Now more than ever, CrossFit is very popular and there’s great reason! You get a killer workout, you make and meet a ton of great people and you all have something in common. Not to mention that your body will start to change for the better, increased energy, and more strength to function in life. All great things that happen when training consistently.
One thing CrossFit has are acronyms for EVERYTHING! MU, HSPU, SDLP, PP, and the most common one Rx. Sometimes going into a workout is more like a puzzle until you learn the lingo however, that Rx button is one that many people WANT and strive for.
I did it RX!” is a fabulous feeling. It’s easy to get caught up in the pride of doing a workout, whether you are doing it as written or a scaled version. But RX is not where most people start in training, nor is it always where everyone ends, and sometimes it’s not even where you should be.Sometimes, we are healthy and strong and accomplished and on top of the world. Sometimes we are students who are learning or relearning movements. And, sometimes, we are nursing an injury and making our way back to full health. That’s just the training life. If you do anything in this life, you will experience ups and downs and in-betweens.
There is nothing to be ashamed of when you’re scaling, whether that’s one workout or every workout. And it’s important to remember that scaling has advantages about which we forget. IF you are a scaled athlete, you might want to read this and really take the time to give yourself some credit !
Scaled athletes know that quality of movement is very important and staying focused on quality of movement is critical when performing a WOD. We all try to keep quality of movement in mind, even when we’re racing the clock (because we know that good movement is fast and safe) but, sometimes, in our race to go faster or heavier, we forget about how crucial it is to maintain quality of movement, that’s the beginners mindset. Learn limitations early on before you get injured or hurt down the road.
When you’re scaling the movement you’re less inclined to short the rep and maybe you’re more likely to be able to handle the movement, because it’s scaled to you and not doing “half good/crappy reps. Good practice makes for good movement … and good movement can become fast and safe movement. And let’s all be grateful for good coaches who know how to properly scale athletes. If you know such a coach, tell them how much you appreciate their efforts!
It takes TIME! All that quality movement and good practice isn’t completed in a flash. Learning takes time. How to do the movement, how to do it again and again and again. The minutes add up, the hours add up, the days add up. But the awesome thing? Practice is not wasted time. Scaled athletes know that about practice. Life is a lifelong learning process, if you’re lucky. The only people not learning are the incredibly stupid and the foolishly arrogant. Life will eventually catch those athletes so don’t worry about them. Focus on YOU !
Check your ego at the door ! If you’re going to learn, the first thing you have to do is get out of your own way. Scaled athletes know this, because in order to learn, you must first acknowledge that you need to learn. This can be difficult as an adult we all want to pretend like we know everything but it’s the key to success. Learning does not come easily to a closed mind. It doesn’t matter what anybody else does. What matters is what you do. And, to that end, you might have to modify a movement or even sub it out due to inexperience, injury, range of motion, or other factors. It’s all good. You can do ring rows instead of pull-ups and still get a good workout. You can do band-assisted pistols and still wear yourself out. You can do overhead squats with a PVC pipe and still wonder whether you’ll be able to walk the next day. It’s okay. In fact, it’s fantastic because you are doing what you need to do and not what your neighbor needs to do!
The next time that you’re tempted to denigrate your own efforts in the gym or anyone else’s? Stop. Remember that if you’re a scaled athlete, you’re learning so much and enjoy the process!