Everyone loves hitting a PR. The feeling you get from taking a few seconds off your Fran time or adding 5 pounds to your back squat is truly something to dance about. However, as you get further into training PRs are harder to come by. You can go months without seeing any tangible improvements. There are a millions reasons why we can hit a training rut, life happens and that is OK! Even though our training can hit a plateau, there is always a way to get out of the hole and keep pushing.Training plateaus come in a few forms: physical, mental and technical. All of these plateaus have different solutions to help get you back on track and moving forward.Physical Plateaus
- Injury – No one likes sitting on the sideline, but you are not going to be able to train at a high level if you don’t listen to your body. If an injury is keeping you from training, perhaps seek out some professional medical advice and start physical therapy.
- Strength – Not making any progress on your strength numbers? Taking a step away from the daily WOD and focusing on strength training may actually improve both your WODs and your overall strength. True Core’s barbell club and Coach Sam’s programming is the answer to building a stronger foundation for your fitness.
- Overtraining - Is your body constantly screaming every time you walk down the stairs, can you not lift up your arms after a heavy shoulder day? Perhaps you are over training. Even professional CrossFit athletes take rest days, you should too!
Mental Plateaus
- Enjoy the Process- You cannot live and die by PR’s alone. A lot things factor into a PR and one bad day doesn’t mean you aren’t making improvements. Take time to enjoy that you made it to the gym consistently and be excited for the work ahead. Put the workouts you want to avoid at the top of the “to do” list. This will go farther towards a fitter, healthier life, than any short term motivation could offer.
Technical Plateaus
- Sometimes we need to take a step back in order to leap forward. Are we not popping our hips at the right time in a muscle-up, are we not reaching full extension when we snatch? These are just a few examples of technical mistakes that could be hindering our ability to overcome these movements. Luckily, True Core has specialized classes and coaches that can help work with you to overcome these technical problems.
At the end of the day, I am not guaranteeing you these solutions will lead you to a PR. However, if we put in the hard work, listen to our body, and work on our weaknesses the results will eventually speak for themselves.Coach Steve
