I have always wanted to be a good CrossFitter, but finding a balance in fitness, school, and socializing proves to be a challenge. I have been doing CrossFit for about 2 years now, and just in the past 6 months I think I started to feel like I was getting "good". My first year of CrossFit I was a sophomore in college. I lived in the dorms and I ate at the school dining hall. I went out with my friends several nights a week, my diet was god awful and my sleeping patterns were very abnormal. This past school year I was a junior and I lived off campus in an apartment with my friends. This living situation was much better; it was a lot less distracting than a dorm building full of 200 people, and I had my own kitchen and basically a place (not just a room) to live.
The beginning of the school year was a time in my life when I enjoyed my social life a lot more than Crossfit. I took a break from training from September until around the end of October, and began to ease back into things. Right around my 21st birthday in December, my life changed for the better. I was no longer staying out late, doing god knows what. My life was perfect. My diet was great, my work outs were going well, my sleep was better than it had ever been before, my motivation was high and distractions were low. I was literally living the dream.
I finished my final exams on Monday and summer 2011 has started for me. There have been some changes in my life over the past few days. Training at high intensity takes a lot out of me and I never realized how much my personal life affects my training. When things were good, my training was good. Training takes more than just physical strength; it also takes mental and emotional strength. And I feel defeated. I never knew what motivated me before, but I think my life was on track so everything felt great. But I guess things change.. Right now I feel a lack of motivation. Summer training was something I really looked forward to but I have lost that drive. I know I said in my last post that I wasn't going to take too much time off from my training, but it looks like I will.
I need a break.
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ReplyDeletethe part about surface vs reserve energy is good to remind yourself of every once in a while. I definitely dipped into some deeeep reserves like I'm sure you did also the past few months for when I "peaked out" a couple weeks back. Don't trip, you are also probably extra drained right now from being at "race pace" so much at the comp. To me, that idea is actually what I consider the fatal flaw with crossfit- it's based on the idea that you perform at "race pace" ALL the time, almost continually testing yourself constantly, even if it's for a short period of time, and somehow THAT is how you are supposed to get results -according to crossfit law. I may be exaggerating, but you get my point. But that's why I don't train to get in, get out, and "get my results." I train and diet because I am addicted to this lifestyle and if I go to the point that I burn myself out and lose my strength and motivation, then I can't feed my addiction properly lol.
Hit me up if you want to try a little "different" style of working out, or if you want an "active break" (the kind of break I personally prefer because I feel like shit when I do absolutely nothing)... but I totally understand if you need some completely passive rest time- 6 months of balls to the wall is pretty insane!