Have you ever heard the phrase, “Practice makes perfect!” ?

Of course you have. Everyone’s seen or heard that phrase one million times in their lives — either from our coaches in little league or our teachers trying to make us good at math, and don’t even act like you haven’t double tapped a #MondayMotivation pic on Insta with that exact phrase overlayed on top of some exhausted sportster.

But, can I be honest? No one on the earth will ever be perfect at anything; so that phrase is a frickin’ dumb lie. You can practice a thing every day of your life and never be perfect. You will be better, but you will not be perfect.

And better is just where we want to be.

AND you know what? When it comes to practicing, to being better — consistency is key.

So let’s talk about consistency

As coaches, we urge you guys to show up, work hard, be humble, and have fun. Emphasis on the showing up. Yes, practicing is great, but when it comes to almost everything, if you only practice one time a week, your road to achieving is going to be a long and frustrating one. So it’s important to set a schedule or plan for yourself to put in the work — to show up as many times as you can to see significant improvement on whatever it is you’re practicing for.

Now let’s talk about goals

And on that note, #goals. Humans are driven beings who need something to work toward. Like, why do you work? To make money and treat yo self. Why do you work out? To survive the zombie apocalypse (Gotta stay a little fat, and a little fit – Becca Harris on how to survive said zombie apocalypse). But developing goals isn’t an arbitrary thing — it requires some forethought and a systematic approach.  General goals like “I want to be better at CrossFit” is great, but you’re going to flounder a lot on the path to actually getting anywhere. Instead, think about developing SMART goals:

• Specific – have a defined end goal
• Measureable – numbers and timelines
• Achievable – based on past progress
• Relevant  – does it match up with the bigger picture
• Timely – give yourself a deadline

An example of one of my SMART goals would be: Be able to string together 5 ring muscle ups by March 31st. Here’s why it’s ~smart~:

Specific: I want to be better at muscle ups as opposed to general “gymnastics”  

Measureable: I want to be able to do 5

Achievable: I have 2 strung together now, so I can work my way up with more

Relevant: They might be in The Open, so I will want to string as many as I can as possible

Timely: March 31st.

Leggo

So like, where do you start? I realize a lot of us don’t have a ton of time outside of class (except whatever Justin Hroch is doing to juggle a family and 3 jobs and still find time to improve lifts and re-do Open workouts… do that) to put in practice work, but there are practical ways you can exercise consistency and start incrementally hitting those SMART goals. Here are some things you could start implementing next week!

• OPEN GYM. It’s basically a free class, y’all. Come.
• Coordinate with a coach and come a little early or stay a little late — talking 15-20 minutes to just practice what you need to in order to get a little bit better every day.
• YouTube. The internet is magical — utilize YouTube or follow relevant Insta accounts that can give you some extra tips, tricks, or drills to work on at home. (Or ask your highly trained and intelligent coach!)

Basically, progress won’t happen once a week. You won’t get stronger if you don’t work out. You won’t get faster if you don’t run. You won’t get more mobile if you don’t stretch. Set up a plan, stay consistent, show up, work hard, stay humble, go to the Games.

You might never be perfect, but you will be better.