Or, more generally, come up with something that you think is probably too hard for you. Then try to do it anyway.
The first round of the Games will start in a month. Five weeks, five workouts, ANYONE can do it, and I am devoting this entire post to convincing you to sign up and compete. There are three main categories of responses to that statement.
1. I have no idea what you're talking about.
2. Duh, obviously, I'm already registered.
3. Don't be ridiculous Jen, I'm nowhere near that level yet.
If you're number 1, probably we haven't spoken lately, or you got here through google. Well, keep googling, the internet will tell you all about it! Then come back.
If you're number 2, you don't need convincing, so.....I guess that's all the advice I have for today :D
If you're number 3, and if you're like I was one year ago when coach Jen told me I should sign up to compete in the CrossFit Games Open, you're thinking there's no way. You're not fit enough, you rarely if ever do the workout prescribed, you never come close to the folks on the leaderboard, and when you begin the day's workout you expect to take at least 5 minutes longer than the slowest person on the board so far (I was consistently slowest for probably a year, don't fret, as long as you're working hard you're making progress, even if it doesn't seem like it. You'll notice all of a sudden one day).
But Jen didn't seem concerned about any of these things and so, somehow, she convinced me (something about contributing to the team score, although I wasn't totally convinced my score was worth contributing!). So, with no idea whether or not I'd be able to complete any or all of the workouts, I signed up, and set the lofty goal of getting to the end without being disqualified (i.e., get at least 1 rep in each workout). At the risk of spoiling the story, I will tell you that I did manage this goal, and ended up achieving far more than I ever would have without the motivation of competition. And, unexpectedly, it was actually fun! Convinced yet? No? Perhaps some details will help.
WOD 1: 10 min AMRAP of 30 DU, 15 power snatch (75/55)
I could just barely do both of these things, so that was fine, but this workout was challenging in a different way for me because I was out of town the whole week. Not one to give up my $10 registration fee so easily, I found a gym near where I was (CrossFit AI in Calgary), asked if I could come on by, and showed up terrified that they would expect some sort of hotshot out of town competitor and be sorely disappointed. On the contrary, everyone there was very welcoming, and they shouted encouragement, as I sputtered and wheezed, just as they did for their own members. I even had a complete stranger sharing with me his story as a newbie to crossfit, and how he was looking forward to graduating from lady pushups to real pushups! It was great to see that wherever you go there will be a great community of crossfitters.
WOD 2: 15 min AMRAP of 9 deadlifts (155/100), 12 pushups, and 15 boxjumps
I hate boxjumps. So much. And at this point I was still doing lady pushups, so it must have been painful for my judge to watch me have to rest in between every try at a real pushup. But, again, I could do all of these things, and something about the knowledge of having to write my score on the internet for all to see made me push myself harder than I ever have. That was the closest I've come to puking since the great "Barbara"-wod-too-close-to-green-beans-snack incident. Word to the wise: get up early to eat your breakfast, and ensure digestion before you begin. There's nothing worse than having to slow down for fear of hurling.
WOD 3: 5 minute AMRAP of squatclean and jerks (155/110)
Uh Oh. This was the first real hurdle to my goal of not being disqualified. I'd been at an 85 lb wall on cleans for months. So, I had a week to get to 110. Nobigdeal. By some miracle, and with the help of some excellent coaching from coach Jen (push off through your heels!), and some advice from Brit ("Srsly Jen, just walk up to the bar and pick it up", which is surprisingly good advice as it turns out), I actually managed to pick up the thing! Getting it over my head was another miserable matter that didn't happen for several more months, but fortunately the clean part was worth 1 point so (phewf!) I was still in the game.
WOD 4: 10 minute AMRAP of 60 bar facing burpees (and hops), 30 overhead squats (120/90), 10 muscle ups
So, obviously I couldn't do a muscle up (still can't, all in good time). I therefore did 60 leisurely burpees before attempting the squats, which were probably 20 lbs over my previous max. I managed to do a few squats at that weight in practice, but after the burpees I was too tired and kept toppling over. So my score was not stellar, but PR's during practice still count, so add one more to the list of PR's!
WOD 5: 20 minute AMRAP of 5 power cleans (145/100), 10 toes to bar, 15 wallballs.
Ok, so I'd figured out the clean part (see wod 3), but I hadn't managed a toes to bar. Come wod time, I took probably 3 minutes to get 5 successful cleans. Then, I spent 17 minutes practicing toes to bar, and in that time, I got two. Plus about 100 failed attempts. But darn it, I'd actually done one! By the end of those 17 minutes, a little cheering squad had formed. They groaned with disappointment every time I missed, and when I finally got one we were so excited you would have thought I'd just won the whole competition. This is what I love most about CrossFit, everyone helps you celebrate your achievements no matter how small.
WOD 6: 7 minute AMRAP of thrusters (100/65) and chest to bar pullups
Chest to bar. Really? Sigh. While the thursters were no problem (well, they were still pretty tough, but doable), I hadn't ever done a chest to bar. Once again, I spent the rest of my 7 minutes trying, and I even got a couple with a strange hybrid kipping pullup and donkey kick thing.
End result: NOT DISQUALIFIED, and I even didn't finish last! (I was 4th last in the Canada East, but that's not counting all of the people who dropped out :P)
Anywho, so there's my recap. That was really long. If you're still reading, my appologies, IOU some minutes. But hopefully anyone who is feeling shy about signing up will see that there's nothing to lose and a crud ton to gain. If I'd continued with my attitude of "I won't do well, therefore I shant bother", I would have missed out on FOUR PR's, not to mention the incredible experience of competition in a friendly, encouraging atmosphere. Everyone was pushing me to try harder, but I never once felt like would be disappointing anyone if I didn't manage to complete a move.
So if you sign up, I personally promise to start a cheering squad for whatever move you find toughest. And even if something comes up that you've never done, and you work towards it for the week and still don't get it, big whoop. You'll certainly be futher ahead than you were before you tried.
I saw an appropriate mantra on Modern Paleo Warfare: "No matter how slow you're going, you're still lapping everyone on the couch."
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