I feel like we’ve all been there. There you are, minding your own business when all of a sudden you see a product that has a catchy phrase, or slogan, or mantra that really hits home. It’s like the universe knew you needed to see it! You, being impressed with the odds of something like that suddenly appearing before your very eyes, immediately purchase said product and then can’t wait to show it off. What a better way to let people know what you think or where you stand without ever having to say a word? Whether your intention is to spark a conversation with like-minded people or to potentially rile up an opposing viewpoint, you’ve made your point.
But, if you’re anything like me (aka mature-adult-in-progress), there’s got to be a few items that you’ve purchased along the way where you’ve uttered the words “What was I thinking?” or maybe just “Wow, things have changed”.
Exhibit A:
In high school, my American Government class took a trip to Washington, D.C. My teacher (certainly not I) was good friends with John Boehner who at that time was a U.S Representative from my home state of Ohio. We got the opportunity to go to Capitol Hill, meet him and stand on the steps for a group photo. Sure that was cool and all but as immature high schoolers, we couldn’t get over intentionally mispronouncing his last name.
And to further demonstrate my immaturity, I can clearly remember photos from that trip of me walking around Lincoln Memorial in a white T-shirt with blurred text that says “Too Much Sex Makes Your Eyes Go Fuzzy”. Not to leave anyone out, my friend Jenni was countering with her own blurred shirt that read “Not Enough Sex Makes Your Eyes Go Fuzzy”. Yep, that’s right…What was I thinking!?!
Exhibit B:
I started CrossFit back in 2009 and like any new CrossFitter out there, I made sure to tell everyone I knew about it. When friends would ask what it was, I would enthusiastically utter the go-to phrase “constantly varied, functional fitness performed at a relatively high intensity”. I’d then go on to emphasize that I was training for the “unknown and unknowable”! Oh yeah, my CF kool-aid cup was filled to the brim and when I saw a shirt that said “Routine is the Enemy”, it spoke to me. I fully embraced the constantly varied concept believing it was the key to fitness. Now this example isn’t as eye-catching as the one above, (pun intended) but after a dozen years as a fitness professional, I look back and think “Yep, I’ve changed”.
Before I continue, let me be clear in saying that there is nothing wrong with CrossFit! It was certainly my gateway back into the gym after years of minimal activity, and as a former team sport athlete, it made working out fun again. It introduced me to a community of amazing people and has given me friendships that will last a lifetime. It also has given me a career in the fitness world, I am a certified Level 2 CF Coach and it goes without saying that I wouldn’t be where I’m at today without CrossFit.
What I do want to push back on is this idea that Routine is the Enemy…and to be clear, it’s not just within the CrossFit world. I mean, how many times have you heard the saying “Variety is the spice of life”? For many of us, there’s this common belief that we have to constantly mix things up so that:
We don’t get bored–like in our diets,
We don’t plateau–like in our workouts,
We can be ready for whatever life throws at us–yep, that unknown and unknowable!
But when it comes to fitness and nutrition goals, too much variety can actually be counterproductive to making progress. For example, research has shown that people who eat at a buffet will eat more food than at a regular restaurant. Another study shows that having more colors of M&M’s to choose from also leads to overeating. We get overstimulated by the options, get distracted with the novelty of choices, decide that we want them all, and then overindulge.
As for fitness, it might not seem as straightforward. This is because there are benefits to changing up your workouts and exercises. Maybe it’s simply to avoid boredom and stay motivated. Or maybe it’s a planned tactic to improve muscle strength, to mitigate “Adaptive Resistance”, or to prevent overuse injuries. All of those are valid reasons. However, a problem can arise when we view our fitness like the M&M’s experiment. When we get distracted by the novelty of choices and can’t decide what to focus on. When we end up doing a little bit of everything at random and then get upset when we’re not reaching our goals. (Yep, I’ve been there!)
Now maybe the problem is that we don’t have a defined goal and therefore lack a direction or a plan to get there (yep, I’ve also been here and that’s a different blog post). But in my experience, it’s often because we overlook the basics in favor of novelty. Building a base and doing the same repetitive foundational exercises aren’t as sexy as constantly mixing up your workouts and posting them on social media. Not many folks want to see your 5×5 back squat again. But guess what, ask any top athlete, CrossFit or not, what their workout schedule looks like and I promise you they are rooted in a routine of the basics.
Going back to my early CF days where I thought I was proudly representing the “Routine is the Enemy” philosophy, I soon realized that my gym, Crossfit South Brooklyn, arguably one of the best gyms out there, was smarter than that. Class programming happened in cycles that allowed us to see the same exercises over the course of a 6-8 week period. And guess what, we f’ing loved it. We loved the routine of having Bench on Mondays, Squats on Tuesdays and Saturdays, Olympic lifting on Wednesdays and Sundays and Deadlifts on Thursdays. This regularity allowed us to gain more confidence in the exercises and to actually measure and monitor our progress. And yes, we still got the “constantly varied” component in our conditioning pieces or accessory work but that just felt like the cherry on top.
Routine is more than just not the enemy. It should be your friend. It’s what helps you build a solid foundation of habits and behaviors. The repetitive nature of a routine is what helps us stay consistent. It’s what allows you to eventually add more complex and novel things to your life so that yes, you can be better prepared for the Unknown and Unknowable.
Until next time,
Jess
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