Making Peace With PRs

The point is to align your expectations with your current aim.

Some numbers I’ll never see again.

That’s not me giving up, losing confidence, or complaining. It’s me admitting just how much each and every personal record costs. How much each PR depends on my current behavior.

When mostly all I did was weightlift, I hit the best numbers of my life. Not surprisingly, other elements suffered. That’s generally the difference between CrossFit Games athletes and experienced CrossFitters; the former improve at everything at once, whereas the latter must focus all their energy on one thing to grow.

And that’s a good thing. It means you can spend a lifetime getting better at CrossFit and never get bored.

Want to focus on your lifts and skip the running for a bit? Go for it. Want to feel like a million bucks and focus on GPP instead of the barbell? Perfect. Want to sacrifice some strength and get super lean? Copy that.

Whatever you want, CrossFit has it. The trick is dealing with past accomplishments while you switch gears. Yesterday’s feats that may not represent today’s goals.

Let’s say you deadlifted 600-pounds when you were 20-years-old. Good for you. But you couldn’t take the stairs without getting out of breath. Not…