You Do You...

How competitive is too competitive? Simple question...the answer however can be tricky.

Several members from the gym participated in the Crossfit Open. Overall is was a great experience as it provided an opportunity to increase our fitness levels. More importantly, it magnified what we're not good at...not only externally from a physical perspective but from an internal (mental/emotional) one as well.

We saw the whole range of emotions. We saw people feel awesome about theirselves but we also saw people get into a funk and get down on themselves about how well they did or didn't do in a workout.

I like competition and consider myself a competitive person. These are good qualities to have. Competition forces you to go a little harder, dig a little deeper. All good things...these all fall under the realm "healthy competition". However, competition can bring out certain psycho qualities in people as well. Trust me ... I know from experience.

One of the things the open showed me is there a large pool of "freaks" across the world who seem superhuman in their fitness levels. And I was down on myself for not being anywhere near close to them. As a gym owner and trainer I should be leading from the front, having the fastest times, lifting the most weight, etc. Some of that comes from a place that is good (wanting to be better) but some of that comes from a not so good place (my ego).

All I really needed to be concerned about was answering the question of am I better today than I was a week/month/year ago?

Many of us who consider ourselves ultra-competitive, Type A, go getters. This is good as it provides a drive to be better. But we can land in a sketchy area if we start basing our happiness on how we stack up and compare to others.

PSKC is founded on a couple principles;

1) Busting your ass
2) Having fun
3) Helping others

No where in there is "determine your self worth based on how well you did at workouts". Nor will you find "compare yourself to others". How many times do you hear "What was Jane's time?", "How much did John lift?" ... then you go try to be faster than Jane or lift more than John. But who should you be competing against? Jane? John? ....the answer is neither.

The competition should always be internal, you against you. Your sense of satisfaction shouldn't be determined where you stack up to other people. You only need to compete against you, being better today than you were yesterday, not against Jane of John.

For example, is your 500lb deadlift any more impressive than someone's PR of 185? Or your 6 minute smile any more impressive than the first time someone ran a mile without stopping?

Another thing to consider is stop worrying about doing "prescribed" workouts/weights. Today I read a fantastic article (click HERE) regarding doing prescribed workouts. This really hit for me as we're starting to see some folks lift for ego versus lifting for form. This point was really driven home at the recent USAW certification. Go back to the bar and drill technique..technique..technique.

As you guys may have noticed we are changing our programming of workouts to accomodate a wider range of folks. So far the feedback has been good. We are still toying around with the idea of whether or not we will "prescribe" weights for certain workouts. Because as Freddy points out,

"At One World, we offer group sessions and everyone does the same workout either “RX'd” or “scaled.” Scaling is very personal to each individual, and is nothing to be ashamed about. Scaling is what makes the program work for everyone. You will NEVER EVER hear a CrossFit One World trainer telling you that performing the workout “RX'd” is what really matters. You will NEVER EVER see a CrossFit One World trainer trying to get a person to do a workout “RX'd” when the person clearly has no business attempting the workout that way."

Don't worry about the weight you're doing or not doing. Worry about doing it right. Easier said than done especially when you let your ego get in the way. And don't compare yourself to what others are doing. This is especially difficult for guys. If you're a dude, and you're just starting out at PSKC. Get ready to eat some humble pie and A LOT of it. We have several women who are stronger than you. And it will be that way for a couple weeks/months until you learn what you're doing.

Trust in your trainers/coaches. For some of you we've got to bump you up...for some of you we've got to bump you down. If you look like a monkey humping a football...odds are you shouldn't be power cleaning that weight. On the flipside, if you cling to the 18lb kettlebells for 6 months you ain't gonna be seeing any results. Trust your coaches..we are there for YOU...to make you better.

In closing...HAVE SOME DAMN FUN! Smile like a sumbitch, laugh, encourage one another, and support one another. This shit is fun if you let it be. But if you're constantly obsessive about your times/weights/etc..you'll just drive yourself crazy and you won't be much fun to be around in the process.

Remember, everyday is a great day to go be awesome...