First Blog

"This ain't football. We do this everyday."

Earl Weaver

This quote is from Earl Weaver, the longtime manager of the Baltimore Orioles. He was being asked about a particularly painful loss, and how he and his team would respond. He replied something like, we'll get em tomorrow. The reporter was aghast after this loss, believing the players and manager should spend some time soul searching. The quote was Weaver's reply.

If you've been doing Crossfit long enough, you've had some good days. You set a PR, you won your heat in a WOD, you finished strong and felt great. You've probably had some days that were not so good. You felt like you were moving under water, you didn't even want to pick up the bar, you felt nauseous for 3 hours after the WOD.

I like Weaver's quote because it swings both ways. The one of the beauties of baseball is that the season is so long, that big wins and big losses have to be quickly accessed, the data is collected, and you move on. It's the same with Crossfit. Once we start doing these workouts, we have small and big victories, and small and big defeats. Have you ever PR'ed a workout and rewarded yourself with a double double animal style? I know I have. What happens the next day? You feel like hell, and you say "Why did I do that?" It's probably best to pat yourself on the back and say "i had a good day, I need to go home, eat smart and get some good rest". We collect the data and move on.

Anyone who knows me knows I take Crossfit pretty seriously. I wanted to get "good" at it because I was watching the videos on-line, and seeing Greg A and Annie S crush really motivated me. It just looked like fun. Over time my performance improved, I applied my knowledge of nutrition, and now, I'm where i though I should be. Most of the time, I move through the wods fast and confident. It feels amazing jumping off the bar after a bunch of pullups and quickly start moving weight. The problem is, being confident is the first step to failure. I realized this last week.

I went in on Sunday got set up for as many rounds as possible of As many rounds in 20 minutes of 25 burpees and 15 bodyweight back squats. I haven't been backsquatting, so I felt like this might be rough. 5 minutes in and I was cursing at myself. I felt slow, the bar hurt my back. I could barely squat 5 times without needing a break, but I knew racking meant I would just have to re-rack it later. My brain was buzzing. Around 12 minutes in, I realized that THIS is important. It's great to crush it everyday, but true strength, whether it's physical, emotional, or whatever comes from leaving your comfort zone, and being forced into that internal dialogue.

I'm lucky enough to be a Crossfit coach. Last Sunday's WOD reminded me that watching our athletes struggle, fight, and improve with different movements or weight, how much is really going on. Much respect to all crossfitters that struggle, win or lose, but go down trying.

Now you just gotta do it everyday.