by Craig Hysell
Congratulations on completing the 2017 CrossFit Open!!
The wonderful thing about competition is that you can learn A LOT about yourself. The complicated thing about competition is that, sometimes, you can come away with a worse outlook, lots of questions and no answers.
The good news is, you’re in control of both perceptions.
We get what we train for. This maxim exists for most humans. It is true that some people are lucky and some people are outliers with freakish genetic gifts but most likely, you’re not either one. You get what you train for.
Training is not just the daily workout.
Training also incorporates the specific STYLE of training you are doing, your nutrition and your recovery.
Training takes into account your genetics, your strengths, your weaknesses, your stress levels, your plans, your goals, your mindset, your LIFE and your WHY.
The CrossFit Open shows us where we have improved, where we can get better and where we may have gotten worse.
Our outlook determines how we receive this information. None of what we learn about ourselves during The Open is good or bad. All these things are just things. How you view them is up to you.
If you’re frustrated, ask why. If you’re happy, ask why.
Write a list of things you have learned and things you want to work on and then, WORK ON THEM USING THE THINGS YOU HAVE LEARNED! THIS IS A GIFT!
Much of your fitness work is made in the kitchen. How’s your nutrition? If you’re happy with how you eat, and you know full well you should eat better to perform better, then realize what you have settled for and be cool with your performance. If you’re not happy, put the work in to find the most effective nutrition plan. CTF can help with your nutrition if you need it. Set up a time to talk with us.
Not happy with where some of your skills are at? We work on those all the time, in group programs (like all the skill seminars we planned before The Open and in all the thirty minute personal training Skill Sessions you can schedule with a Coach at anytime) and Coach Stone’s 4 Week Muscle Up program launching this April. Sign up for these!
Wanna get stronger or more mobile? This takes time. A long time. Stay focused and train diligently using our program. For years and years.
Wanna get more conditioned for CrossFit? Work harder or differently in our conditioning elements during class. Work on cycling lighter weights and taking less breaks. Work on cycling heavier weights and not letting go. Go back and forth with these methods throughout the week. Stop running long distances every time you don’t attend class and work on mixing in sprints and 400m repeats at 90% to 100% effort.
This WHOLE THING is a process. It ebbs and flows. If you REALLY want to give The Open an honest go, you must recognize these things. You must recognize that you are a competitor and you like to get after it.
As we move into April, CTF will return to scheduling free Goal Setting and Review times with our clients. If you haven’t already received an email from me personally asking you to schedule one of these with me this year, keep an eye on your inbox. If you already have seen me for a Goal Setting Review this year and would like to meet again, let me know.
Use The Open for what it is, a fantastic look at ourselves. At CTF, we don’t like The Open because we CrossFit, we LOVE The Open because it helps us understand who we currently are as athletes, teammates and a community.
Live with Conviction. (And remember, it’s Conviction Training Facility, not Conviction Competition Facility. Competitions are something we train for, not something we do daily. Have fun!)