by Erica Saint Clair
I often hear muttering around the gym post-WOD, as people share high fives and “good jobs”. You can hear a low buzz of athletes minimizing their workouts. A small hum of “yeah, but I scaled”. It seems that along the way we have lost faith in one of the major tenants of CrossFit and fitness in general – universal scalability. While putting an Rx’d next to your name post-WOD can often feel like the pinnacle of success, here are seven reasons that those three little letters shouldn’t be the end all be all of your goals.
1. Everything is scaled.
Who is to say that in a few years the Rx’d requirement for jump ropes isn’t triple unders? Who cares if you don’t have double unders yet, it doesn’t mean you didn’t get all hot and sweaty mid-WOD.
2. Your body matters.
Sure throwing an Rx’d up on the board would be AWESOME! Don’t get me wrong, I love pushing myself to those letters, but if it means pulling my back to hit the deadlift weight? Ill take a few less letters and a few more WODs in my future.
3. You are your own competition.
It’s easy to hate the athlete who can come in rocking out pullups when you have been using the band for oh.my.god.forever. Yeah, I know, you want off the band, but there is just as much victory going from a green to a blue band as there is from a blue band to no band. Comparing yourself to someone else is just a recipe for disaster. There will always be someone better than you.
4. Work is work.
One can get lured into the idea that your workout is less difficult because you scaled. That’s a lie. Putting your 100% on the line, even with scaled weights, is no easier than the guy next to you putting 100% on the line. Sure, Froning’s 100% can do more than yours, but that doesn’t mean your 100% feels like easy Sunday mornings. It still hurts, and it should.
5. Form matters.
Yes. Seriously. It does. Doing crappy pushups just to put an Rx’d by your name doesn’t help you grow. It’s better to do them from your knees using the right muscle groups and the right range of motion than doing them from your toes like a worm. It will pay off someday, I promise.
6. Baby steps.
Progress is progress no matter how small. Look back to last year – see how far you have come? Stop thinking your WOD is worthless unless you hit the skills written on the board. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither were it’s gladiators. Have patience, you will get there.
7. Fitness is never ending.
So you get Rx’d by your name, what next? I’ll tell you what’s next, you start trying to cut time and add weight. Fitness is not a destination. Rx’d is just a mile marker on a never ending journey. Sure, it’ll be great when you pass that marker, but it’s not like when you do you can put your feet up and call it a day.
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