Is Your Competitive Edge in the Way of Your Training?

Imagine the feeling you get right before a WOD. You enter “beast mode.” You’re focused, determined, and chomping at the bit waiting for the 3-2-1 Go! “How fast can I do this?” “That seems heavy,” “who can I beat?”, “this is going to suck!” It’s all running through your head creating anxiety, adrenaline, and determination. While these thoughts seem like negative stressors, they’re not all that bad. These are the thoughts that turn you into an athlete, a CrossFitter. The problem lies in letting your competitive edge get in the way of your training. In your everyday CrossFitting at your box, you are training. This is where you seek to better your weaknesses and improve the quality of your work. It takes a different mental strength. You first need to know the standards, know your weakness, and be patient enough to take a step back, slow down, and train them.
 

You look at the whiteboard each day and see the WOD written with prescribed weight, rep scheme, and skills. Before throwing the weight on the bar, or deciding whose time to beat from the previous classes, you need to consider the movements and where you are in your training. Is that an ideal weight for you to perform the movements in a reasonable time? Are the skills in the WOD ones you need to work on, or some of your greatest strengths? Are you going to be able to meet CrossFit standards with quality reps, or will you have to give up good form for speed? Assess your personal situation, and make good decisions. It is more beneficial for you to be able to move properly vs. move faster and at the same time it is better to keep moving vs. having to take too many rests during work times. 

Everyone is in a different place with their CrossFit training and although the aspect of competition is a big part of CrossFit, your daily training is the opportunity for you to perfect your performance. The most important thing is that you are always doing YOUR best.  Does it really matter if your time was faster than “so and so” when you would have been “no repped” on half of the reps in a competition? Does it matter if you could move more weight if your form is all over the place and you put yourself at risk for injury? Scale the workout for you. Understand what the WODs structure is meant to train, and base your scaling on how to keep the WOD effective, challenging, and safe.  Push yourself, but don’t sacrifice form or quality for time or load. The metcon WODs are meant to keep you moving and test your efficiency and endurance. The key is good form and precise technique. Train these first, and everything else will come.

 

If you are having trouble scaling appropriately, ask a trainer for some help. Let them know your goals and what is important to you, they can help you get the best out of the WOD.