What is CrossFit to you?

by Ronni Waneka

Let’s get some perspective

I walk into the gym everyday and head straight for the whiteboard. I LOVE THE WHITEBOARD!!!! I love knowing who’s been in the gym, it’s like I get a little glimpse into everyone’s day. We can all commiserate over being beaten up by a terrible EMOM of wall balls and dead lifts! I love seeing people’s successes and on some days their struggles. I love the people who write a novel up on the board, exactly how they broke up their reps, what they ate that day, how they were feeling. Then the people who just put a smiley face or said “worked hard”, those are my favorites. What’s the white board really mean to the gym anyways? It means a few things to me. First, a sense of community. Seeing all those names up there, knowing that we are cheering each other on, helping each other get past our weaknesses and encouraging us in our strengths.

Knowing we have all endured the same pain that day. I hope people rush to the board to put their scores up there, I want everyone to be proud that they walked in the doors that day, whether they finished first or last, whether they PR’d or went extra light that day, putting your name up there means your part of something. The other reason I love white board is it’s a place to celebrate our accomplishments. The first time you RX a wod, that’s a big day! The day you PR on your Clean and Jerk, that’s a big day! The first time you get kipping pull-ups, that’s a big day! We as CrossFitters and athletes work hard, we deserve to be celebrated for that!!!! The last reason I love the whiteboard is for the aspect of competition. Now this one gets a little sticky, and is really the whole reason for me writing this blog. It’s good for me to have people that I compare myself with. I come in and look at their scores and decide how I need to measure up for that day. Depending on the workout, on some days I need to beat their score, on others I just need to keep up, and sometimes I just tell myself I can’t quit. This pushes me, it encourages me to go a little bit faster or lift just a little but heavier!

Quite often this competition brings the best out of me. BUT, there are times when the whiteboard can make me feel not so good. On a week when I’m tired, or a week when for some reason my chest to bar pull-ups seem to have disappeared. Sometimes I just can’t keep up and I walk away feeling deflated. I made a sign awhile back that read “check your ego at the door”, I need to revisit that. I didn’t start CrossFit so that I could lift heavier than the person behind me or go faster then the person next to me.

I fell in love with CrossFit because it makes me feel amazing. I fell in love with CrossFit because it pushes me to continue to work on my weaknesses and to accomplish athletic feats I never thought possible for myself. I am constantly asking myself the question “am I better then I was last year?”. The answer of course is “hell ya!!!”. “Am I better then I was two months ago?”, maybe not. But really what difference does it make? I’m still working hard, I’m still progressing and getting better. And what I have seen to be true with most athletes in the gym, and I hope for myself, is that we will be back to that place we were a couple months ago, or a week ago, or maybe it was even just yesterday. And if I don’t get back there, I’m happy to say I was there once! That in itself is an accomplishment.

My advice to myself, and to other athletes that have days, or weeks, or even months where they aren’t performing where they “think” they ought to be, is to be kind to yourself. Ask yourself the questions I have asked myself about what CrossFit really means to you or why you started CrossFit. Read this blog multiple times, and just get your ass in the Gym!!!!!!

With love, Coach Ronni