Attacking Your Weaknesses

I listened to several interesting presentations by Crossfit's founder Greg Glassman. He was very insightful about many fitness and health-related topics, but today I wanted to focus on his view of weaknesses. One of the basic philosophies of Crossfit is that they don't want to specialize in anything - and conversely they don't want to have any weaknesses in fitness. He states that we should focusing on strengthening our weaknesses. It is fairly logical advice - your fitness "chain" is only as strong as its weakest link. However, this is often easier said than done.

Weaknesses may develop for many reasons. Maybe we've never been exposed to a certain exercise or method - e.g. the person who grew up using "bodybuilding" weightlifting strategies who discovers powerlifting or Olympic weightlifting. However, sometimes our own fears and biases have led to a "comfort" zone where we continually focus on the things we are good at. For example, always being of slight build, I always preferred high repetition calisthenics like push-ups and bodyweight squats to heavy weightlifting. You may notice my current strength goals are biased towards weightlifting in an attempt to balance that bias.

We may also have fears or embarrassment that prevents us from facing our weaknesses. I didn't learn to swim when I was younger, and for the longest time, I avoided going anywhere I'd have to swim. However, now I'm currently trying to improve my swimming - partly because my wife and children love swimming, and partly because I realize it is a great form of exercise and a practical skill to have. Now that I have some proficiency, I'm actually finding it somewhat enjoyable as well.

So what are your weaknesses? Are you a runner who dislikes strength training? Or are you on the other spectrum, you love lifting heavy weights but don't enjoy conditioning? Of course, part of exercise is enjoyment and recreation, so don't feel like you have to attack your weaknesses. However, if comprehensive fitness and health is your ultimate goal, your weaknesses are a great place to start.

Extra Credit

If this post inspired you or sparked your curiosity, you can also check out Greg Glassman's original article What is Fitness? that defines what Crossfit is and attempts to do. I'm not affiliated with or represent Crossfit in any way. I respect Greg Glassman and have many friends and family who enjoy Crossfit.

November 11, 2015 Workout

Time of workout: 11:30 AM

Location: YMCA

Warm-up:

Bike 3 minutes

Bodyweight Squat: 5 reps x 3 sets

Stretching

Back Squat:

1. 75 x 5

2. 95 x 5

3. 95 x 5 Here I reminded myself to hold my breath until the end of the rep, which helped a lot.

4. 105 x 5

5. 115 x 5! I felt good and brave, so I went for an unplanned jump in weight. I did well in the first 4 reps. On the 5th rep, I struggled and my hips came up before the bar a little, but I was able to quickly correct it. On a side note, this is the most I have ever squatted.

Time for Squats: ~15 minutes

Stretching - 5 minutes

Swimming - Nothing too intense. Practiced breaststroke a little as well as floating around in the deep. About 20 minutes with the boys.

Post-Workout Comments

Not much to add. I was pleased to hit a new personal best. I want to continue to developing my breathing technique during the squat.