CrossFit Founder and CEO Greg Glassman said, “We fail at the margins of our experience.” As such, confronting failure is a large part of a fitness program designed to expose you to a host of movements, take you out of your comfort zone and prepare you for any eventuality.
Learn the air squat and you’ll soon be faced with a barbell squat. Get comfortable with the bar on your back, and it’s time to put it overhead. Then add weight. Hit 15 unbroken overhead squats at body weight and you might as well try for 15 at 1.25 times body weight. At some point, you’re going to fail.
Interestingly, these failures motivate rather than disappoint.
In the third article in our Virtuosity series, Molly Dunham, a lifelong perfectionist, explains how failure in the CrossFit gym actually helps her accept current limits in other parts of her life. Of course, acceptance doesn’t erase a desire to improve. It just helps her find peace with imperfection as she chases virtuosity.
Dunham’s story stood out for highlighting yet another aspect of CrossFit: the way CrossFit affiliates and garage gyms challenge their members to be better every single day.
In our first Virtuosity article, we heard about a coach whose unwavering belief in each athlete helps them achieve their goals. In our second, we heard about a community that supported an athlete in a time of tragedy. In selecting our next article in January, we’ll be looking for stories that showcase other aspects of our diverse community. Writers are encouraged to be creative and expand their topics beyond those that have already been covered.
Please read the submission guidelines at the end of the article and send your story to virtuosity@crossfit.com. We’ll pay the writer US$500, and we’ll send the writer’s affiliate or garage gym a $500 gift card from Rogue Fitness.