Good Morning, Friends. I hope you all are doing well! I miss spending time in this little space. It really helps me process so much of my own thoughts and track my progress. I know it is the time of year when many people are reflecting on their progress throughout the year and planning their goals for 2014. I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately. 2013 has been a hard year. Not a bad year, but a hard one. We took on a huge responsibility by opening CrossFit 70, still maintain our other full time business, we are both in the last stretch of getting our Bachelors degree, plus having a toddler and trying to maintain our household and relationship. It left little time for much else.
The good thing about putting all the time and energy into a business like CrossFit is that you can still see personal progress. I’ve had HUGE accomplishments this year seeing most of my gains in my olympic lifts (my favorites!) with PRs at 110lbs on the Snatch and 120lbs on Clean & Jerk. Here’s the deal though, I still struggle with the traditional measures of Progress even though I know better. I was looking for pictures from this time last year and found one of my scale from a weigh in and realized that I am less than 5lbs lighter than I was this time last year. Seriously? 5lbs? I know that the scale is a liar, I tell my clients that! But I still struggle because I want to see more than 5lbs difference on the scale for as hard as I’ve worked! I also know I have lost a ton of fat and gained a ton of muscle. And it looks like a lot more than 5lbs visibly.
I just have to keep reminding myself that sometimes progress isn’t linear. And right now I really am trying to figure out what my goals for 2014 are going to be. I still want to lose fat, but not at the expense of strength. I want the best of both worlds! I’ve been working my butt off to get stronger and I’m not ready to give up that strength just to lose weight. I know I need to define my specific goals, I’m just not sure what that looks like. My biggest struggle right now is that I don’t look as fit as I feel. And maybe I never will. I know it’s not a number on the scale, on my clothing tags, or even on the barbell that defines me. I’m more than a number. You wouldn’t know all that I have been through looking at any one of those numbers. They still hold significance to me… of how far I’ve come. From 250lbs to 183lbs. From a size 20 to a size 14. From barely being able to pick up a 45lb barball to Snatching 110lbs, Deadlifting 230lbs, and Squatting 215lbs. Those numbers all represent a part of my journey but don’t make up the whole story.
Overall I feel like I have grown immensely as a person and an athlete this year and I’m really looking forward to making even more progress next year, even if it can’t be measured. Because sometimes the progress is found in the process, not the end result.
How do you measure your progress?
imperfectly courtney 
It changes with the goal. Do my skinny jeans fit is a good maintenance goal. What’s my 5k time is a good running goal. Can I do a chin up is a good strength goal. It just depends on where you are.
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I can see a lot of progress in those photos, girl. And just from reading your blog every week, I know you’ve made a ton of progress mentally. It’s so hard to measure, especially just using ONE tool (like a scale). I really thinking a combination of the scale, measurements, body fat %, how I feel, and actually how others perceive me all play a role! (because sometimes I can be too hard on myself and others can definitely see a difference!)
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