This past weekend was a great learning experience for me.  First and foremost it showed that I am improving as a CrossFitter.  To be able to head into such a well-respected CrossFit competition as The Hopper, and do so well says a good bit about my level of fitness.  Ok, cool.  Now that the positive comments are out of the way, it's time to get on to the critique!

I found out two major things over the weekend that are the primary sources holding me back from being the competitor I truly want to be.  But before I go into them, I want to be sure to let you, the reader, know that the goal with this post is two-fold: to articulate an analysis of myself so that I can help myself get better; and, to inspire you all to do the same with yourself in the process of making YOU better.  I am willing to bet that the two issues I detail here are two EXTRAORDINARILY common issues with most people as they drive towards their goals.  Next point to be made is what my goals actually are.  Well, when I moved back to the East coast I decided that I would make an attempt to calm my absolutely out of control mind by focusing on only a few things for a while.  I've written about this a bit before, and if you know me, you know that I come up with a new idea to "change the world" pretty much every few hours.  I have literally hundreds of pages of notes, drawings, scribbles, phrases and more, collected over the years, it's crazy.   I am very aware that to actually get anything done, I need to pick a few of them and just focus.  So, when I moved back I picked two: open a gym, and, make it to the CrossFit Games.

So, back to this weekend.  Well, it wasn't really the weekend that showed these issues to me, it really was just the straw that broke the camels back if you will.  I know that I am a very good CrossFitter.  But, I also know that I am not at the level of those at the very top.  If you take the top numbers of all those elite CrossFitters, I would be on the bottom of the charts for pretty much everything.  But that's not what I am concerned about.  I have faith in my training program and my determination that my numbers will creep up there come Games season and I'll be able to hang with any of those guys.  It's my weaknesses.  Just like anyone, I have a collection of weaknesses.  Except mine are VERY weak.  I can not do more than 3 strict handstand push ups.  I can not walk on my hands for more than 6 meters.  I can not do more than 5 muscle ups.  While an elite CrossFitter will show strengths and weaknesses, the differential of ability is nowhere near as great as mine.  That is why I placed 1st, 1st, 3rd, 19th, and 3rd on this past weekends events.  Clearly I need to "kill my goats".  So, upping the body weight work and incorporating that intelligently into my programming is an absolute must.

The second thing I found was that I don't have as strong a fire as the top level competitors.  Perhaps it's my baseball background (that's a reference to the fact that baseball by nature is a much more passive game than most sports, and I have learned to approach my athletic endeavors a bit more "chilled" out than others), perhaps it's the marathoning (10 in a year will slow you down a bit).  Or, it could be that I legitimately LOVE CrossFitting.  I enjoy the struggle of getting through a workout so much, that sometimes I feel as though I just lose myself in the middle of it just to ride the wave.  All those top beasts I have met have this intensity before, during, and even after a workout that I just do not share.  I don't really compete with the person next to me, or to someone elses' time, I just feed off their energy and then spend what attention I put into each workout seeing what I am personally capable of.  Now don't get me wrong, I am still a highly competitive person; just not at the level of most other elite CrossFitters.  I feel like those guys want to seek and destroy at all times!

Now here's where the fun begins.  From this weekend on I have committed myself 100% to the effort of being a "Serious CrossFitter".  This means that everything I do is going to be based around achieving my goals.  I will not miss workouts.  I will not go on a binge week with food, or sacrifice a portion of my program to go hang with friends.  I am lighting that fire as bright as it can be lit and going all out.  I am making CrossFit "My Sport", and doing what it takes to get to the next level.

I can see a lot of my friends rolling their eyes at me right now.  And to that I respond: everyone knows me as someone who likes a challenge and is willing to experiment with pretty much anything in the activity/fitness/sports/nutrition fields.  So, I am experimenting with the idea that if I actually commit myself 100% to something, I could actually be really freaking good at it.  This does not mean I am going to spend the rest of my life walking around with a cooler of steamed broccoli, grilled chicken and protein powder.  This does not mean I will never again indulge in a brownie or 15, or have a drink or two, or three.  It just means that from now until the Games I am going to be "that guy"  I am going to be a little more one-track-minded about my priorities in life and I am going to see what I am TRULY capable of doing.

This is going to be a really fun and interesting adventure.

The fire has been lit.

Never Stop, GET FIT.

Josh Courage
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