CrossFit is life.

Sorry. That was the most obnoxious thing I have ever said. I can be pretty annoying but that was nails on a chalkboard. My apologies, I didn’t know how else to lead-in.

I like CrossFit. I enjoy life. I prefer to blend the two in whatever areas I can. I keep a running comparison between the WOD’s I have at the gym and the day I have ahead of me.

Anyone who has ever endured any sort of workout, programmed by a third-party is aware that some workouts are better than others. Some things are in your wheelhouse and other things, well, just aren’t. I don’t think that life is supposed to be much different.

Some workouts are supposed to suck. They are not intended to be fun; they are intended to make you better and function at a higher level. Some workouts are supposed to be full-throttle burners; the intention is that your lungs sting as if breathing fire and leave you wondering what planet you occupy. Some WOD’s are designed to be strategically-paced and performed at a more casual rate, with the intent of learning to relax while operating at high pain threshold and level of discomfort. Also, some days are programmed to only focus on learning or perfecting a skill- something that will help benefit you in the long-term (these days often seem immensely pointless at the time).

In life, like CrossFit, we are required to take rest days. If we don’t, we break down, make bad decisions, and experience a greater amount of risk. We are expected to have bad days. We are expected to want to quit. The system is designed around pushing you to the very edge and allowing you to understand what it looks like to go too far but also offering you the opportunity to peak over the edge. It’s a thrill ride, an adventure, and an expedition into your soul. It’s an educational excursion as well as a chaotic departure that leaves you feeling as if there is no benefit, balance, or even strategy.

Some days are sixteen hours of burpees while stopping every minute for sick kids, complaining bosses, flat tires, and unexpected bills. Some days are constantly varied with different skills, one hundred different movements, and the kind of day that makes you sore all over. And, some days are designed for learning and understanding the movements a little better.

I think it’s important to look at your schedule and see what is planned at your life’s gym. If you are going to work and doing the same workout, with the same movement, at the same intensity, is that the box you want to belong to? If you plan your workout around the same skill because it is one that you have mastered and you expect people to be in constant awe at a one-trick pony, is that the admiration you crave? If your day is one that allows you to slowly and monotonously grind it out with the rest of the class, providing you with the opportunity to hide yourself in the corner behind the rig, never really advancing but avoiding reproach, doesn’t it seem that you might be in the wrong class?

If everyday life is not constantly-varied, often intense, and filled with functional and useful experiences, I am not doing it right. If I stay where I am, not only will I most likely not see progress, I leave myself open to atrophy and injury.

Comfort is where I go to be camouflaged from the world while waiting on unhappiness to be delivered.

Constantly varied.

Intense.

Functional.

Life.

Peace, Love, and all things Beef related