Tracking Results
Hey guys, I wanted to talk a little about the importance of tracking your results. There are two key parts to this.
1. Putting your times on the board after your workout
2. Accurately tracking your progression results
PART 1:
Many of us don't put our times on the board for numerous reasons and I will cover those first. The first reason I see is that the athlete is not proud of their time. Let's get something straight here….you completed the amount of work that was prescribed for you, whether it was based on time or reps, you survived the workout and because of that, you are now more fit than you were at the beginning of the day. This is a win, no matter how you look at it. The majority of people got up this morning, with the option of working out not even crossing their mind. They proceeded to a gas station where they got a 48 oz of coffee with half of it being that sissy fake vanilla creamer that is possibly the worst substance for you on the planet, and then topped that off with something from that rotating hamster wheel that holds 3 day old sandwiches and hotdogs. So believe me, you have NOTHING to be ashamed of, no matter what your time or score is. This is something that you need to get through your head in a hurry because it is nonsense and I don't like nonsense at Vitality. Give yourself the credit you deserve for how hard you work! You are motivated and disciplined and that is something you should be proud of.
It is important as a coach for everyone to put their times on the board because I want people in other classes to see what the other times for the day are. You would be surprised at how many people are comparing themselves to your score. There is somebody else who knows that the two of you usually scale their workouts in a similar fashion and they like having the ability to see where they stack up. This isn't necessarily a competitive issue, it just gives people an idea of how hard they pushed it. If I know that their is a guy that usually beats me by a few seconds every workout, and one day my score is faster, that may be the motivation I need to stay on my diet or to skip that late night cheat or whatever else it may be.
The biggest reason that I want you to put your time on the board is ACCOUNTABILITY. This is the great part, whether someone is competitive or not. If I know that I went through the motions on a workout and didn't work that hard, it isn't easy to put that score on the board because I am probably not proud of it. But in the back of my head before a workout, If I know that everyone is going to be chasing the time I put on the board or that everyone is going to be comparing their time to mine, it will force me to work harder and get a time that I am proud of.
PART 2:
Accurate tracking for your progressions is also vitally important. Many of you are always asking where you should start as far as weight is concerned and this is the best way to figure that out. As great as our coaches are, they probably won't remember what 1 individual person squat cleaned three weeks ago…This is why I have created the progression sheets for you to track your results. Take advantage of this, believe it or not, it actually takes time to come up with these 6-week cycles we do and by not writing down your results, you are missing the boat.
Another reason that it will pay off to track your results is because EVERYONE wants to see themselves getting better. This is the best way to see this, and it will happen on a weekly basis. Ever having a bad day? Flip back through to the previous 4 sheets and see yourself not able to thruster a 45# bar and here you are now, 5 months later, with a Thruster PR of 115#. If that doesn't make you a little proud, you may need to skip a view chapters in your P90x DVD and get straight to the Bis/Tris workout at the end. I am not a very sympathetic person as most of you have come to find out, Jess reminds me of this daily and I have tried to get better at this…..If you come to me and tell me your not seeing the results or getting stronger and when I ask you for your progression sheet and you say, “I don't have one”, I can promise you I will have no sympathy for you, not today, or not next year.
KEY POINT: If you leave your sheet out, it may never make it back to the file. I have made this as easy as I possibly can for you. I provide the sheets, clipboards, pens, and file storage, that doesn't leave much responsibility on your end. I have bent way further than I ever thought I would and what I won't do is ALSO go behind you and put your sheets back for you because you were too “tired”. Also, just a reminder (it is also on the actual files themselves…) it is filed alphabetically by your last name. Again, no one “stole” your sheet. If it goes “missing”, trust me, you either didn't put it back or you put it back and forgot how the whole alphabet works. Let me know if you need a refresher on the whole A-Z game, Reagan just learned her ABC's and can give you a crash course if needed:)
The great part about CrossFit is that it is measurable, this is why I fell in love with it years ago. It is not a question of whether or not it works. You take the data and make the decision, are you getting more fit or not? If done correctly, you will absolutely get more fit. One of the ways needed to determine this is the “measurable” piece and that is what I am trying to provide to you. Take advantage of this and keep track of your results. You work WAY too hard to not see the results and improvements your making with your dedication.