Expectations for the Crossfit Athlete.
Hey you! Yes you, the guy/gal who’s been doing this for a while, the Crossfit Veteran, we need your help. And not the “we” of Potomac Crossfit, I mean the “we” of the Crossfit Community. The Community will not last unless we ease our new Crossfitters into the spirit of Crossfit - and without the Newbie, Crossfit will just become a clickish fad.
So, the Veteran Crossfitter needs to do more than show up, workout and post their rocking time to comments. You need to take time to go up to somebody you don’t know and say “Hi, I’m _________, how you doing? How long you been Crossfitting?” You need to offer guidance, encouragement, and support to the Newbie. The Newbie is an interesting specimen. Sometimes shy and withdrawn, they can be startled quickly by sudden movements and the word “Burpee” written on the white board. They think you are judging them because of their pullup band use, knee pushups, and scaled weights. They are desperately afraid of being the last one done a WOD.
You need to talk to these athletes and let them know you were in the same boat when you joined. That you couldn’t remember what a Thruster was your first three months much less do one correctly. That your hands hurt every day, even on days where you just did squats because squats make everything hurt. That you too wondered why Dan would choose to look like that when there are so many qualified barbers so close to the gym.
These are all the eternal questions that every new Crossfitter wants to know, so it’s up to you Veterans to help us answer these questions, encourage the Newbie to stick with it, and help change somebody’s life for the better.
And I love CrossFit Omaha and I will keep coming despite my weaknesses and ALL my complaining.
also, anyone who has trouble with DUs should've seen me back in the day. Blas tried to coach me through 100 singles once...i don't think even his patience lasted the whole 8 minutes. now DUs are one of my strengths. (maybe one day i'll be able to say the same about HSPU?)
Thanks again!!
Tara
I got to 139# clean and jerk which is a PR. And I did 16 thrusters at 77# for my max reps.
All 3 teams looked like they were putting up some big weights today. It was fun.
I have to agree with you Tara. I have been crossfitting for over two years & I still feel like in a team environment I am going to bring them down. This holds especially true for today. Each exercise that was listed to pick from is on my list of weaknesses. After looking at those & then Ricky telling me who I was with I thought to myself "I'm sorry Ben & Jon." Here I am with 2 guys that can push heavy weight & I really wondered how much my contribution would make. I guess all in all it worked out good, after all we took home the beer!
I have come a long way in crossfit. I couldn't do a push up to save my life let alone a strict pull-up or even jump rope. Now I can do push-ups, kipping/CTB pull-ups (which took forever to get down) & double unders (all the welts on the backs of my arms & legs were worth it!). It's amazing how your body forgets how to do the most simple tasks like coordination for box jumps or how to squat. I personally have a long way to go yet (mentally & physically). Crossfit is a huge love/hate relationship with me & I do have a huge problem working on the movements I can't do well. I do hate to finish last & scale a lot, but I have to accept the fact that until I become better at the things I suck at, that is where I will be. Plain & simple: you get out of it what you put into it. The only discouragement you should feel should be against yourself, not what you see on the websites. Challenge yourself & see what you have in you. You may be surprised where it will take you.
I'm surprised that there isn't many comments today. I'd love to hear from some of the original CFO peeps who have been here from almost the beginning. Jeff Shannon, Reba, Greg P, Danielle, Zach Johnson, Addi, Josh just to name a few. Share your stories!
Happy Crossfitting!!!