Who's Driving?

I have said it a couple times before, but  you determine what you get out of this whole CrossFit thing. So what drives you? Are you coming in with purpose, or are you coming in to say "Well, ....I crossfit" to prove that you are not sitting on the couch all day? Being a part of a supportive community is an awesome feeling, and it is a major thread that makes up the comforting blanket of Crossfit. But what keeps you coming? Is it the people, is it the competition, is it a combination? For most people it is both. It starts with a blank canvas. You come in ready to absorb all of the knowledge getting thrown your way. You rely on the supportive community to push you through the workouts, and for a while, just getting to the end is a great accomplishment. It is a great thing to finish something that you put all of your heart into. There comes a point, however, when you continue this trend, month after month, just getting through the workout, until at some point you are just going through the motions. You will continue to scale, because it is comfortable, and not for necessity. It is comfortable to do box pullups, and pushups on your knees. Unfortunately, staying in your comfort zone is something that is going to lead to a steady decline in improvement. The cheers of that first pullup, that first RX workout, are going to be for someone else. Don't let that slip away. I look at moments like a PR, or mastering a new skill, as a giant boost in motivation, it causes me to get that feeling back of completing my first workout. A feeling of hope and pride.

 But there is a trend that sometimes begins to happen....You begin to get too comfortable. The hour of your time at the gym is predominately used for hanging out. Being around people you like and share a common interest with. The reason that you joined in the first place, to get fit,  becomes a small light that is getting dimmer each day. I want to be real careful here, as I don't want this to be taken negatively. Coming to class each time is an awesome accomplishment. It takes a lot to come in and go through the hellish WOD. It is great to use the community and social aspect as the main reason you chose Crossfit over the globo gym up the street. But there is going to come a time down the road where justifying the cost of Crossfit membership just to "hang out" seems a little much.......and I don't want that to happen. You have to have all of the ingredients to make this work. If the recipe calls for bacon, you don't just skip it......you go find some bacon.
What I am getting at is, don't fall into the habit of just coming to come. I know you are going to have days, weeks where motivation is minimal. Trust me, well ALL go through it. But those times aside, find something that pushes you. Compete against a time from a previous class, compete against yourself. Find something to drive you!