THURSDAY, MARCH 8TH, 2012
Open Class 4:30pm / 5:30pm
Workout 12.3 of the CrossFit Sectionals Open has been posted. Go to the link to check out what the workout is and what the standards are.
DOES DOING CROSSFIT MAKE YOU A CROSSFITTER?
Yes, you come in and do CrossFit workouts twice a week, thrice a week, four times a week. But do you know who Jason Khalipa is? Do you know who Chris Spealler is? What about Pat Barber, Graham Holmber, Annie Sakamoto, Josh Everett, Mikko Salo, Kristan Clever, Annie Thorisdottir, Rich Froning Jr., Brian MacKenzie, Kelly Starrett, John Welbourn, Adrian Bozman, Mike Burgener? Have you ever heard of K-Star, B-Mac, Manimal, The Iceland Princess, J.E. (all of these people were listed with full names in the previous sentence)? Do you know who Greg Glassman is? Do you know who Pukie is?
Let's put this all in perspective. Basketball players, baseball players, football players, soccer players, volleyball players, track athletes - pick a sport, any sport - the athletes who play these sports at any level all have their favorite players. Ask a 6-year-old tee-ball player who they want to hit like when they play and they'll rattle off a name or two before you can blink. Same for pop warner football players or elementary school basketball players. This trend progresses as we get older too. Talk to a high school athlete about their favorite athletes and they can tell you every last detail about whomever that is. From their season stats to their stats from the game the ngiht before to their shoe size and music selection when they work out. And, even when we get older and mature into the "beer leagues" and fantasy leagues, we still have our pick of whom we imagine we are playing like as we trip over our own two feet or wildly throw an errant ball into the stands or our own team's dugout.
This is not to say that all of these sports don't have their recreational players as well who do not take it nearly as seriously as "competitive" athletes do. But I guess that's what I'm asking you. Are you a weekend warrior CrossFit participant or are you a CrossFitter? If you're a CrossFitter that has aspirations of some day making CrossFit your sport, or if you simply want to get better at CrossFit in general, then these should be names that at least ring a bell. In the group of people that I most associate with, these names are all to common. Why? Because we want to get better, so we emmerse ourselves in videos, in journals, in blogs and pictures of none other than these people because they are the ones who are going to teach us the things that we need to know to improve our game.
Why is it so important for pro's and non-pro's alike to have someone to look up to and admire? Because they are the true definition of role models. They are the best at what they do and as amateur athletes we spend great amounts of time watching, studying, mimicking, and practicing every last routine or move of our role models to become better ourselves. These people define a level that we have not yet achieved and are striving to reach. 
Honestly, these people are not difficult to find. Punch any of the names above into Google and you get more information on these athletes than you could read. Quickly cruising around on CrossFit's "main site", http://www.crossfit.com/ you can find many of these people in demonstration videos within 2 minutes. And, in the same vein, how often do you check http://www.crossfit.com/ (aka: "main site" or ".com" (dot com))? Do you have your subscription to the CrossFit Journal? I would bet good money that virtually every competitor who makes it to the regional level of the CrossFit competition and the CrossFit Games answers would be, "daily" and "are you fracking kidding me!".
What about you? How often do you tune into my blog (for more than just to look at that day's class times)? How often do you frequent ".com"? Do you have your journal subscription? Who's your favorite CrossFitter?
Coach Justin
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