I want to preface this short blog by describing what I mean by the title. When training, you should be aware of your opponents training, but only in the sense that you should know what movements “.Com” has been posting. Thus creating awareness of any movements that you may need to brush up on.
Focus
Many times in our training we get caught up in what everyone else is doing. Our focus shifts away from ourselves and shines on everyone else’s accomplishments, training, and performance. We are worried that Opponent A just snatched 50 lbs more than our max, or that Opponent B has been working muscle-ups and is getting pretty darn good at them. We get worried that the cold weather will interfere with our training, or we sit and think about how detrimental our life situation is to our training. While difficult to do, there must be focus in order to win/accomplish your goals.
Set Goals (See Dutch Lowy’s Blog)
Opponent A and Opponent B’s performance should not affect the intensity or method in which I train. We must set goals (Great Dutch Lowy Blog on Goals) and they must be goals that are both attainable and hopefully a certain date. If I set my plan into action, there should be no reason to deviate from this because your set plan should be followed through to achieve your desired goal. The problem becomes when one begins training in a group and a sort of groupthink begins to take hold of you. You begin to not question the methods of your group’s training and partake in it not only hoping you’ll still achieve your goals, but participating with the group because of your fear that doing something different than the group will not be beneficial.
Specialized Training for a Generalist?
The problem with training for CrossFit the Sport is such that one begins to become overwhelmed with being a generalist. It is easier to have a narrow goal because this will require a narrow set plan or prescription. If one says “I want to increase my snatch 1RM, Murph time, and lose 5 percent body fat”, creates a much more different and extensive plan than just saying “I want to increase my back squat by 10lbs in 1 month.” You’ll notice in the 2nd situation, the goal was quantifiable, and had a time table. So if I have to get better at 20 different things, how do I attack it? The answer is becoming the most well balanced athlete possible, all while picking up skills along the way. Gaining 50lbs in my back squat and 30lbs in my Snatch will yield a far greater result in competition then spending an hour a day learning to walk on my hands. This isn’t to take away from the latter skill, but rather to say that if I have 1 hour a day to train, I’m looking to get the most bang for my buck, and that is going to be done getting stronger, faster and bigger, and walking on my hands just won’t do this.
Focus, Again
So the idea is to set YOUR goals, don’t worry about what others are doing (kind of), and be ready for game day. Game day you can’t do anything but focus on yourself because your opponent’s performance will not affect your days of training or your obliteration of your goals.
