If you're new to CrossFit – or you've been doing it for awhile, and just "don't want to compete," you're likely a bit surprised by this whole CrossFit Games thing. Maybe you're wondering, "why all the fuss?" maybe you're just hoping you won't have to try the WODs; or maybe, you've never even heard of the CrossFit Games.
It shouldn't surprise you – whether you've been a member of the Catalyst family for 1 day, or six years – to find out that we prefer the Carrot to the Stick. Even if you've never heard it iterated this way, we love the Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal – the near-impossible task that scares the living daylights out of you. We love the event that will keep you awake at night, and on the lifting platform at 6am.
We do these events all the time, and we've invited you. We want you to do stuff – and be something. We want you to face down these hurdles, and thereby sail over life's OTHER stresses with ease. We want you to be comfortable with uncomfortable. In short, we want to be your booster shot.
The larger CrossFit community – worldwide, over 2700 affiliated gyms, and hundreds of thousands of practitioners – shares those values. They've put together this annual event called, "The CrossFit Games." We use them to help you reach upward. We want to hold you up high. And first, we want to show you just how high you can get.
A great history of the Games is here. You'll find all the how, where, when, and by whom. Today, though, we're talking about the why.
If you've been through OnRamp, you'll know that we prioritize quality over quantity. We choose basic human movements – the squat, the press, the jump – and we put them together in different ways, all the time. These exercises are not unique to a specific goal, but are common to everyone in our species: we all need to sit, stand, lift, carry, and avoid. The application of these exercises change, though, depending on the scale necessary to get better.
Grandma needs an aide to get off the toilet? Her scale is low; box squats. Jennifer "Jumptastic" Jones is on the SWAT team? Her scale is higher: box jumps. Whitney's trying to qualify for the CrossFit Games? Weighted thrusters and wall ball, after a max front squat.
We measure these things - ability, progress, skill – because they're important. We want to know that you're improving. We want to measure ourselves, top to bottom. We crave the identification of weak spots. We love the necessity of practice.
It's commonly-accepted practice in Canada to promote the LOWEST common denominator: take the stairs at work. Park far away from the mall and walk. Take up gardening, walk your dog. Die of a heart attack.
These things aren't good enough for our Family. No sir.
Instead of putting you in a box and saying, "This way is up." we'd rather show you the sky. Maybe, after you've seen Rich Froning and Graham Holmberg burn their hands doing pushups, you'll do a few extra at Murph next week. Maybe, after you've seen Tanya Wagner hit a PR in the power snatch, you'll practice more. Maybe, if you've seen that video of Mikko rowing 5k every day in his dark closet, you'll think twice about the 6am group…..
You have a Team representing you at the CrossFit Games this year. The Green Army has been training for three months, and in the next six weeks, they'll be tested. You can join them: cheer, email, practice, or compete with them. More details to follow. But in the meantime, mark the next six Thursdays off in your calendar: they're spoken for.
More info on the Games? This is the CrossFit Games site.