Eric completing his first week of On-Ramp with a team WOD
Society has created an expectation of instant gratification. We want something and we want it now. There is a pill or powder for just about anything we want to do these days. Get smaller, bigger, faster, more awake or sleepier in a heartbeat. Everything is promoted by “easy” and “fast”. The downside, is that none of these methods provide sustainable results, if they provide results at all.
Some of us get a little frustrated with CrossFit because we expect immediate results for all of our hard work. We look around and see everyone else progressing so much faster. How do they have kipping pull-ups already? How are her double unders so good? How did he get so strong all of a sudden?
Nick building back up after a couple months off
Gains are made a few seconds and pounds at a time. The people who make the biggest and quickest gains work extremely hard at improving their technique and form and attacking their weaknesses. After watching different athletes progress, there seems to be a common timeline for everyone. Of course there are certain assumptions.
- Comes to CrossFit between 4 and 5 times per week
- Has adequate nutrition and sleep/rest
- Listens to the coaches on recommended weights and does assigned homework
- Comes early to work on skills and stays late to work on mobility and/or strength
- Was not grossly inactive or recovering from a significant injury
First 2 weeks
Usually the first two weeks of CrossFit is going to be either On-Ramp or Elements classes. The main goal for these classes is to teach the correct form and movement standards. Most athletes won’t be perfect with the compound movements, but they will at least understand the areas of improvement. They also learn mobility techniques and begin to build a base level of strength.
Ashley and Kelly cheer Ryan through a deadlift
First month
The next month is spent figuring out limitations. Athletes are instructed to always err on the lighter side of weights. Here most of you will find out what movements you are comfortable with and where you really need work. This can be the most frustrating month for most because you are generally working out next to advanced CrossFitters who aren’t even comparable to your level of fitness. So just don’t compare yourself to them. They have hundreds if not thousands of hours of work on you. Take this month to figure out your comfortable pace and where you hit the wall and how much you rest. Get a baseline on all of your lifts. This will help you and your coaches understand how to scale workouts and how to help you attain your goals.
Ruhle has his jugular vein showing signs of hard work.
3 months
Most people really start to take off about their 3-month mark. By now most girls have gotten their first kipping pull-up and most guys can do a handstand push-up. Most athletes have built up their base level of strength, which allows them to do most of the movements correctly. The majority of the movement deficiencies begin to correct themselves. Recovery times lessen and you don’t feel like you’re about to die during every workout. Athletes begin to finally feel stronger, but also forget how far they have come. Some athletes don’t feel like they have made progress because they have just gotten to a base level of strength to be able to perform the majority of movements at a safe level. Remind yourself what it was like in On-Ramp. Now is the time to really clean up those Olympic lifts and focus on your weaknesses. Stick to the plan and push harder.
Always have to celebrate getting those first pull-ups and muscle ups.
6 months
By now the athlete should be able to perform most of the movements proficiently. Most of the workouts seem doable. Lots of PRs in lifts and metcon times. Athlete works on not just being good at lifts, but becoming perfect. The Olympic lifts begin to make sense and the athlete has become aware of how their body moves. Muscle soreness is down to an acceptable level. Workout intensity has increased significantly. Sleep and nutrition are much more of a factor now that the training has become more intense. You can see the progress in the athlete both aesthetically and functionally. Most of their initial pains (i.e. knees, shoulders, back, etc) have gone away. Those who play a sport can see a drastic improvement in strength and stamina.
Asha looking extremely strong after having years of neck problems. Way to be patient!
9 months
Most athletes have decided to put their training to the test in either a CrossFit competition, a sport or a race. Training becomes more specialized to attack specific weaknesses while maintaining strengths. Some start to help coach classes and help with On-Ramp. Most workouts are done as prescribed and some are scaled up. Some athletes may plateau in their training for a couple of months, which is sometimes due to overtraining. Athletes start exploring new means of torture like performing a workout in firefighter turnouts or weight vests or sand WODs.
Ash has improved a ton since he switched from 2 days a week to 4-5.
12 months+
By now most athletes have become pretty damn fit. Some may not feel like it because they are constantly searching for improvement. 8 months ago you were just hoping for 10 double unders in a row and now you want 2 minutes unbroken. Where you wanted to overhead squat more than the bar becomes 10 times at your bodyweight. Where you used to feel like you would never be able to do any of the things you saw other people doing, you now feel like you can pretty much accomplish anything. You fully understand your body and the steps that need to be taken to get that next PR.
