26 Nov The G-Force Source: A New Perspective – Tips From Coach Renee
“It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view.”
— George Eliot
Perspective is crucial to the development of something as complex as health and fitness. There are so many aspects and methods of improvement and acquiring an understanding of many different methodologies is going to be much richer in positive results than that of a narrow view. CrossFit has the advantage that it consists of many different forms of exercise which benefit the body in different ways. The teaching methods of those same varied forms is going to depend on the perspective of the coach and having variety and different perspectives in a CrossFit gym is going to be far more beneficial to the athletes than that of a gym which suffers tunnel vision.
We speak of perspective because G-Force has been further complimented with yet another coach who brings another great and positive perspective on CrossFit and its methodologies. Variety is the spice of life and with our new coach, G-Force now boasts a stronger coaching team with varied backgrounds in health and fitness, in addition to one shared focus on community and results for our athletes.
G-Force welcomes Renee (pictured above) to our coaching team who started her experience in CrossFit in 2012 following her retirement from the Australian baseball team. Soon after starting CrossFit and falling in love with its methodology but probably not Fran (because really, who ever says they love Fran?), Renee completed her Level 1 certificate and therein began her career in the sport. Prior to CrossFit, Renee was dedicated to baseball and its intensive training with a goal in mind to become the best. Her training weeks consisted of numerous weekly trips to her three hour training sessions following by her weekly matches. She sacrificed teeny-bopper parties and schoolies to concentrate on her 10-year-long sport which she continued with alongside school, university and work… until meeting the likes of Fran, Diane, Helen, Jackie and all of the other irresistible CrossFit ladies. For those not in with the CrossFit cult and lingo, they’re all named workouts. No one really likes them but we have to pretend to like them to avoid a woman’s wrath.
Renee comes with compliments of team competition experience including a 2nd place finish with fellow coach Zuz at the Benton competition in 2015 and more recently, a 3rd place finish with Team Blueprint at the latest NSW All Star Affiliate Series qualifier.
Continue below for Renee’s top tips for CrossFitters.
Plateaus in training and how to overcome them:
I believe a few things can lead to plateaus such as over training, poor sleep or nutrition, injury or programming to name a few. If you can pinpoint the reason then making adjustments to it can make a difference. An example might be in your nutrition. You feel lethargic during training which has your lifting numbers down and your intensity in metcons isn’t lasting. This may be solved by adding in more carbs or even more food in general to either side of your sessions. If you are struggling with a certain movement, ask your coach to assess you. There may be a fault or weakness that once identified can be broken down and worked on individually. You may even just need some time off or a change of scenery to add variety and different stimuli to your training; jog through a national park instead of road running or go surfing instead of swimming laps.
Balancing training and life:
Begin with asking yourself what is it exactly that you are training for and why. This will determine what sacrifices may come a long with it. If you’re not prepared to give up on some of things or limit them, then maybe that goal is unrealistic for you which is totally OK. You still have to make time for your family, friends and work because these are your support systems and pay the bills. Missing a session here and there isn’t going to kill you or derail your entire purpose. Willpower plays a big role. You can still go out for dinner or drinks, just have the willpower to call it an early night and learn to say no to that second piece of cake.
Diet advice:
You need to eat according to your goals whether it’s weight loss, maintenance, mass gain, athletics etc. It’s often beneficial to get advice straight from a nutritionist or dietitian that understands the training you are doing.
A few little tips that have helped me:
– Following a meal plan with a friend, colleague or family member can help with support, motivation and accountability.
– Use supplements (eg. Protein shakes, bars, dextrose etc.) for exactly that a supplement to your diet.
– Try to stick to as many unprocessed foods as possible. There’s a saying that if you can’t understand the ingredients on the packet then they’re not worth eating.
– Instead of saying you “can’t” have a certain food ask yourself how that food will make you feel if you eat it. For example, “I can’t have that spaghetti marinara.” Why? Even though it’s delicious, the pasta will make me feel bloated, uncomfortable and give me a stomachache. So the solution may be to order the seafood on it’s own.
– If competing, it is more beneficial to over pack your food for the day. You don’t want to be stuck relying on other sources of food that may be of no nutritious value to you or may not even be there on the day.
– Meal prep! The majority of us are flat out with work and don’t have time to cook every single night. If you aren’t dedicated enough to meal prep on the weekends you can double the amount for dinner to use for the following day’s meals
– Drink lots of water! Something I’m terrible at. My solution has been to carry a 2 litre jug around with me. At worst my aim is to drink 1 full bottle, on a good day 2, but I find this way you can physically see how much more you have or haven’t drunk.
– Be patient. It may take some time to find the right food plan for you and depending on your training cycle/goal changes will need to be made along the way. Just like training your nutrition is a work in progress.
– Treat yourself! Not everyday obviously, I wish. Have a meal or day on the weekend where you can eat those foods or have that drink that you love. You’ve worked hard during the week so treating yourself is a must and will keep you sane.
Welcome aboard Renee!
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