Intensity Through Intention

Part of my intention in developing new class offerings for TwinTown was selfish in nature. I love CrossFit so much that I want to work out every day because every workout looks cool and because I don’t want to miss out on anything (and I have been doing this for almost nine years).

Even though I tell people all the time to just go at a different intensity or just come in and move, I have a really hard time doing it myself. I feel guilty when I don’t put a full effort into whatever I’m doing and on more than one occasion have actually hurt myself when trying to go easy! Because I’m not as mentally prepared to do something on my “move” days, I end up setting up for a movement lazily or not being mindful of what I am doing and tweak something that I normally wouldn’t if I were going harder. 

So, selfishly I wanted to help develop other offerings that we could use to keep our intensity high while still being mindful. (Side note: there is much, much, much more that went into our developing different offerings than what I’m going to talk about below, but this was just one of my reasons for adding the programs we have).

The purpose of CrossFit, to me, is a way to test what I have been practicing, at a faster pace. I usually do 2-3 days of CrossFit per week with other days of more practice-focused training mixed in. 

Think of it this way: what if you were a professional athlete and all you did was play in the games without practicing? It would be so much fun, wouldn’t it? But how long could you go before you burn out or get hurt? It seems a lot like CrossFit, right? How long can you go as hard as possible in search of that feeling of accomplishment; that feeling of leaving it all on the floor; and knowing that you did your best, before burning out or getting injured?

Ok, so say this isn’t your everyday approach to working out because you have “move days” mixed in. What do these days consist of? Are they going at the lowest possible intensity with the lightest possible weight, or do they consist of the least demanding movement for a day or two between the more maximum intensity days? Or dare I say it, are your “move days” the days when the movements in the workout aren’t your favorite or maybe things you aren’t good at?

For me—and this might just be me (even though I don’t think it is)—my “move days” are days where I still keep the intensity is high, but just in a different way.

I see nothing wrong with going at a lower intensity from time to time, but my approach is a little different than just that. Let’s say I can only do a CrossFit class, but my body is telling me that today is one that I should back it off a bit. Instead of pushing to see how fast I can go, I instead try to be super intentional with working on improving my technique in movements that have given me trouble in the past.

Example: In a workout with heavy kettlebell swings, if my knees and hips shoot too far forward (which also might transfer to my movement pattern when I’m doing Cleans, but we will save this conversation for another day), instead of trying to force myself to go hard, I go at a lighter weight and work on sending my hips back, driving my momentum up, and squeezing my butt at the top.

If this is something that you want to work on but aren’t quite sure how, pull one of your coaches aside and say, “Hey I’m planning on dialing back the intensity today but I want to work on cleaning up my technique with... fill in the movement. Can you help me?” The answer will be a “YES” from us every time.

I said at the start of this that I do the best and feel the best both physically and mentally when I feel I’m putting a full effort in. As I’m saying this, I realize that there are some of you who don’t share this passion. But, we can still be creative in helping you in similar ways, too—so ask if you need help. If it is accessible, try sprinkling in different offerings and setting an intention for the class. Here is how I look at them: 

The intention of Conditioning: going hard by staying moving. This might be at 60% of your maximum effort or weight, but still doing what you can to stay moving throughout. Is there intensity in there? Try it and tell me. Doing this class once a week for two months helped me drop almost two minutes off of my one-mile time. Need help with the cardio side of your workouts? Get your butt in here consistently for a period of time and see what it does for you!

The intention of Control: pushing yourself in the weight or movement that you can control. The intensity is in moving intentionally. Instead of using momentum to assist you, try only using your technique and strength to control what you are doing. This is an excellent way to practice your skills and to get better for the times you want to test yourself in say a CrossFit class. 

We have all heard what the definition of insanity is, “It’s doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Stop thinking that this is going to be different for your workouts and start being intentional in why you’re doing what you’re doing. We would love nothing more than to help you put a plan in place for this. Please ask!