The Big Five Checklist

There is no perfect in CrossFit. There's better than yesterday. Way better than last year. And the best I've ever felt.

That's it.

To know there's no way to be perfect should be calming. But sometimes it's not. Sometimes we feel so behind we don't know where to begin. It's not just ONE thing to get better at, it's ALL the things. And all at once.

First, don't worry. Just about everyone feels that way. Second, stop beating yourself up about what you can't do and start celebrating what you can. And third, before you practice snatches, pull-ups, toes-to-bar, and doubles all at once, take a look at the Big Five Checklist below. If simple adjustments with life-changing applications can be made anywhere, it's here.

Sleep

Cut the electronics at least thirty minutes before bed. Meditate, read, take a cold shower — do whatever you have to get in bed and get the right amount of sleep for you.

Food

The simplest way to eat well is to prepare early. Select two days a week (Sunday and Wednesday) as cooking days, and get ahead of the game. Or order from our friends at Fittest Kitchen. Either way, never get caught hungry.

Consistency

It's far better to workout an hour each day than three hours every third day. Yet many of us cram missed sessions and motivation into one. When asked how he avoids writer's block and never feels stuck Hemingway said, "The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next."

The same applies to fitness. When the day is going great, take a break and come back eager for tomorrow.

Maintenance

Your body is a Formula One race car. But even the fastest car on the road makes pit-stops.

Instead of focusing on how much more you can sweat that the other guy, take a little me time. Grab a foam roller, go see the pit crew upstairs, arrive 10-minutes early and just move.

Unplug

One of the simplest methods to improve physical well-being is to unplug mentally. That can be reading or drawing or meditating or more.

"Meditation is the only intentional, systematic human activity which at the bottom is about not trying to improve yourself or get anywhere else, but simply to realize where you already are," Jon Kabat-Zinn said in Wherever You Go, There You Are.

Whatever it is you do to truly unplug, do it often.