Since his competition in September, Sam and I sat down and talked about working on his strength. He certainly has followed the programming to a T, has seen some pretty impressive increases in his lifts, is extremely committed and consistent with both nutrition and his workouts.
But two weeks ago he hit a pretty big wall (at least as I saw it). There was a particular day that weights that were 80% of his max efforts were a struggle. He was dragging a bit in the gym. So we talked. I asked him how he was feeling and he said he was doing ok. His body felt ok, life was status quo, nutrition felt on point although the holidays caused some challenges. My initial thought was: just an off day.
And then that week it was more of the same. And so I really started to evaluate programming. Maybe it’s too much? Maybe it’s too little? Maybe he’s bored? Maybe I haven’t created enough breaks? Maybe the progressions I’ve worked through are the wrong progressions? Maybe he’s over training?….and that list continued to grow.
We worked through a deload week. About midweek he came up to me and said, “You know what I think has been happening? Sleep.”
We have been talking through SEMM as a more wholistic approach to health: Sleep, Eat, Move, Manage. And I lost sight of the first one: Sleep. The interesting revelation that Sam had wasn’t the amount of sleep that he was or was not getting – it was that he was going to bed at different times every night which impacted when and how he woke up. (The amount of awareness and self-reflection Sam has, especially at 18 years old, is very impressive). And so for the rest of the week that was his focus: go to bed at a consistent time where he can get the appropriate amount of sleep.
I think for many who know Sam they think this all comes easy to him and “well, of course he’s good at Crossfit…he’s young and he has good genes.” Some of that I agree with. But most of it is his consistent work and evaluating (and re-evaluating) what he is doing based on his goals.
He came in yesterday and did a clean double from the blocks at 96% of his clean and jerk with ease.
I’m not saying that you will start PR’ing everything the moment you go to be at 9:30 every night. Or that you will have stress free rest from the moment your head hits the pillow until you naturally wake up 7-9 hours later as the sun rises because 8:24pm is a magic sleep hour. But I am saying it’s not always some huge or crazy shift that we need to add or even subtract. Oftentimes it’s the small subtle pieces that set you up for mental (and even physical) success. You want something to work on this week? How about your sleep? How about consistency in your sleep? How about something as simple as going to bed at the same time everyday (weekday and weekend)? Or maybe it’s making sure all ambient light in your room is off (phones flipped over, curtains drawn, bright clock faces covered). Or maybe it’s being off of electronics 1/2 hour before bed.
The value (and impact) of consistent sleep certainly sets mood, attitude and even performance. This isn’t just about Crossfit competitions and gym performance. I am talking about healthier life habits. Poor sleep certain can impact stress, how you move, what you eat….it’s ALL connected…). The converse is true as well: good sleep can certainly set you up for better stress management, moving better and even what you place in your mouth. Where can you dial in better sleep? I think you will be surprised at its value.