The Process Takes Time

            I’ve been doing CrossFit for six years now.  I still remember walking into my first CrossFit gym having an extreme naïveté that’s almost incomprehensible to me now.  I laugh when I think back to how I thought the “process” (or rather lack thereof) would go for obtaining skills and achieving goals both long and short term at the time.  I walked in the door with the mindset of “I’m strong so this will be easy.” 

Any seasoned CrossFitter probably laughed at the previous sentence.  CrossFit never gets easier, we get fitter.  Things that were once hard may become more routine, automatic, or easier to do.  But the discomfort will always be there.  CrossFit is not “easy.”  It never gets “easy,” you evolve into a more well-rounded athlete and  discomfort becomes more familiar.  We learn to know where our thresholds lie and what to expect.

            Starting a workout routine in a CrossFit gym (especially if we are going from zero routine, to showing up multiple times a week) can feel so overwhelming.  We see people who have been doing this for a long time who make things seem effortless.  The beginning of the CrossFit journey is a lot of watching others and wondering how to get yourself to where they are.  But for anyone who has been doing this long enough, we can all remember a time when the simplest thing felt hard, and it’s not easy to pinpoint a time where it all clicked for us.  The reason for that being, that there is never a specific light bulb moment. 

It is hundreds and thousands of repetitions that got us to the point where things may look effortless.  It takes time.   It also takes dedication to doing things correctly and trusting the order of safety  mechanics  and then earning the right to intensity.  Be patient, trust your coaches, put your head down, and work.  Do it for the You that exists in one month, one year, or 6 years from now.  Do not give up, continue to show up, and remember that the time will pass anyways.  Instant gratification is no fun.  Play the long game.

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