It has been said that the fastest way to lose your fitness is to open a gym.  I agree, and I would also amend that to say “the fastest way to lose your fitness is to open a gym AND try to do your own programming.”  I’ve learned over the last year that I’m going to be way more successful letting someone else be in charge of my programming.  This started becoming clear to me way back in January, and became crystal clear after my last 50 Miler in April (Podcast still pending).

In January, I ran the Mississippi Blues Marathon on practically no training.  Definitely no running and sporadic CrossFit type workouts.  Whenever I found time I would train, and it was very unorganized.  In April I ran the 50, and I made all the cutoffs (and did well) but I had to really work way harder than I normally do to finish.  I was in a bad place at the end of that race and I felt bad.  My longest run was 15 miles leading up to it, and there was no track work at all.  Basically one run a week along with some CrossFit workouts when I could find time.  No organization, no plan.  I no longer have the cushion and stability that a 9 to 5 job can provide.  I’m a small business owner supporting myself and my family, and there are more and more things everyday that need my attention.   The first thing to get cut was my own training.  I didn’t have time to sit down and make a plan for the week, so it became really easy for me to just not train.  I couldn’t do this anymore.  Enter Athlete Cell.

It’s pretty obvious why I chose this company when you look at their coaches page.  Bmack is at the top of the page.  I figured if I were going to hire a coach that this would be the place to start.  I can tell you that I’ve made a GREAT decision!  After signing up, I got a message from Valerie Hunt letting me know that she’d be working with me!  Score!  If you follow CrossFit Endurance at all, you’ll know that Valerie is the coach in all of the videos they have been sharing on social media for a while now. So, I am pretty stoked.

I went into the first week thinking that I would crush it.  I couldn’t wait.  Training would start on Memorial Day.  We would be doing Murph at the gym, and I thought, “well, I guess I won’t do Murph since I’ll have my new programming.”  I was wrong.  Apparently coach had seen that we were doing murph on Twitter or Facebook (or just assumed since it was memorial day) so when she sent programming she said, “I know you’re doing Murph tomorrow, so you can start Tuesday.”  Ouch.  So I started my first week with Murph.  It was painful.  41:52.

Tuesday I was wrecked!  I had some Snatching, HSPU’s and Handstand Walks on the agenda for the day.  I knew this was going to be bad, but I was going to do my best.  This was the most humbling day I’ve had in a long time.  Here’s what it says on the front page of the Athlete Cell website:

Trusted by dozens of top CrossFit athletes across the globe. AthleteCell programming is individually tailored to help you conquer your weaknesses and dominate your competition.

This. Is. No. Joke.  Honestly, I’ve spent a year training everything I’m good at.  Double Unders, Deadlifts, Running, Cleans, and on my first day I felt it.  Big time.  I’m very weak at Snatching, pressing anything, and I’ve never done a WoD walking on my hands.  Note that I filled out an athlete profile beforehand listing all my weaknesses.  With that in mind I felt like this first day was a punch in my gut.  By the end of the training session I just wanted to cry.  Literally.  It became abundantly clear that I had been doing myself a HUGE injustice by not letting someone else handle my programming.  I powered through it.

I made it through the week, and by Friday I was done with my pity party.  I feel awesome.  Every day has been hard, but right now I feel great, and can’t wait until I get programming for next week.  I’ve got big goals, and I know I’m on the right track, and have the right coach to get me where I need to be.  Looking forward to the future…

-Lift Heavy Run Long