CrossFit is the one exercise that makes me question everything about my capabilities. It is the one sport that I doubt myself over and over. Mainly because it pushes me to my limits in almost every workout. Every February/March, the CrossFit community takes part in this thing called the Open. This is the first step to getting into the Games. Most of the people that compete in the Open are not going to the Games. The Open is more about testing your own physical abilities and seeing how far you have come in one year.
Every year I typically recap the five things I learned from the Open. Usually the five things come from the five different workouts that are done over a course of five weeks. This year was a little different. As I started going through the workouts I noticed they all had one common factor.
I AM BETTER THAN I THINK I AM.
In 18.1, I realized I am a better rower than I think I am. I had really strong pulls and I pushed myself beyond the point where I usually row. I stayed in the workout mentally during the rows but may have checked out completely with those crazy dumbbells.
In 18.2, I realized I am stronger than I think I am. Having a 1 rep max lift right at the end of an already intense workout and then getting a personal record (PR) during that workout made me realize I am strong. I can lift more than I think I can. You can chalk some of it up to adrenaline but getting a PR after killing yourself to have time at the end to even be able to lift one pull definitely tells me I should be able to lift more on those days when we are just doing a one rep max.
In 18.3, I realized I am better at double-unders than I think I am... or maybe that workout just made me do them over and over again until I either had to be good at them or fail miserably. 100 double-unders seemed so scary and so intimidating that when the workout was announced I almost decided I would not do this one at all. But I did anyways and on my first run of jumping, I was able to get 25 in a row. And then another 25 in a row! I was done with the first 100 reps before I even realized it.
In 18.4, I realized I am better at handstand push-ups than I think I am. Yes, the standard was crazy difficult but if I would get out of my own way, I can do handstand push-ups. My shoulders may give out at times but by darn I will give it everything I have. It also made me realize I should not be scaling these during WODs. I am only hurting myself. So what it may take me longer to complete, but I can do this movement better than I think.
In 18.5, I realized I can actually do chest to bar pull-ups. I doubted myself the whole time before I started the workout and all it took was a little extra -umph... No literally. Just putting a little extra effort into the chest can make or break this pull-up. But I can do them! They aren't pretty and they take a while to complete but I can do them.
It's safe to say, the 2018 Open really opened my eyes to my fitness abilities. I used to give myself credit as a "pro-scaler." Now I realize I am just hurting myself. I could push myself past those limits I set for myself. My "just take 20 lbs off the Rx weight" mentality should be out the window. My "oh it's too many pull-ups, I will just do ring rows so I don't hurt my hands" should be shoved out of my mind. I can do the weight. I can do the pull-ups and I can definitely do the double-unders. For the rest of 2018, I will start believing in myself and in 2019, I will have even bigger outcomes!
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