The Struggle Is Real

We all have limits. It’s important to know them and make peace with them.

She enjoyed double-unders from day one and got pull-ups her first try. The barbell, however, was a different story.

But instead of avoiding barbells and skipping the days she struggled most, she showed up in a mood that can only be described as eager. She knew, as we all know, that working a weakness will offer the greatest return.

She got better. A lot better.

Abs began to show, the barbell felt a bit lighter, and overhead mobility that was always an issue started to improve.

Then life happened, as it tends to, and one of those opportunities that you can’t turn down called her away. She took CrossFit with her, of course, and things seemed in order. But we only move twice, and several years later, she moved home. But something was different.

The barbell had returned to its beastly form, and that hard-earned overhead mobility had disappeared. For whatever reason, she left the worthy work behind, traded for more doubles and pull-ups. The things she had always been good at it. Safe things.

The hard part, the part that eventually made her quit CrossFit altogether, was knowing she was capable of more. Much more. We all have limits, things that may never happen for one reason or another. And it’s important to know them and make peace with them. But we have potential also. More than we give ourselves credit for. And it’s important, maybe the most important thing of all, to never stop trying to discover it.

The struggle is real. CrossFit is tough, and there are things you are going to suck at. Spend your time there. Laugh at yourself. Be coachable. That’s why CrossFit works. Because we don’t run from the hard things, we embrace them.