One aspect of CrossFit in its effectiveness in developing fitness is its competitive element. We do the WOD, we post our results, others see those results. This helps all of us to push a little harder, to give a tiny bit more effort knowing that someone else has gone before us. This competitive vibe can be of assistance with these difficult and painful (and very effective!) workouts- some motivation for us to give more for an extra payoff in fitness.
This CAN and DOES go wrong if heed is not taken. Unbridled competition can lead to:
- Sacrificing sounds mechanics for more speed in hopes of "winning" the workout (guess what, nobody is getting paid for coming in first).
- Shorting range of motion. This is basically cheating via decreasing overall workload.
- Not scaling appropriately in order to compete head to head... remember, check your ego at the door. This is for health and fitness and doing this for glory will ultimately lead to injury.
- Wasting time that can be devoted to your OWN improvement instead of being overly concerned about beating someone else's time.
- Privately hoping (unconsciously or outloud) that someone else does not acheive their goal or their best result so you can beat them. This attitude breeds devisiveness and can ruin an atmosphere of support and fun. After all, who would feel GOOD about cheering for another's demise?
So... get out there and work hard. Do your best to push, to improve YOURSELF. Lead by example in striving to motivate others to keep at it. Know that when others improve, we all improve. In the end we all benefit.
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| Bruce- STRONG hip drive through the second pull! |
Friday's WOD: classes at 7, 9, 10am and again at 3 and 5pm.
One minute wonder- Pull ups
then
18-15-12-9 rep rounds for time of:
Back squat 50% of 1RM (bar taken from ground)
2 pood kettlebell swing
Post loads and finish time to chalkboard/journals
I've been guilty of shorting technique and scaling a bit in the last couple months, mostly due to not wanting to admit to myself how much ground I've lost off my PRs while taking a year off from regular CrossFitting. But a few weeks ago, I re-committed to try to keep movement/form as tight as possible, and it is interesting how keeping technique super-clean -- even if it means "going slower" -- conserves energy over time, reduces rate of injuries/soreness, and increases the gains from the workout. Still, it's really hard sometimes to gauge your own technique, so feel free to call me out anytime you see an obvious miss on a rep (as long as you're not nitpicking just to slow me down, a practice which I'd add to Mike's list of inappropriate competitiveness!).
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