Why Competition is Your Friend
Why Competition is your Friend!
We have all experienced those good training days as well as the bad ones. After all, CrossFit is not necessarily for the faint of heart, but why? Well let’s think about what our expectation is when we walk into the gym. We want to perform at our best, we make every effort to persevere through a long chipper WOD, or maintain our composure when we are trying to get those last few reps of double unders, and even fight through the bottom of a front squat. Again we ask, why?
It instills that sense of accomplishment in ourselves that mentally prepares us for the next challenge, whether that is in the gym or in our life’s trials and tribulations. With that said, lets now ask ourselves if what we are doing is effective? In reality, the CrossFit methodology is here is to stay, affiliates will continue to grow, and people will continue to harness their strengths and develop their weaknesses. However, could we and shouldn’t we be doing more? After all, what is the point in putting in all this hard work on a weekly basis if we are not going to attempt to see the fruits of our labor? The point that I am addressing is, TEST YOURSELF!
A large aspect of the CrossFit community is the inherent competition that we find ourselves rubbing shoulder to shoulder with throughout the gym. Some people mention how they dislike competition and the unexpected anxiety that it seems to cause. I am sure we have all felt it at some point and time. Nonetheless, a little competition can be quite motivating if we allow ourselves to operate outside of that immediate comfort zone. That little dose of competition is what makes us push through that last rep when all we want to do is collapse.
Every athlete should feel those butterflies kicking in the seconds leading up to 3, 2, 1….Go! It is in that moment that we learn something about ourselves, and it is part of the experience that keeps so many coming back for more. In short, don’t allow yourself to miss out on what of the greater aspects of what CrossFit has to offer. Competition! Even if that competition is with yourself, your buddy at the gym, the local fitness competition, or the up and coming CrossFit Open.
