Evolution of a Crossfitter

This article is a small glimpse down the road of Crossfit for our athletes. Although everyone comes at Crossfit from a different place, there are themes that seem to hold true. Hopefully some of you can avoid some common pitfalls by knowing some of the trends we see. The general cycle that occurs in the evolution of a Crossfitter is thus:

Start Crossfit: You start coming to Crossfit maybe 2 days a week; you’re curious but skeptical. You continue to do most of your other workout regimens also: run a couple days a week, maybe swim a bit. This Crossfit thing seems okay, but there is no way it can work in so little time. You’ll give it a month or so and see how it goes.

2-3 months into Crossfit: You realize that you can’t keep the pace of your old workout schedule and your new Crossfit schedule, so you commit to Crossfit 3-5 days a week. Your Crossfit skills are improving rapidly: lifts are starting to get big, times are fast, you’re moving to less assistance on pull-ups and so forth. You feel like this Crossfit thing might work after all- life is good.

3-9 months into Crossfit: You love it! You are regularly coming to Crossfit 5 days a week. Almost every aspect of your workouts are improving. You want to progress even faster, so you start coming to some Endurance classes. You add in supplementary pull-up work each day, and you work on double-unders after each WOD. A badass is being forged.

9-18 months into Crossfit: You are a Crossfitter at this point. Your lifts are solid. You finally know what Jake is talking about when he says “You’re shooting your hips up in the first pull.” You are kipping, running, snatching and maybe even pulling off a muscle-up or two. But..things aren’t quite coming along like they used to: your shoulder is a little achy, your back and hamstrings feel pretty tight,  you feel tired, but you can’t bear to miss a workout. You aren’t sure what to do next.

18-24 months into Crossfit: You decide it’s time to focus on the basics. You realize that Crossfit is a long-term commitment. You commit to attacking those problem areas that you have been ignoring for so long. Even though your deadlift has gone up 100 pounds since you started Crossfitting, it hurts your back now. You accept that you may have to drop back your weight a bit and focus on form. You don’t want to keep dreading  Clean & Jerk  days, or chipper days, or whatever problem-area-day you have been ignoring for so long. Your energy levels are low, and you realize it’s finally time to take a look at your nutrition. You understand that you still have a lot to improve on. You are no longer just a strong Crossfitter, you are a wise Crossfitter.