This past weekend I got to witness my athletes and fellow crossfit coach compete in the CrossFit NLI Legendary Competitior. It is a local CrossFit competition that consists of three workouts that are split into three divisions (beginner, intermediate, and advanced).
The athletes from our box have been preparing for this event for the last couple of months and it really showed! They have really put in the time and effort to take their fitness and programming to the next level.
So what flips the switch to being just a go with the flow CrossFit athlete to a CrossFit Competitior?
The great thing about competition is it takes you out of your comfort zone and gives you a purpose and focus. I look back to when I first started Crossfit, and my whole goal and focus was to just get the hang of CrossFit. Get to know the movements, understand the lingo, and get to know my coaches and classmates.
Then I moved into the next stages of my training which consisted of getting better at CrossFit! Start working on my lifts, my gymnastics movements, and my endurance. I came from an endurance background, so for me the lifting was where I needed the most work!
Then finally, in 2010 I decided to sign up a team at our gym and compete in our first CrossFit Competition. I had been doing CrossFit for over a year and felt I had a really good foundation to take it to the next level and this was just the way to do it!
This was by far the greatest decision I could have made! I had a consistent training plan in place, a team to hold me accountable (as I was competing in the team portion), and a goal in big bright lights in front of me!
I began to really conquer my goats (in the crossfit world a goat is a weakness or exercise you avoid, because you don’t like to do it).My lifts improved because I was focused and I really stepped up my “CrossFit Game”.
When I competed it was one of my greatest accomplishments that I had made in my CrossFit Career! Even though we didn’t win we put ourselves out there, and left our blood, sweat, and tears on that floor (literally).
One of the most exciting things was to travel to another venue and compete against CrossFit athletes from all over. You get a high from competing that can’t be explained unless you compete!
No matter where you finish you prove to yourself that you are a fighter and you take your fitness to the next level!
So I want to congratulate Arin, Mike, Geoff, Katie, and Armen for inspiring your fellow CrossFitters and really putting yourself out there! It takes a lot of courage and strength to do that and I know that I and many others that got to witness your performance on Saturday were inspired by what you did!
So Fit Ones I challenge you to take yourself out of your comfort zone and sign up for an event that you have wanted to do but were just too scared to pull the trigger! Maybe a running race, triathlon, CrossFit event, mud run etc… and in the words of Nike “Just Do It”!
Fit Chic