This is the follow-up to the previous post I did on the Top 5 Mistakes Athletes Made in the 2021 CrossFit Open. Here are the action steps you need to take to set yourself on the right path for the 2022 CrossFit Open. For the most part, if you are reading this, then something occurred this season that left a bad taste in your mouth. Possibly an unfavorable outcome, or you just spent time on a fitness journey that was not right for you. The following can act as a roadmap for you to make sure that this upcoming season gives you satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.

Get A Coach

My first suggestion to everyone is to get a Coach. There are so many individual variables with programming that simply cannot be processed correctly when you are following a mass template, or working with a Coach who truly is not invested in you. A good program needs to take into account the person, their sex, age, training age, genetic profile, lifestyle, nutrition, hydration, time allotted to training, ability to recover from a stimulus, how to apply the right amount of volume and intensity in a cohesive manner, and that’s just the beginning! On top of that, the athlete needs to trust the program and trust the Coach. Working with a Coach that is truly there for you is probably the single most important thing you can do to give yourself a fighting chance.

Establish A Plan

The next component would be to establish a plan. This plan needs to be thoroughly put together by your Coach around who you are as an athlete, where you are as an athlete, and where you want to be. The plan is the road map and the Coach is the guide. You are the hero, the person on the journey traveling the path. Coaches are there to guide you along the way, and help direct you from point A to B. The best plans are the ones that take into account multiple aspects of the athlete and their fitness, however, the best plans also do not have guarantees. That is where the coach comes into play. Coaches can help you take turns and or slight detours to ensure the major three factors are always centered around the plan: stimulus, recovery, and adaptation. 

Execution

The third stage lies within YOUR execution. The best plan in the world from the greatest coach in the world does not mean anything if you do not execute it. One thing I always talk to athletes about when I start to work with them lies within their ability to stick to the plan, communicate with their coach, and take care of the little things. If the athlete is going off the path, doing other programs, jumping around, throwing down too much, then the program will not work. Athletes need to take ownership of the plan, and execute to their fullest potential and ability.

Enjoy The Journey

The fourth component lies within the understanding of the outcome. You need to understand that you can put in all the effort you can, each and every day, and with that, nothing is owed to you. Just because you do everything right does not mean you will achieve the goal you set out to do. The truest feeling of success lies within the process and not the outcome. It lies within the feeling of fulfillment and not the achievement itself. If you can understand this, then and only then, can you give everything you can each day around freedom and joy. This is where true fulfillment lies. Once you can get this freedom, then the journey itself becomes enjoyable.

The Little Things Count

The final stage lies within the rule of 1%. What I am talking about here is making sure you place value on all the little things that add up at the end. First and foremost, you need to dial in your food, hydration, movement quality, sleep, stress, and mindset. These are things that each person can do that can cause some of the biggest gains overall. Fitness lies within energy expenditure. If athletes are not eating right (and this may vary within different stages of training) or enough, then their ability to recover or produce will be hindered. Hydration, it is amazing how this is still a topic, but yes, many people do not drink enough water. The slightest percentage drop in hydration leads to performance decreases; drink water. Being able to conserve energy when working out lies with how much energy you have to expand to accomplish the task. If you do not move well, then you will exert more energy to complete that given task, and/or you will get hurt through improper compensation. Put in the time to move well each day! On top of all that, the single most important factor to recovery, hormonal regulation, and health lies with sleep. Sleep! Whenever you are trying to create a stimulus, you need to apply stress. However, too much stress and too often, is the fastest way to an overtrained state. Work each day on stress management to ensure your ability to recover and adapt. Lastly, mindset can make or break athletes when the going gets tough. Mindset is not something that can be turned on or off and it should be part of the Coach’s job to build this with their athletes. If your mindset is dialed in, then your mental fitness becomes even stronger. These components make up the 1% that can be worked on EVERY SINGLE DAMN DAY.

If you read this and it fires you up to be more, achieve more, and work with someone who will take you there, then I invite you to contact Conquer Athlete. Set up a free consultation with us and see if we are a good fit to help guide you to your best CrossFit season yet in 2022!