It’s not an overnight process. The only way to get those results is to work hard, smart and diligently. I always find it upsetting when I see someone just about to round the curve and they quit right before that first kipping pull-up or that first Rx workout. There are no shortcuts or magic pills. Some of us may progress faster and some may progress slower, but the point is that we ARE making progress. We are better than we were yesterday. Post experiences to comments.
Workout of the Day 12/7/2010
A. Front Squat 4-4-4
B. 30-20-10
Thrusters (95/65)
Burpees
*Compare to 7/9/2010
I think that the fact that we are constantly making progress is something that we all need to be reminded of every so often (or at least I need to be…). It’s really easy to fall into the trap of looking at other people’s times and weights and think that you are falling short for some reason.
Growing up, I was a pretty competitive person measuring success not by my personal bests but by comparing myself to others. So what if I swam that 500 meter faster than my last? I still didn’t beat that other girl. Joining CrossFit has really taught me to stop comparing myself to others and look at my own improvements and successes. It’s instilled in me the confidence to say, “You know what? My time might not be like Kristan Clever’s or Heather Bergeron’s (yet!) but it IS faster than my last.” And that, I tell myself, is progress.
For a little bit, as I started to make the transition into doing more wods as prescribed, I saw myself coming in a little slower. It took a few wods but I finally told myself that it didn’t matter what time I got because I was now pushing myself to do the weights at an RXed level and THAT was super cool. Sometimes we realize how much we’ve improved on our own and sometimes we need to be reminded by someone else. I love reminding others how far they’ve come and of course, appreciate when it’s pointed out for me.
I’m in month one and I’m intimidated! Everything I’ve known about fitness has been tossed out the window. Every time I’m in a crossfit class, I ask myself: “Why can’t my body do that????” So thanks for this post on timelines, it helps me focus on what’s ahead and not on what I couldn’t do yesterday.
Just to give a little perspective, when I started on-ramp in August, I couldn’t even do a thruster with the 15lb bar, I cried after Fran (at home — shut up), and I left every session thinking, I’ll never be able to keep up with the workouts here. But after four months of hard work, I’ve gotten my first kipping pullup, my confidence is way up, I feel challenged in new ways every day and I just did my first Rx workout! I think the timeline is a great way to keep it all in perspective and help us understand that success means different things to everyone. Even though I’ve accomplished some goals, I’m DEFINITELY guilty of looking at the other kick-ass females in the gym and being jealous of what they can do. However, I think one of the best things about the gym is the more advanced athletes always help the newbies out – I remember being taught to kip by Mark Bell, getting even MORE pullup help from Shira, told to sprint faster and lift more by Andrea, box jump assistance from Lisa, etc. I encourage all the new on-rampers to stick with it — just being AT CFSB shows a lot of guts and determination, and hard work pays off!!
Ashley – if it makes you feel any better, I’ve cried after a number of WODs (including Fran).
I’m finally getting to the point where I can Rx a number of the WODs, and I’m PRing weights almost every wk. I’m so happy for the amount of help and encouragement I receive from everyone, whether I can’t remember what a squat clean is, how to do a mobility exercise or just the overall encouragement during the WODs!
I think this post is incredibly accurate! I started CF in the Mar/Apr timeframe and took a month of when I moved… So I’m right around 6 months!
Noe, we are so extremely happy to have you be a part of our family. I love to see you sticking around after class and working on mobility and handstand push-ups. We are also happy to get you on the goals board!
Smita, you’ve come a long way just since On-Ramp. Keep being patient and working through your challenges and I promise we will get you to where you want to be.
Ashley, you’ve been so diligent with your training and nutrition and you are starting to see the dividends. You’ll be giving out pointers to our newcomers soon enough.
Amanda, I remember when your form on your Olympic lifts finally clicked for you. You’ve worked extremely hard and have stayed consistent. Just imagine when you will accomplish in the next 6 months.
I still remember the day last winter when I was doing pullups with the purple band. Chad just looked up at me from where he was stretching on the floor and goes “That band is just getting in your way. You don’t need it anymore. Really.” And I’ll be damned if he wasn’t right. I took the band off right then and never looked back. Almost a year later I’m still grateful he said that to me. He didn’t have to make the effort to encourage me yet he did. Each time I see one of you guys learning a new skill, pushing through your first Rx’d wod or walking into onramp for the first time I’m reminded of when/where I began in Crossfit. I’m grateful to have the chance to return the favor to all of those who helped encourage me along the way. Keep it up guys. You are all capable of and will achieve so much more than you’ve ever thought possible.
Great post. Just finished on-ramp and looking forward to my first formal workout Monday. Great experience so far. The on ramp is pretty key, as the CF experience is pretty overwhelming without it.