What I learned from my first crossfit competition
Hello Jamaal here. This past February I completed my first team CrossFit competition. RX madness is intended to be a 4 person co-ed team where teams go head to head against each other bracket style. It is intended to mimic march madness or the NCAA basketball tournament. The only difference is that RX madness is filled with team workouts that are designed to push your body to the absolute max. I wanted to share my personal experience of my first CrossFit competition to help first time crossfitters or anyone else who is planning on doing anything that will take them out of their comfort zone.
- TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK. This is the first thing I learned from my first CrossFit Competition. I had an amazing team with me-Jazmin, Apryl Joi, and James. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. The key is knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are and letting your teammate pick up where you may lack. I loved that aspect because it helps to not only build trust with one another but it also gives everyone a purpose and helps us to communicate. This has not only helped me in CrossFit but also with business and my marriage as well.
- PREPARATION IS KEY. CrossFit is not an event you just wake up out of bed and do the next day. It is something that you have to plan and prepare for. Our team started planning and prepping for our event 5 months prior to the actual event. We may have even needed more time to be honest. I love this because it shows that all the competitors take this pretty seriously. Anything that you want to be great in requires some sort of preparation. Preparing your body for pressure is key. I heard a quote a long time ago that states “You don’t rise to the level of your expectation; you fall to the level of your training.” In other words, whatever you decide to do, you should give it your all and work your butt off.
- NERVOUSNESS IS GREAT. Prior to the competition I started to get really nervous. I mean my palms were sweating, I felt jittery, my heart was beating fast, and my legs were twitching. At that point I told myself “you know what Jay; you are ready for this”. I believe that being anxious and a little nervous is a good thing. It means that you actually care about something. It means that you want to perform. It means you are in an uncomfortable space and that is where true change happens. I believe that the acronym for FEAR is FACE EVERYTHING AND RISE. I was ready to perform.
- HEART. I believe that from time to time we all need to have a true test of our heart. What do we do when our backs are against the wall and we have no place to go but forward? That really defines the person you are and the person you are striving to become. The workouts we did were TOUGH to say the least. One of the workouts required us to do a snatch and I actually hit my max snatch weight at 205 pounds. That is about 30 pounds over my body weight. I was ecstatic to see that. One of my favorite quotes is from Mike Tyson, a heavyweight boxing champion. It states “everyone is a beast until they get punched in the mouth.” I totally believe that. We never know what or who we truly are until we test ourselves and see what it’s like to get knocked down and pushed to the brink of your capacity.
- SUPPPORT. I know that support is everything. It was soooo exciting to see all of my family, friends and clients come out and support our team during my first competition. Seeing them in the crowd really helped to push me through those tough exercises when I really wanted to give up. Our support system can make us or break us. I think that it is very important to do an inventory on your support system from time to time and see if these people are building you up or tearing you down.
Overall, I really enjoyed my first CrossFit competition. This event really showed me that it is not about the prize itself but actually the journey and the path you take. I had an awesome time laughing with my team. I also had a great time learning new exercises and different ways to push myself as well. Ultimately, I learned about myself during this event. I am slowly learning that there is no short cut to success, when we try to take shortcuts it eventually robs us of those valuable lessons we need to learn along the way to success.
So, go on, enter a competition, it doesn’t have to be a CrossFit competition, challenge yourself and ultimately have some fun. You will be so glad you did it in the long run.
Highlights from the Competition
