Why You Don’t Need to Be Great at Everything in CrossFit

When it comes to CrossFit, you don’t need to be great at everything. While polishing away weaknesses is important work, there will always be something to improve – don’t let this discourage you, instead, work on being consistent.

In general, CrossFit rewards the generalist and punishes the specialist. The sport encompasses both aerobic and anaerobic elements, it combines power and endurance elements and is known for its “constantly varied movements.”

Its speciality is not specialising, so athletes are – mostly – rewarded by being very good at many things, instead of being the best at a single discipline. To be good, you first have to be average, because CrossFit rewards consistency across multiple domains.

Source: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING TO WORK ON

CrossFit encompasses and prepares you for the unknown and unknowable. If you stop and think about that for a second, it almost provides an infinite number of improvement possibilities.

While you should always work to improve, you should also accept that there will always be something that you could be better at. This ‘something’ might change over time, and the definition of weakness is, ultimately, relative.

This is true for everyone; while you have weaker areas, so does the person working out next to you. When it comes to CrossFit, look at your level of proficiency in multiple skills instead of just one, and you might realise that, across the board, you’re probably quite good at the sport.

Why Consistency Is the Key to Success in CrossFit

Truth is, we could all be better at something – that’s the beauty of the sport. As soon as you accomplish a milestone, the next one knocks on the door. One progression leads to another one, and there’s always a heavier weight, better technique, added speed.

The secret is to try and stay consistent and keep yourself balanced across all of the movements and exercises.

This might be hard but is a big part of what makes CrossFit fun for elite athletes and beginners alike.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE GREAT TO ENJOY IT  

CrossFit has many positive psychological effects on athletes, such as exercise enjoyment, challenge, satisfaction, and goals achievement.

Besides, based on your previous activities and experiences, there will always be an area, task or movement you’ll be strong in or where you feel confident in your abilities.

You can measure your CrossFit progress by your goals. You don’t necessarily need to have muscle ups if your goal is to lose weight. The ability to scale CrossFit workouts means you don’t need to be great at everything for the program to work, or for you to enjoy the sport and accomplish your personal aims.

Source: StevieD Photography

HOW TO GET BETTER AT CROSSFIT

Identify your strengths and weaknesses and set a personal goal. Consistent training and focus work can match your weaknesses with your strengths and will make you an overall better athlete. However, always keep the big picture in mind.

• Follow the intended stimulus of each workout (what the workout was designed to train and improve). If this means scaling don’t be put off by the fact – consistent training like this will lead to big changes.
• Work on strict strength, even when you could use kipping movements. Develop your foundational strength, as it directly impacts all other movements. Work on building strength and control and power will follow across all exercises.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY

Plans are easy to make but hard to stick to. Being consistent refers to working on each of your skills, being dedicated to your diet and recovery, and training regularly – long term.

Dedicating time and effort to all of these areas day in and day out will see steady progress in every aspect of your fitness. Look at your proficiency as an overall athlete to measure this progress.

• Nutrition: it doesn’t really matter what kind of diet you’re following as long as you stick to the right guidelines. Ultimately, you should follow a plan you can see yourself sticking to for the next five years, not only two months. Even if a plan initially helps you lose weight or fat, if you can’t be consistent with it it’ll ultimately fail.
• Training: match your weaknesses to your strengths, do accessory and focus work, and most importantly, turn up. The athlete that will improve is the one that keeps going back to the Box, is consistent with their training sessions and knows how to prioritise what’s important to them.
• Recovery: your recovery time is where your body builds back up and becomes stronger after training. It encompasses time off, mobility and, most importantly, sleep. Taking good care of your recovery and sleeping enough consistently will both reduce your risk of injury and help you progress faster.

How Sleep Affects Recovery, Performance and Health for CrossFit Athletes

The secret to getting better at CrossFit is simply showing up and practicing skills.