Smashby's Training Blog

CrossFit Sweatshop, in Walnut Creek, CA, had a post that was shared on the CrossFit Affiliate Blog about 2 weeks ago. It is called “Purpose of CrossFit“, and I think it hit on some really big points.

I’ll share some of my favorite quotes from the post here, but you should really click on the link and head over to read the whole thing.  It’s a really easy piece to get through. Read it, think about it, and then reread the few parts that I’m going to “Highlight” as my most important take-aways from the piece.

It’s great, normal and completely healthy to be competitive; both in CrossFit and in life. But at the end of the day, I just want to be sure you’re all doing this stuff for the right reasons!

Purpose of CrossFit ~ by Nabil K. Langkilde

• CrossFit is awesome for many reasons. The physical and mental challenge of the workouts. The feeling of accomplishment after the workout. The post workout buzz or euphoria. The physical and mental health benefits. The local community support from within the gym. … When any or all of these things are your primary reason for doing CrossFit, you will likely experience life-long enjoyment and fulfillment from participating in CrossFit.

However, if your primary goal is to be the best male or female during your class time, best performance on the whiteboard for that day, make it on to the leaderboard, qualify for the CrossFit Games, or any other accomplishment that involves gaining praise or the respect from others, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

• Before I go any further, let me reiterate that the previously mentioned motivators should not be your PRIMARY goal.

• But if during a workout you find yourself looking for ways to make a movement easier, or performing questionable range of motion, or after a workout you find yourself disappointed with your results, when you compare it to others, your head is simply in the wrong place.

• The simple fact is, no matter how much you improve, or how good you get, there will likely be others that are better than you, and thus your insecurities or feelings of inferiority will never end. CrossFit, and exercise in general is an excellent way to have fun and reduce stress, if you are stressed out and/or not having fun, it’s time to re-evaluate why you are doing this.