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CrossFit Open: “My 7th CF Open, What’s the Point?”

For those who don’t know, I started my CrossFit journey in December of 2013. At that point in my life, I was overweight, overworked, and probably in the worst shape of my life. Just so you don’t think I am making things up, see Exhibit 1 below.

I was fortunate enough to find a gym and a coach that focused on technique and longevity when it comes to strength and conditioning. Like most people with a newfound hobby, I became addicted very quickly as I started to see the positive changes happening in my body and mindset.

2014

Fast forward to February 2014 and I get introduced to the CrossFit Open. I had no idea what it was, but I was eager to put my new skills (only 3 months, so let’s call them baby skills) to the test. First workout was 14.1 which was:

10 min. AMRAP

  • 30 Double Unders
  • 15 Power Snatches @ 75#

My score was 3 rounds plus 13 reps. I remember throwing my jump rope in disgust as I couldn’t even string together 3 double unders at a time. It was one rep…..trip…..one rep…..trip…one rep….etc. etc. for an agonizing 10 minutes.

That year I finished 15,269 in the entire world. I didn’t necessarily know what to think of it, but I was determined to get better at the things I struggled at. I couldn’t do double unders, no kipping pull ups, nowhere close to a muscle up, and rowing was a foreign concept to me.

2015, 2016, 2017

My wife Luci and I relocated from Southern California to Houston and found the amazing community at District H CrossFit in January of 2015. For the next 3 years I saw my overall strength increase and my gymnastics skills develop just by being consistent in the gym. I can honestly say that I was absolutely the most fit in the Fall of 2017. That year, I finished in the top 4% in my Region and the World in the CrossFit Open.

Was I going to be a regional athlete or go to the CrossFit Games? Absolutely not! But my goal wasn’t necessarily to be a Games athlete. I loved CrossFit and I wanted to see what I was capable of doing. The goal was that simple.

2018 to Present

2018 was a time of honest reflection when it came to my fitness. For 4 years, I had trained very hard with the overall goal of seeing what I was capable of. In October of 2017, I was competing at the Cascade Classic in Seattle, WA and when it was over, there was a feeling that came over me that I can only describe as “I’m done.”

It was very weird as that thought had never entered my mind in the previous 3 years of my training. I had worked hard, competed at some high level regional competitions, and did well. But the question I kept asking myself was:

“What’s the Point?”

And that was the problem I was facing. What was my goal moving forward? I was not in a position to sacrifice my time and career to pursue something that was purely selfish. As much as it would have been nice to make it to an elite level of fitness, it wasn’t the most important thing in my life. And to compete at that level, it needs to be the most important thing in your life.

So here I am, ready to compete in my 7th CrossFit Open and I find myself asking that same question again, “What’s the Point?” My goals and priorities have changed and I am 100% happy. I have a career and a family and I enjoy coaching. Like every single adult, the trick is finding the balance, but I think I found a good formula….for now.

For me, it’s not about the scores, the times, or where I finish in the world as I am nowhere near the best shape of my life. I do it because it is a great reminder of how far I have come from that overworked and out of shape me. I do it because it is a good test to execute quality movement as consistently as possible and being committed to excellence. I do it because I get to hang out with my best friends and community, celebrate our fitness, and have fun. The Friday Night lights bring out a different energy in our gym and I want to see people’s excitement in getting their first double under, or kipping pull up, or muscle up because I remember how excited I was.

Come sign up for the Open and celebrate your fitness with your friends for the next 5 weeks. As a community that loves their pets, we are partnering with the Houston SPCA to help raise funds for a good cause. Remember, we all started somewhere with the goal of getting just a little better every single day.

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