My lovely Adventurers, where were we? Ah, yes! When the world began to open again following the COVID-19 lockdowns, I was happiest to return to my gym. I was with the people who had inspired me, driven me and had become my second family. Two of my best friends in the gym approached me about expanding my horizons again. Did I want to compete? CrossFit has an annual competition where athletes worldwide are invited to compete for the title of “Strongest Man (or Woman) in the World.” The entire CrossFit community is invited and encouraged to participate in the qualifying competitions that lead up to The CrossFit Games and willingly dedicate hours competing and watching others compete.
The first round of this competition is known as The Open, as it is just that, open to everyone. During these (now) three weeks of competition, gyms come together with catered food, parties, and lots of loud music and yelling to cheer on the athletes who come together to prove themselves. My first Open was in 2021, and it was such an amazing experience. Over the next few years, I would bring my children with me when I competed on Friday nights and hear them cheering me on and encouraging me.
One of the key things about all CrossFit competitions is that they are always made up of multiple workouts. CrossFit was designed to create “generalist athletes” and increase overall fitness instead of only focusing on one type of fitness. To drive this home, the competitions always have workouts that have gymnastics, cardio, and weight-lifting components.
I never competed in The Open, knowing I would never qualify for The Games, but I loved its camaraderie. After being so separated from this family for months, it felt like coming home.
One of the reasons why I love the CrossFit community so much is because of the focus on inclusivity. How do you entice people to compete who know that they will never reach this peak level? You make other competitions. So, in April of that year, at the behest of my two lovely and persistent friends, I participated in “Festivus- Feats of Strength for the Rest of Us.” I had never done a real competition before and was very nervous. I was also worried that I would be the limiting factor in my three (wo)man team.
Adventurers, it was so amazing. Our gym owners and coaches came to support us. Friends came to support us. The sense of community was so strong, and every time I felt like I could not do another rep or move another pound, my family was there to push and encourage me. Adventurers, we took second place in our local competition! If I recall (it was quite a while ago), we did quite well on the global breakdown, but that’s not the point. I loved that day more than I thought I would. I felt so close to the women I was working out with and the women we were competing against.
My next competition saw a decidedly different viewpoint. It was me pushing a new woman in my gym to join me in this competition space. There is an organization here in the Augusta area called Lifting for Love and, Adventurers, they are an amazing group of people. The competition they put on yearly raises money for families working with the adoption system, and if you can, I encourage you to support them if you feel so driven. Because of their mission, I dragged my newest gym bestie out to do a 3-mile ruck, lift many things, row a lot, and do too many burpee box stepovers. It was a great experience, and while we did not win or make it to the podium, it was such a fun experience to be the person who could push and encourage someone on their first experience.
This time, two other teams from our gym were competing, and we all shared a space in our big awning, hanging out and complaining about sore muscles and people we felt should have been in higher divisions because they were CLEARLY just trying to win. Hey, it may have been for a good cause, but it was still a competition. I was reminded again that day how much and why I loved CrossFit.
Adventurers, I was on a high, and I loved it. I could never imagine leaving my gym or my people at that moment. Was this the pinnacle?
Take me home!