female - 1:40, 20 sec differential; 1k: male - 3:00 / female - 3:30, 30 sec differential) the plausibility of this is greater with the first scenario. Meaning it would be challenging for the female to row a 3:20 to make the same differential as the 500m row example)
As the P/T curve draws out (more distance) males will separate themselves further from females-total time is the score
Females for 500/1k
Males for 2/5k (these 2 are more important as they will account for more total time)
Power/time curve (500m: male - 1:20 / female - 1:40, 20 sec differential; 1k: male - 3:00 / female - 3:30, 30 sec differential) the plausibility of this is greater with the first scenario. Meaning it would be challenging for the female to row a 3:20 to make the same differential as the 500m row example)
As the P/T curve draws out (more distance) males will separate themselves further from females
Carl Hardwick’s Tips
● Use your best rowers for the 5k and 2k pieces as these will have the greatest opportunity to separate. This will usually be your athletes that weigh more and are taller.
● Understand the differences of a 5k time trial vs a 500m time trial in your approach. There is an opportunity to ‘game’ the longer bout in regards to pacing strategies. On a 500m row, there is no ‘gaming’ this, you have to hold on to the highest amount of power possible for the duration of the row.
● Ensure you are appropriately warming up for each test. The 5k vs the 500m will have completely different strategies as one (500m) you will want to produce some lactate prior to the test and the other (5k), you will want to get your aerobic enzymes flowing.
For Example, for the 500m time trial, your specific prep could look something like:
2 min @ 80%
-2 min rest-
90 sec @ 85%
-90 sec rest-
60 sec @ 90%
-60 sec rest-
30 sec @ 100% EFFORT
-rest as needed before 500m TT-
And your 5k specific prep could look something like:
500m row @ 5k pace
90 sec rest
x 3 sets
-rest as needed before 5k TT-
Workout Five and Six
Sam Smith’s Tips
…
Carl Hardwick’s Tips
● Understand the difference between extended barbell cycling vs battery-based barbell cycling.
● The extended variation (Double DT) is best suited for your more dampened (aerobic biased) athlete as the total reps and number of contractions are so high.
● The battery-based (Heavy DT) is best suited for the relatively stronger athlete. If strength is the limiter, DO NOT DO THIS VARIATION.
● Do not be afraid to fraction either one of these. The toll that eccentrics (lowering weight to the ground, hip and shoulder will take its toll, especially in Heavy DT.
● If fractioning, do not spend too much time without the barbell in your hands, KEEP IT SHORT.
Workout Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten
Sam Smith’s Tips
…
Carl Hardwick’s Tips
● So many options :). For this one, divvy up based on your athlete’s strengths and weaknesses.
● Workout 7
○ If DUs are not your jam, consider a different variation. Fraction these appropriately to allow the shoulders to feel fresh going into the WBs.
○ Are WBs your strength? You have an opportunity to shine coming off the DUs to make your way through the 150 WBs before moving to the 30 muscle-ups.
○ DO NOT opt for this variation if you have low muscle-up density (ability to complete a higher number of reps without a break).
○ If muscle-ups aren’t an issue, be smart on the 30. Play it safe early and stay submaximal late, know your limits here.
● Workout 8
○ This workout is great for athletes that are comfortable with A LOT of transitions and are able to limit the time between.
○ Due to the number of transitions, it is vital to gather yourself and use the DUs as recovery.
○ If large sets of WBs blow you up you may also opt for this variation.
○ Athletes with low muscle-up density will also benefit from only being on the rings for 3 reps at a time.
● Workout 9
○ This variation is a similar athlete that will thrive in Workout 7.
○ The WB is still fairly high volume per set, so be careful on these to not go too deep.
○ The sets of 15 on the MU allow for athletes with great capacity in the muscle up to ‘go for it’ and make quick work of the 15 reps.
● Workout 10
○ This variation is a similar athlete that will thrive in Workout 8.
○ If you are not great at transitions or not used to making a high number of sets sustainable, this is a better option for you than Workout 8.
○ The rep ranges here allow for an athlete to “take a chance” in sets 4 and 5.
Wodapalooza is a copyright of Loud & Live, WZA LLC. OPEX RC' uses of the Wodapalooza are not endorsed by nor approved by Loud & Live, WZA LLC, and OPEX RC is in no way affiliated with nor endorsed by Loud & Live, WZA LLC.
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