CrossFit Athletic Group

Last Summer Lulu was one Cecilia Steinwascher away from being our youngest Athlete of the Summer since Franklin back in 2010.

This Summer Lulu has been... hanging out at friends' houses, sleeping in, and allowing other things get in the way of being at the Champions Club when she's supposed to be. And during the workout's she's been to so far she's had instances of calf cramps, knee aches, overextension, and form breakdowns that were not present last year. Both her and I know it's from a lack of CrossFit.

2015 Chris would have tried to manipulate someone else into getting Lulu to come in more, 2013 Chris would have given her a To Do(n't) List, 2020 Chris would have probably just cut her from the gym... actually, no way I cut Lulu even then, but maybe I would have tried to hold that over her head. 2018 Chris would have showed her the Important/Urgent graph.

But the more I think about it, the more I am coming to realize that Lulu's time away from CrossFit is actually what her body needed for the first four weeks of Summer. The only problem with that is that time away from the Champions Club is not what Lulu wants.

"I literally want to be here every day."

So this is cool. We both want the same thing! Now why is this not happening? This is where looking in retrospect can help.

Lulu followed her Summer 2021 attendance with a significant dip in the fall during her volleyball season, rose back up for the winter during her basketball season, and was barely here in the spring. And while the soccer thing was most serious in the spring, it was still going year-round. On top of that she had a full school load with homework and studying. That 9-month marathon lasted until June 10... and I was expected her to be ready for full-time CrossFit two days later? What is wrong with you, Chris?

In reality, for Lulu to come storming into June 13 with a head of steam and a heart full of bullying vengence, we would have needed to work on that during fall, winter, and spring. Lulu needs Lulu time, just like I need Chris time and Mr. Malak needs Mr. Malak time (don't call his phone between 1:30 and 2:30 nap). If we don't regularly make Me Time the priority in place of something that can wait, eventually it will force its way in front of something important. It's safe to say I'll be doing a better job communicating with the Monkey Exhibit during the upcoming school year to make sure Summer 2023 starts off better than this one.