I’m not a big fan of the ‘embrace failure’ movement. I’d rather get things right. But, I was reminded this morning that there are valuable lessons in failing at something. It’s how you regroup and come back stronger that counts.
Last week, I attacked this workout:
Every 3 minutes, perform:
- 2 wall walks
- 4 burpee pull ups
- 6 push press @ 40KG
- 8 front squats @ 40KG
Complete 6 rounds (18 mins total)
It was a car crash. I ran out of time on some sets. I ended up scaling the front squats back to 6 reps. I also decided to call it a day after 5 rounds, and then changed my mind and did the 6th set slowly with a full minute of rest before. My form got increasingly sloppy as the rounds went on and my times were inconsistent. I felt beat up afterwards!
Now, the programming was too ambitious for sure. But, I also under-estimated it and got my strategy wrong with pacing and transitioning between the movements.
This morning I approached it again with the weight, volume and time scaled back a bit.
Every 4 minutes, perform:
2 wall walks
4 burpee pull ups
6 push press @ 30KG
8 front squats @ 30KG
Complete 5 rounds (20 mins total)
I thought alot about why I struggled the first time around and made some changes. I completely smashed it.
I finished the first two rounds in 2.30 mins, giving me 90 secs to regroup between rounds. I finished the third and fourth rounds in 2.15 mins and the last round in 2.05 mins. That’s exactly what you want – consistent rounds to start with and then a strong finish. I had a much better mindset from the first second. My form was also really good throughout and my strategy for pacing and transitioning between movements was spot on.
Whilst last week’s failure felt crappy, it felt great to put things right a second time around. And the things I learned will definitely carry through to future workouts. I’ve emerged stronger. So, I guess it all worked out well in the end.
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