At the gym, especially one with free weights, we are often asked “what is your max (Fill in movement)?”. We are in a culture where the results are all others care about. That mindset is fine when comparing to our peers, but as an individual athlete you have to look beyond just the number and determine what those numbers together as a complete work of athletic art actually mean. As a meteorologist, I spend a LOT of time looking at numbers and analyzing the impact of those numbers on society. Here is just one, small, example of some numbers I look at:
Why not spend a little time looking at my own athletic numbers and try to come up with some preliminary conclusions on the state of my fitness and areas in which to focus some accessory work?
Remember, as we’re looking at these numbers we are not comparing the to other people, simply looking at them to try and find relationships or weaknesses.
Strength
Anecdotally, I always thought my shoulder press was weak compared to my push press and jerk movements (which need to be re-tested soon!). The numbers seem to back this idea up. My conclusion on this is that I am weak strength wise but I can be explosive and quick when getting under the bar. This is also backed up by my front squat being so close to my clean numbers, explosive but weak.
In addition to the disparity between my strict numbers and my “power” numbers, there are several interesting take-a-ways in my olympic lifts. With proper form, a hang movement should be less than a movement that begins at the floor, this is not the case in my numbers. I am “stronger” from the hang position. It is actually a fairly common problem in CrossFitters, a lot of us seem to not focus on the first pull enough and get out of position before hitting our hip crease. This causes me to be out of position and takes away a lot of my power. A solution is to focus on that first pull and hold my position and clear the knees correctly. This will take time and a lot of extra work before/after class.
Another olympic lift problem is seen in my numbers is the fact that my full clean is equal to or less than my power clean. In theory, the full clean should be fairly more than the power movement due to not having to pull as high and being able to get under the bar at a lower position. Range of motion is a big problem for me in my squats which leads to me having a harder time getting under the bar and completing a full clean/snatch. Improving my mobility and THEN focusing on my speed under the bar is he only fix. This also might be my least favorite fix of them all as I HATE mobility.
Endurance/CrossFit Workouts
This is really interesting to me and was not something I realized until recently. Lung capacity has continually been a problem of mine, or so I thought. To my surprise I have recently PR’d or near PR’d in a few “lung only” workouts (5k run, 2k Row, 500m row) while I’m still having difficulty in beating workouts like “Karen”, “Fran”, and “Diane”. What gives?
Well, I think it is two things.
- Muscle endurance is not there.
- I rest too much and I’m not pushing myself to my full potential
The first of the problems can be solved by continuing to do my strength work and pushing through workouts. Doing more reps at moderate weights will also help this along as these workouts are rarely done at super heavy weights. It will come though some additional accessory work would not hurt to speed the process along. While the second problem is 100% mental (or as my Russian friend tells me, moral). I am mentally weak, I get in my own way and I stop too often when I’m not failing the movement. I need to go to failure before stopping. I am finding more drive as more athletes come to class and I “compete” against them in class but some days it really is just me against myself.
Weight/Body Stats
Workout results are not the only thing that many of us care about, that nasty weight number also is always there keeping me company. Let me warn you that I agree with many trainers that weight is not useful by itself, but that does not mean there is some very useful information contained within your weight number. It can tell you, in addition to logging workouts and food, where something might be going on in your body. If you’re losing too much weight too quickly you may need to adjust your food intake or vice versa. Most importantly, I think tracking weight is a great way to objectively determine how your progress is going in getting to the point where you “look good”. It may take a while before you see your 6-pack but if you see your weight number decreasing (and your body fat % decreasing) it may give you that extra push and keep you on track.
Other benefits of tracking weight/body fat %:
- You may need to know your weight to get ready for a weightlifting competition, or to figure out just how impressive that squat or clean really is
- Determine how your olympic lifts compare to someone of a different weight
- In conjunction with “before” pictures, it can help you realize increasing muscle mass
- Tracking weight can actually help hold one accountable for their food, almost gamify’s weight loss
- “weekly and daily self-weighing were associated with weight losses; more frequent self-weighing was associated with a greater 24-month weight loss” – Self-Monitoring in Weight Loss: A Systematic Review of the Literature
- Make sure to weigh at the same time, same place each day
With all of this said, the best information would be all inclusive with body measurements (chest, waist, thigh, bicep, etc) and weight. This would give you a full view of your changes. Though to date I am not aware of an easy way to measure those different parts of the body.
Beyond the “Big” Numbers
Beyond looking at lifetime numbers, it is also important to look at numbers day to day. As we strive to improve we may actually start to train too much! Ironically enough, going to the gym and doing the same thing every day could actually make you weaker. To avoid this, it is good to track your numbers and how you feel during and after each workout to catch symptoms of over-training before they cause injury. I use a few methods for tracking my workouts, this blog being the most public example. I also have access to wodify at my gym and have used notebooks in the past. It is up to you to figure out what is the best method for you, but it is a good idea to track your results.
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