Coming in Last Can be Bad Ass!

Jessica Andrason of Crossfit Iron City

Yeah, I know, sounds messed up right?  Who wants to be in last place?  I'm not talking about having a bad workout because you've had too many cheat meals or maybe missed a few WODs so you're feeling out of shape and your performance showed it.  I'm talking about pushing yourself and taking the hard road.  I'm talking about having the slowest time because you pushed yourself as far as you possibly could.

Crossfit is hard in general.  However, it fits that old cliche that "you get out what you put in".  Often times, WODs need to be modified in some way; newbies, the injured, the pregnant, or if the WOD includes movements that are completely new to someone.  There's no shame in that.  Check your pride at the door and accept where you are.  Easier said than done, right?  But that's what we need to do to really improve.  We should always be improving; whether increasing weight, increasing reps, decreasing time, having better form, and/or weaning off modifications; for example decreasing and getting off bands for pull ups.

We need to be brave; to push ourselves and embrace the struggle.  I think it's in the struggle that we learn and grow.  We naturally want to avoid pain and struggle so I understand it feels odd to embrace pain, but that's what I'm saying; don't fight the struggle, embrace it and work through it.  By embracing and accepting it is how we ultimately beat it.  No one likes to fail or feel like a failure.  Many people don't try new things out of that fear of failure and maybe that's why people don't want to really push themselves at The Box.  It takes guts to take risks.

Coralyn Saldana from Team Crossfit Acadamy

Crossfit is competitive.  We all see the scores on the board.  Nobody wants to be last.  Sometimes though,  I like it when I come in last.  If I got "beat" because I did more weight or because I did the workout completely prescribed then I should be proud of that, not embarrassed.  I don't mind taking  more time to finish because I struggled to get that "Rx" by my name.  It's also a good reminder that nobody else really cares how I do.  I mean, I know the coaches do, but although Crossfit is competitive it's still an individual sport.  So if you want to cheat on your reps or do lighter weight to go faster, well, that's up to, and on, you I guess.  I'm certainly not going to feel bad or like a failure in my WOD because you had a faster time than I did because you chose an easier workout.

Also, the coaches have seen and experienced it all; muscle failure and fatigue, bailing out on lifts you can't make, falling on your butt, getting whipped with the speed ropes, hand tears, cussing, puking, and crying.  They certainly won't be shocked when that happens to you.  If you truly push yourself you're eventually going to experiences at least several of those effects.  It's just part of pushing yourself.

Staley from Crossfit Fairfield Post WOD

I think we all (Crossfitters) want to be fit and healthy and come'on maybe even a little bad ass.  Taking the easy way out mainly due to fear is not bad ass.  We're not going to see the results we want by being scared to suffer in our workouts.  So come on...if you're not completely new, injured, or pregnant, take a chance.  Push yourself in your WOD today.  Leave everything you have on the line.  Do more than you did yesterday...and if you come in last on the board, be proud of yourself because you know why you had the slowest time or the least number of reps.  We all have limits, but if you never push yourself you'll never know what your full potential is.  Coming in last can be bad ass!!!