Mar 9, 2017
What if I were to tell you that one of the 3 fittest women on the planet was (at the time she earned that title) 35 years old, a mother, wife, and school teacher who limits her training to 90 minutes per day? Would you believe me? If not, you’d be sorely mistaken.
In 2013, Val Voboril took 3rd at
the CrossFit Games. It was the second time she placed 3rd, it would
be one of four times that she’s finished in the top 5, and at the
time, she was 10 years older than most of her competitors. If you
met Val on the street, you be taken by her bright eyes, incredible
smile, sunny disposition, but not at all by her physical prowess -
she appears normal as normal can be.
Ordinarily, relating to an athlete like this is
next to impossible. Their lives are simply too dissimilar to the
ones that the rest of us lead. But not at all so for Val - she’s
got her priorities and a life that is very much like yours and
mine. First and foremost, she’s a mom and a wife, responsibilities
she takes very seriously. And believe me, she knows the importance
- she’s been an elementary school teacher for over 14 years.
These take priority over all else, and are why she puts such strict
limits on her daily training volume in her preparation for
competition (90 minutes in the world of elite CrossFitters tiny in
comparison to others.
In order to keep all these things in balance, Val’s had to adopt a training philosophy and strategy that allows her to do it all. It’s one of the freshest and coolest strategies I know. And since she’s 38, a mom, wife and full time teacher, she knows what it’s like to juggle life’s responsibilities with her daily training discipline.
There is so much to learn from Val’s experience, attitude, daily practice, and how she keeps it all together. Enjoy!
Topics:
- Story of her most embarrassing moment with her mom and GSP (George St. Pierre)
- Story of her first “Fran” with 75-pound thrusters (Yikes!)
- Balancing her life as a teacher and mom with her athletic training
- Managing expectations, goal-setting and focus
- How she handles her desire to be perfect in every area of her life
- Fun and freedom - the keys to building an effective training program
- Her approach to the CrossFit Open workouts and the importance of FUN
- Her “spectacular” start (and finish) of her 2009 CrossFit Games
- On the verge of quitting in the 2015 CrossFit regionals, how she battled fear, doubt, judgment and finished with a smile on her face
- Community, teamwork and the power of fun, play, and shared experience (and misery)
- Finding your “Why?”
- Listener questions
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- Challenges with food, bread, and sugar
- Tips for motivation to start workouts
- Working through plateaus - their silver lining
- Using the starting time of a workout class to “force” you into starting your workout.
- What constitutes a recovery day?