Saturday, 22 December 2012

2013 Phase 1: January Assessments and Goal Setting

­Now that we know the Mayan calendar issue has past we can take a look at the year that will come after all- 2013! 
'Tis the season for goal setting, crash dieting and a full on assault of the public gyms.  If you are the type of person who is in the gym year round you probably know what I’m talking about- the January rush is hard to miss.  Chances are, if you are unaware of this phenomenon you are either: the January warrior and think that the gym is always that busy, or you are hardly in the gym and don’t notice.

If you are one of these 3 types of people then this post might be for you!
The main thing I want to look at today is goal setting and achieving those goals.  Achieving your goal that you set out for is probably the most rewarding and encouraging experience you can have when it comes to your fitness, and really work and life too.  So no matter where you sit with the 3 types of folks it is always good to be working in the "right" direction- whatever that is for you.
Hitting that IV, ET tube placement….. squat or run PR (personal record)…. They are all potentially the same when you get down to it.  All 3 took work, focused work, to achieve.  While hitting benchmarks on the job is typically a straight forward task it seems as though we get lost sometimes on how to get the job done in the gym- whether its hitting that PR or losing weight etc.

Check this out:


This is a “Skills” chart put out by CrossFit Portland.  At first glance it is just a bunch of boxes and numbers but if you look at it closely it gives us a pretty good idea of what a “balanced” fitness could look like.  Across the top there is levels 1 to 4, level 1 being a rounded “Beginner”, and 4 being an “Advanced” athlete as far as CrossFit is concerned.

Where are you on the page?

You will notice that for some things you might be in a level 2, 3…. Even 4.  But for others you might not even come up as a level 1!  So what does that mean?  This chart would suggest that if looking for priorities to train you would hit those that are lower on your scale, and the things that are more advanced don’t need as much attention until your other physical abilities catch up.

Look at it again, what are your strengths and what are your weaknesses?  Write them down, each in a column.

A simple recommendation for your 2013 goals- "I will be able to complete all Level 1 items by the end of 2013".  This should be plenty of time to get this done, again as long as you are focused on your approach and you work with your physio or doctor if needed.

As firefighters my view is that we should all be strong.  The stronger we are the easier our tasks are- lifting pts, dragging hoses, or even just getting reps in the gym with a good weight- consider that if you are doing 3 reps with 45lbs or you do the same reps with 95lbs and both are done in same amount of time…. Which one do you think would be more effective at burning calories, stressing your cardiovascular system, earning the kind of grit it takes to drag that guy out of the house at 4 in the morning….. You decide.

Add the strength movements into the weaknesses column.

Now, how do I get there?  You ask.  Well here’s the list:
  1. Don’t get hurt.  Plain and simple.  No rep is worth a shoulder, knee or back injury.  Save that for the critical moments on the fire ground…. And hopefully never.
  2. Get strong.  This is far simpler than most think; it’s just logging time under the bar and being consistent.  The last few people I’ve put on a basic strength program are squatting 225lbs for sets…injury free and still progressing.
  3. Add conditioning that is appropriate to you.  As a firefighter we should have elements of heavy, short duration conditioning in our repertoire but if you have endurance aspirations then go for it.  Key here is that for the time being strength is a top priority until you top the chart at a level 3 or 4 across the board strength wise.

Simple right?  Well I will help out.  In the previous post I put that there will be some assessments done during January, well this will include testing the Level 1 strength movements.  This will identify where your technique is and your strength levels.  From here I will give some direction for any corrective stuff if need be to get you on track but the main thing is that you will know where you sit. 

How can you know where you are going if you don’t know where you are?

At any time if you want help going through any of the other components of the Skills Chart or any other aspect of your health/fitness let me know and I’ll do what I can or refer you to the right people!

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