How to Set Realistic Goals With Your CrossFit Training
How to Set Realistic Goals With Your CrossFit Training
Featured alt: A woman doing CrossFit
A CrossFit regimen can easily make you stronger, faster, and more mobile. It will make you both look and feel good and boost your confidence. But, no matter how well planned your CrossFit training is, it is essential to understand that it is by no means magical. You need to set realistic goals with your CrossFit training to avoid losing motivation and quitting. So, let’s see how to do that.
Set realistic goals with your CrossFit training
What is important to understand with CrossFit is that everyone experiences it differently. Our bodies will find certain aspects of training more difficult, while others might be pretty easy compared to the rest. To set realistic goals, you must understand all the elements impacting your CrossFit training. That way, you will see results as planned.
Pick a time frame
In order to have a goal and commit to it, your best bet is first to pick a time frame. CrossFit training requires dedication and consistency. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find people that can keep both for an unspecified amount of time. So, pick a realistic time frame to make your goals a reality. The longer the frame is, the higher a goal you can set. But, also understand that the longer a time frame is, the more discipline it will require. We recommend that you pick six months, nine months, or a year for reasonable goals. You can get a lot done even in three months. But this will require that you already understand the basics of CrossFit, and your body is accustomed to regular exercise.
Pick a goal
A realistic goal is a precise one. For instance, you can say that you want to “Get fit.” And while that is all nice and well, it isn’t something you can strive for. “Getting fit” can mean a lot of things. And whether or not you’ve achieved your goal will be entirely up to you to decide. This is not realistic and not recommendable for serious training. Instead, give yourself a specific goal. You can find many CrossFit challenges online, from which you can pick whichever seems best suited for you. If you are a CrossFit beginner, we recommend you opt for more manageable goals. It is far better to reach your goal before the designated time frame than to realize that you won’t fulfill it.
Understand your fitness level
Not every person can achieve every CrossFit goal. This has nothing to do with genetics or the person’s character, just with the fact that different people are on different fitness levels. And if you want to set realistic goals with your CrossFit training and achieve them, you’ll need to understand yours. There are performance tests that can show how fit you are. A newcomer to CrossFit should stick with basic exercises and hope to become proficient in them by the end of the set timeframe. A more experienced CrossFit trainee can look to max out on certain activities and boost a specific aspect of their fitness. More experienced CrossFit trainees can look to improve their overall fitness or focus on areas they lack most.
All in all, start with basics and try not to overburden yourself with new exercises. As you’ll soon learn, the basic stuff is the backbone of everything else. And the more time you spend on it, the better.
Factor in food and sleep
Your diet and sleep habits are an important factor to consider. You’ll often hear from professional athletes that food and sleep are just as important as your training. Sleep helps you recover after a workout, and proper nutrition can help you improve muscle gain and feed your body. Therefore, if you want to achieve your fitness goals, you must consider food and sleep. If you believe that you can stick to a specific diet and maintain a regular sleep schedule, you can hope to achieve higher fitness goals. If, on the other hand, you cannot, you should lower your expectations.
Remember that you shouldn’t quit CrossFit training just because you cannot be fully optimal. Many people train in CrossFit even though their lifestyle doesn’t allow for regular sleep or a proper diet. You can still reach specific fitness goals, even without them. It is just likely that the process will be slower.
Consult with a CrossFit trainer
It won’t take much research in CrossFit to learn that it can be pretty complex. All the different exercises can be challenging to master, especially if you have little training experience. So, we advise you to consult with a personal CrossFit trainer, especially if you are a beginner. At the very least, a professional trainer can evaluate your fitness level and explain different goals you can hope for. They can also guide you through the entire training process and ensure that you avoid injuries (as much as possible). But, even if you cannot afford the full-time dedication of a personal trainer, at least hire one for a consultation. They will aid you greatly in setting realistic goals with your CrossFit training.
Final thoughts
Before you set realistic goals with your CrossFit training, you must get into the right mindset. It would be best if you read up on what people go through and the difficulties that may arise. You’ll often find that the struggles you encounter are nothing new. Plenty of people before you have experienced them. The great thing is that you can learn from their experience and overcome your difficulties more easily. You can understand how people perceive CrossFit and why some find it less pleasurable than others. Remember that there is an active online CrossFit community that you can learn from every step of the way.