An Open Surprise

I wasn’t going to bother with it this year…the CrossFit Open. It wasn’t because of my aging process, because Masters 55+ feels more generous than the usual exacting, unlikely-for-me Rx WODs I see every day in the box. I thought I was declining because I’d finally found my steady rhythms of training, nutrition, greater sense of home in both. I didn’t want the Open to interrupt the flow of things for me.

I’m always curious though. What will the first WOD be? How are folks in my own box gearing up for the Open? How does this offer opportunity in the box I now call my own, though it’s still new, more than a year in? I’ve been feeling more relaxed in my CrossFit rhythms, which isn’t insignificant nor to be trifled with.

Maybe it’s because I realized who I am in the mix, when a ‘coaching-education’ piece arrived in my Inbox two weeks ago. (I did the L1 nearly five years ago, so I get these emails from time to time.) It spoke to the kinds of communication styles in any human collective, really, but in a gym, for this context: dominance, influence, steadiness, compliance. “These styles reveal how people prefer to give and receive information,” it began. “There’s the athlete who wants results NOW (Dominance), the one who lights up the room with energy (Influence), the steady presence who supports the whole community (Steadiness), and the detail-oriented perfectionist asking about every angle of their snatch (Compliance).” Coaches are urged to tailor their communication styles to the sensibility of the athlete, in this respect. I’ve been told I bring a lightness of energy into a room (at least when I’m well grounded and not pissed off about something, my husband would add). Influence feels like me, to me. I workout at a box because I thrive most in the communal container for challenging physical activity. I do feel most at home when there’s a lot of energy in the group.

So I decided I would do the first Open workout at Friday Night Lights, when the community gathers to kick-off the Open. I didn't need to register or commit to the whole thing to do that.

This is also a good illustration of a regular mantra: CrossFit is my weekly “cup of courage.” There is really no other daily-weekly space in my life where I am regularly challenged to push against some limit or some mental fear in a concretely embodied way. It’s also a good space for getting more comfortable with humility, right? The gift that keeps on giving, I often say with a smile. “Throwing down” at a Friday Night Lights is a huge ask for someone like me, though. Working out in front of a lot of people, many of whom are way fitter than I am? My body history and long years of ingested shames present a mountain for me to climb, simply to get myself in the room. But something beckoned. I decided to climb the mountain and show up.

The WOD having a 12 minute time-cap helped. Everyone would finish at 12 minutes, no matter what. The fact that I could actually do the WOD Masters 55+ Rx–as prescribed, in CF lingo–cinched it. I have no problem or shame in scaling AND there’s a certain satisfaction I do enjoy whenever the movements required are actually ones that I can do, and do well. Wall ball shots and box step-overs are easily within my wheelhouse.

So what the hell? I decided. I’ll do the heavier wall ball. I’ll do the workout amongst fit athletes in my box. I’ll do it for me because just showing up and choosing the heavier ball is the win.

But I set myself a progress-goal and made that as well!

Perhaps this is what I’d forgotten about The Open: when crafted from within, it is an excellent opportunity to expand your inner capacity to show up, do your best, and celebrate the wins. The trick is to set goals that are just out of reach but enough of them that you know you’ll succeed on your terms with at least one. Dominant or Compliance athletes require competition and the "enjoyable-for-me-to-watch-but-not-participate-in" trash-talk. Given my love the community energies, I can cheer them on regardless and stay true to my own goals.

I did feel bad that I screwed up the scoring for a guy at the gym, though. It had been years since I judged/counted-reps for anyone! C’est la vie. He’s one that will probably do the WOD at least one more time before scores are due, just to get the WOD result he wants. The other two I judged/counted-reps for were well-served in my re-training and re-learning, so his first-run-through served a good purpose for his other objectives as head coach and community leader. So there's that.