Goal Setting?

[godsjules]

Hey y'all, I'm a relatively new female CFer here, been doing it for a year and some change. Currently I feel like I'm stuck in a rut and very frustrated. There are so many movements that I need to work on (snatch form, pull ups, rope climbs, DUs, TTB, etc) that I get overwhelmed with how to even start working on them. I typically go 2-3 days a week and stay after classes for open gym time to work on movements but I'm sort of going w/o any direction or programming.

The head coach at my gym suddenly quit this friday which sucks because I was going to ask him for some possible programming. The other 3 coaches don't really do programming though they have been super helpful with working on movements with me. How do you guys approach working on specific movements?

I know its not a race and all that and I shouldn't care what other people are doing. But I cant not notice how even newer members get certain movements down that I can barely make progress on and its super disheartening.

 

[shad09]

@godsjules Hey! I’m in basically the same boat - female, at it for about a year, and working on pretty much the same skills. What helped me is to organize them into what I want to work on first, second, third, etc. I was closest to getting TTB, so I started there - I asked not only coaches, but also fellow members, “what’s your best TTB tip?” It was a random fellow gym goer who described hip popping in the way that finally “clicked” for me. Now I’m getting TTB in singles with no trouble and starting to string them.

All that said - once I settled on TTB, I didn’t worry about the other skills. I worked on them when called to in class, but I made TTB my focus for the little bits of time that I had before or after class each day.

Now I’m doing the same for DU. Asking everyone for tips and advice, spending a few minutes on them before or after class each day. When I feel like I’ve got those to somewhere “workable”, I’ll start focusing on pull ups. And etc etc… although I don’t think a ring muscle up will ever be in my future

 

[godsjules]

@shad09 I feel ya, for the longest time pull ups where my main goal, but they still feel so far away. Anything on the pullup bar is where I struggle. I think I'm prioritizing my snatch form and my back squat form (have a weight shift going on) right now but I keep getting distracted from all the other stuff I want to work on. I think I'll start asking some of the other veteran members for some tips

 

[hamarr]

@shad09 Yea I've kind of been doing it like this. I usually pick 2 things to work on but I go 5-6 times a week. That way if I'm getting frustrated with one, I work on the other. I just spend about 15mins after class trying to progress as that's all the time I have. I also agree with getting advice from different people, you never know which advice will help something click.

At the moment I'm working on handstand walks and butterfly pulls up.

 

[savedbygrace781]

@godsjules I’ve been doing CrossFit for 5 years and have inconsistent TTB and DUs, still trying to get pull-ups and have absolutely zero desire to do a rope climb.

Try not to compare yourself to other members, we all have different backgrounds (l started CrossFit at 30 with no prior experience save from running and doing sit ups). If you can, see where your previous coach went and ask for private coaching/ideas. There are tons of programs: Prvn, HWPO, Mayhem, Power Abs ect that you can buy programming from and focus on increasing strength and skill

 

[godsjules]

@savedbygrace781 I've been really looking at Filly's Persist program but I have a feeling my gym wont let me use their space unfortunately. So its gonna limit my ability to do additional programming as much as I want to do it.

 

[tazzigirl]

@godsjules Hi, female crossfitter here. I found it useful to focus on one group of movements at a time- weightlifting, gymnastics on the bar (ttb, pull ups), gymnastics movements on the ground( hspu, wall walks), etc. Because there are so many movements in crossfit, it's hard to make progress on all of them at the same time. I would pick a group of movements, do some research, and come up with your own programming to work on them before or after class.

 

[trisal19]

@tazzigirl I strongly second this. My focus on CrossFit started feb 2022 before that I worked with a PT and CrossFit 2x a week. After bumping up to 5 days a week I started focusing on 3-4 movements a month to work on. Work on 2 movements a day for 10mins each- anything with weights just use an empty bar or go super light, for gymnastics movements do no more than 4 sets of 3-5 reps as you build through modifications.

 

[dawn16]

@godsjules There’s obvious practical suggestions such as pt, changing boxes, online programming, training more often, diet, sleep etc but really what I think could benefit you the most is a change of perspective…I’m sure that if you look back at the past year then you’ll realise how far you’ve come and how you’ve improved in so many skills?

 

[chinyereukoha]

@godsjules Someone told me the best way to get DU's was to tell everyone in your gym you are trying to get them and have them see your practice attempts. The sheer about of tips/corrections and stories about what made it click for them might be just enough to make you practice until you can get them ASAP.

