Recently, a good friend asked me
"If you could buy one skill (i.e., more strength, hspu, etc) in crossfit, what would it be?"
Man, was it tempting. I thought, I'd buy myself some more strength. Or more rowing ability. Or 10 hspu's. And then I realized, when it came down to it, I wouldn't buy a thing.
Because what is it worth if you haven't worked for it?
I have recently found myself frustrated with this new "quick fix" philosophy that I am seeing so prevalent in our community. As I delve further and further into crossfit, I am realizing one thing and one thing alone. It's about the process.
Is the end result really all that important?
Every one has a different answer to this question. But for me, my favorite moments have revolved around the struggle. Watching someone do something rx'ed and struggle through it, watching them try and try and try and finally get a rep, watching someone finish a workout despite being past the time cap because they refused to get beat. Those are the moments I remember. Rarely is it a time on the board.
The common ground between these athletes is their display of that rare mix of bravery and vulnerability, class and balls out determination, and heart. It is that heart, that drive for excellence, that bravery that serves as my inspiration.
I have devoted the last 4 months of my life to attacking one major weakness. Strength.
It has been really hard. Despite all of my work, I still have MORE work to do. The squats HURT. I don't get to do met con's which are fun and provide an endorphin rush. Sometimes, I am alone in a room with a bar. It's boring. And frustrating. And not to mention, each session takes 3 hours.
But through this PROCESS, I have learned discipline. I have learned the meaning of perfection. I have learned about conquering fear. I come in every day and try my absolute best. I have learned what correct looks like, and I am striving to get there.
And I have realized that there are no instant results. No quick fixes. No easy road. It takes effort, and courage, and trust, and a lot of sacrifice.
And quite honestly, I find it offensive when others come in there and don't show that same degree of effort.
I find it offensive that coaches would have to call someone out on doing fewer reps or "cheating." Obviously, this doesn't include scaling, but you get the drift. I find it offensive when someone comes into the strength asylum, and doesn't understand what being there means: the effort and the initiative to do things correctly.
It is not only our privilege, but also our opportunity and furthermore, our responsibility, to be the best versions of ourselves. The outcome doesn't much matter but the process by which we attain those outcomes sure does.
What joy is there in a victory that is not earned?
You don't earn your money? I thought you were a doctor -- that's a real job. If there was a way to buy HSPU's or muscle-ups cheap, I'd be happy to do it. But if the cost were high enough in dollars, it would be easier to do the work than save the cash. It's all a question of the price . . .
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, I love the hard physical work, but I work hard at my job as well, and there are PLENTY of things I can work hard on at the box. It's not like I'm running out of skills and strengths to develop.
It's nice to hear your thoughts on the strength work Anj! I've been really impressed at the extent of your discipline throughout this process. That's sometimes hard to do with a task that has no real endpoint, but is an ongoing mission. I know you will reap the benefits when you return to metcons and it's cool that you acknowledge the process in itself as a benefit.
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ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, but I guess you and I are different. If it's all about the end result, then let me ask you, why don't you go buy some steroids to improve your performance in these various tasks? Undoubtedly, you will make gains faster, and these days the side effect profiles of the drugs are minimal. Why is using cash to buy a drug different than using cash to buy a skill?
In addition, yes, I am a doctor. I worked my ass off to get here. I could have paid someone to do my homework in med school, or cheated on a test. I knew people who did, and they graduated ahead of me in my class. But, I never thought that was ok. Too much was at stak. The process of studying, of learning, of reading, taught me a lot, and had I not gone through it, I would have never been prepared to actually be a doctor. I would bet the same applies to almost any facet of life.
If you look back at the best times of your life you will always find there was a struggle to overcome. I recently did an exercise where first you wrote the worst experiences of your life in a column, next was a column for the best things in your life. You would be shocked on how closely most if not all of them are related.
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