We’ve all done it. You look at the WOD for tomorrow and it’s Goat Day. You’re disappointed. You wanted to do some lifting, right? Maybe you toy with the idea of to taking the day as a rest day. You might even be asking, what exactly is “goat” day anyway?
Goats are the movements that we aren’t very good at and don’t like doing. They are usually a higher skill movement that takes time to develop and you may have decided that it’s just not for you. It’s the exercise or movement that shows up in a WOD and you dread doing.
This is not the type of goat we are talking about, but he sure is cute!
Everyone has a goat, and most likely more than one. I’m sure you could come up with a list of goats if you thought about it. Yours could be double-unders, handstand push-ups, rope climbs, muscle ups, or even a lift like the overhead squat or snatch. The truth is, most of us would never take the time to focus on the skills or movements that we aren’t good at. Where’s the fun in that? Luckily, our coaches are smarter than us and realize that we need to include specific time to work on our goats. CrossFit is about being able to handle anything that is thrown your way so we need to attack our weaknesses head-on to turn these weaknesses into strengths …or at least suck at them less!
Ultimately, it’s up to you to take responsibility to work on your goat. Take advantage of the time the coaches have made available to get some work in on these. Just remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. You must continually work on these movements, even outside of “goat” day. Make it a point to use open gym time to get some work in and come 15 minutes early or stay 15 minutes late a few days a week to continue work on these movements until you feel you have finally mastered it. Then, it’s time to pick a new goat!
To become a better overall athlete and a better person, we need to identify our weaknesses, get a game plan in place (see a coach), and then put in the work on a regular basis. We gain more by working on the movements that we are bad at than continuing to work on those we already excel at.
You are only as strong as your weakest goat!
–Janna Davis
