We just wrapped up another CrossFit ABQ total week and many of our members have been celebrating numerous PR’s (personal records). All fo the hard work that both our long time members and the newbies have been putting in was displayed in the amazing results that people got on the different tests that were placed before them this week.
But what if you didn’t PR on anything or just 1 or 2 things. Does that mean that you have not progressed or improved since the last Total Week 6 months ago? Not necessarily. If this is you, before you get too frustrated, you need to consider a number of factors.
First off, if you have been crossfitting for a while, training hard, pushing yourself in workouts and have been steadily getting stronger and faster, you may be at a place in your training where PR’s are not going to come frequently. If you look at professional weight lifters, they rarely PR in workouts and hope to PR in competitions. They are lucky to increase by a few pounds a couple of times a year. When you are new to crossfit, you typically will PR frequently for the first year. You are learning new moves, mastering gymnastics, etc. You will see huge gains quickly. The longer you train you will start to see less frequent PR’s and that’s okay. You also may only see slight gains by a few pounds, and again, if you have been training hard for a long time, that 2-5 pound PR is something to celebrate!
Another aspect to look at if you had a not-so-stellar total week is all of the other life factors. Was it a stressful week at work or at home? Was your diet on par, or did you veer off this week? And how about the ever so important sleep. Did you get enough rest this week, or did you feel exhausted during your workouts? All of these factors also play a role in a difficult week like total week. You are basically doing a max effort every day for 5 days and that can take a toll on your body, especially if all of your life factors are not in order!
Hopefully you had an amazing Total Week full of heavy lifts and PR’s, but if not don’t be too hard on yourself! Keep training hard, eating right, and get rest and you will see those numbers move up over the next year!
