Well, it’s that time. We’ve hit the point of January where all the motivation and excitement of the new year drop off. And when you start to lose steam with your workout routine, no matter what time of year it is, you could find yourself on the path to burnout.
When you feel yourself beginning to stall out, your instinct might be to dig in your heels and work even harder at the same things you’ve been doing for weeks. But really, the thing you need most when you’re on the brink of burnout is a change.
How do you avoid CrossFit burnout? Here are a few ways to spice up your constantly varied workouts:
1. Shift Your Focus
One of the distinguishing aspects of CrossFit programming is the constant variation. But if you’ve been CrossFitting for a while, you may have lost track of the variety. If you feel like you’re stuck and doing the same thing over and over, try shifting your focus.
Start paying attention to the workout programming. Instead of seeing all workouts as the same, focus on the intention behind the workout. Is today’s WOD meant to build strength? What skill is the workout targeting? What specific movements show up in the WOD? Are you using barbells or bodyweight?
Simply making an effort to notice the variety that’s programmed into your weekly workouts can help you shift your mindset and avoid burnout. But it is up to you to observe this variety and how it benefits your fitness and performance.
2. Stop Avoiding Your Weaknesses
Once you get familiar with CrossFit movements and workout programming, you start to recognize your strengths and weaknesses. You love heavy squat day and dread wall balls. You’ve nailed your first muscle-up, but you still can’t get double unders.
Sometimes, we tend to avoid the workouts that target our weaknesses. We conveniently have a meeting scheduled on the day wall balls or double unders (or better yet, wall ball AND double unders) show up in the WOD.
Let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to stick to the things they’re good at? But continuing to avoid your weaknesses can lead to burnout. When you only do the workouts that have the things you’re good at, you wind up eliminating the variety in your workouts. Rather than working to improve your weaknesses, you start to plateau. And when you stop improving, it can lead to feeling burned out.
The fix? Don’t shy away from the workouts that you would typically avoid. If you have to, stop looking at the workout ahead of time. Just show up and go to work.
3. Refresh Your Goals
When was the last time you revisited your fitness or performance goals? If you can’t even remember, then it’s time. Ask yourself if your goals are still relevant? If you’re still excited to get after it, then chances are good that your goals are still relevant. If you’ve completely forgotten about the goals you set a few weeks or months ago, then that’s not a great sign. It’s time for a goal refresh.
And don’t worry about abandoning your previous goals. Let those past intentions go and reset with goals that you’re excited about. Continuing to work toward something that’s not relevant or exciting is going to lead you straight to feelings of burnout. Instead, focus on the goals that motivate you to get to the gym and work hard. Perhaps you want to target a specific skill. Or maybe you want to make mobility your top priority. You decide.
To learn more about how to get started on chasing down your personal fitness goals, contact us at Rhapsody CrossFit in Charleston today!
