Journaling Work Outs

In April of this year I started journaling my Strength Progressions and WOD’s to keep a more detailed account of my performance. I am not altering my box owner’s work outs but Wodify isn’t the place for me to note personal things like “tired, first day of cycle…” or “Humidity was so bad almost threw up…." , etc.

I have found that journaling my work outs gives me more insight while showing me where I have room to grow. It also allows me to celebrate my PR’s. As PR’s look different for everyone, sometimes I have to take a step back from the Whiteboard where there isn’t any comparison and just look at my work and tell myself, ‘GOOD JOB’!

As mentioned earlier, when I journal I can notate the nitty gritty of my day and why my lifts might have been off. The most reoccurring theme thus far is definitely shin splints. My notes allow me to see when I need to rest and recover or how to best do so. If I have a week of running and keep complaining about how wrecked my legs are, then obviously I need to talk to my coach and scale it to rowing.

In my previous blog, Do you plan your goals in CrossFit?, I wrote about laying out your monthly goals to have something to shoot for each month. I have my year long list which directs my work on Thursday’s (our G.O.A.T. work days) and which gymnastic movements I do post WOD, although with my competition coming up in August has shifted it slightly.

I did find some surprises going back over the last few months of my journal, I found notes about my work outs that were negative from bad lifts, bad times or bad performances, it varied. It appears I was in an emotional slump for a while with my work and I don’t specifically recall that. I do struggle with my asthma but some days it holds me back so much it’s infuriating and its clear when it is on paper, oppose to a memory.

As I read over my notes I better recall those WOD’s and how particularly awful some of them were. We had one WOD where we did a 12 minute AMRAP of 200 meter runs, 10 burpee box jump overs and 30 second hand stand holds, then immediately after we finished, we did alternating 30 second row sprints at 90% and then dropped down to 50%, for 12 minutes. My notes say “worst row ever, I tanked!” and I remember that workout clearly, it was so awful mentally, physically and the humidity was off the charts. By the time I got on the rower, my legs were DONE and then I had to row for 12 minutes.

What is my biggest take away from all of my journaling? Its not that I have some cool new PR’s, it’s not that I had a bruised ego for awhile and it’s not that my shins hurt so bad I wanted to cry. My biggest take away is that I kept going, day in and day out. Even with a bad WOD emotionally or physically, I still showed up the next day and gave it 100%.

My journaling has taught me where I need to put more time in, when I need to rest, where I need to hydrate better and it has taught me that my tenacity is going to make me a better athlete. I will never be a “Games Athlete” for a multitude of reasons but I am going to be the best version of myself and I will have a journal to show my progress so I can always look back and see how far I have come.