 

[chinyereukoha]

But more seriously - I hope selecting a smaller group of exercises, looking up youtube progression videos (or coach/member guidance), taking video fottage of your attempts, and setting aside regular open gym practice sessions will help you cross a few movements off the list.

 

[sydwell]

@godsjules I love YouTube for instructional videos. Usually there are some great drills you can do in a hierarchy in order to learn a skill. I like WodPrep and Kristi Eramos videos.

 

[glory2jesus]

@godsjules So I would suggest to focus on one lift and one gymnastic and start with the easy ones.

2-3 days is ofc not much for crossfit and you might never be able to do all movements but I dont think that is or should be your goal.

Think what you want to improve next and go step by step.

A full programming usually has 2 snatch days but you might only train twice a week.

I would suggest building strength for pull ups if you cannot do a couple of strict ones since this is very important for my point of view.

DU practice can be done just 10-20 minutes as warm-up or in the end. Wouldnt overthink it since its pretty simple once you get like 10 in a row. Just relax and focus

When you work on your snatch. Maybe ask a coach to watch couple of light sets to give you some advice. Would go light and do drills. Muscle Snatch, Snatch Balance, OHS, high hang snatch. If your catch is not the best you can for example try to do behind the neck strict press with kettlebells with resistant bands on the sides or just hold it overhead. This helps a lot for stability..

BUT calm down, relax and focus on maximum 2 thinks at a time. no need to rush yourself. think about your realistic goals. think about WHY you do crossfit.

 

[godsjules]

@glory2jesus Yeah, I think if I go any higher than 4x/wk it'll just be diminishing returns at that point, I have no interest in doing so lol.

Appreciate the feedback! I think 2 max would probably be the most effective. So I think for now I could focus on my pull ups and back squat, my weight shift is improving so hopefully I don't have to single that lift out anymore and then replace it with snatches. Honestly getting DUs is kind of a low priority right now XD but definitely on my to do list.

 

[timnewton85]

@godsjules For all the movements you've listed there's progressions and drills that will help. If you can't get in-person coaching, the next best thing is remote coaching. DM me if you'd like suggestions, I know some amazing Oly lifting coaches with proven results.

Another route is self-teaching from videos. Beware though that identifying flaws becomes subjective and biased - another person watching your form will identify different issues than you would for yourself.

For oly lifting I recommend Venus Weightlifting with Gaby Q

For gymnastics check out Kristi Eramo O'Connel's videos

Once I got the initial movement down, I found the best way to building bigger sets was through emoms. Something I do almost every week is a 10-9-8-7-...-1 of toes to bar on the minute for 10 mins. Hopefully this helps ya, and like others have said don't worry about what others are doing. We all progress at different rates, but it's the progression that's the addictive part. Getting everything perfect early on wouldn't be nearly as satisfying as working hard at something and finally nailing it.

 

[godsjules]

@timnewton85

We all progress at different rates, but it's the progression that's the addictive part. Getting everything perfect early on wouldn't be nearly as satisfying as working hard at something and finally nailing it.

Damn, thats probably the most motivational thing I heard in the past few months. I really needed to hear that!!

Getting coaches to help with form isn't an issue thankfully, I know I have a good support system at my gym. I just get lost and feel like I'm doing certain lifts aimlessly w/o a proper progression in mind.

I mentioned it in an earlier post, but I've been heavily debating paying for my own programing, our gym uses Forged by Zeus that's tailored to us but I'm very... indifferent about it. I just feel like I need something more. Possibly splitting days going to class and then doing my own thing the rest of the week, not entirely sure. Is this a smart option considering I've only done CF for a year?

 

[timnewton85]

@godsjules I left a previous gym as the programming no longer built my skills. It was a great place to begin, but more advanced movements like muscle ups and handstand walks were never programmed so we never learnt them. I moved to a gym that uses mayhem programming and it’s much, much better. Difficult movements come up frequently with good scaling options. I feed off of the energy of others though, I don’t think I’d find it as fun if I were doing it alone, so that’s a decision you’ll need to make. For what it’s worth, I train 7 hours a week, and wish I had time for more. To really get good progression, you’re probably going to want to do more than 2-3 hours a week. Aim for 5 to begin with and see how you feel from there.