As Hard as You Can…12/27/12

For today’s post, I want to highlight a fantastic article that Jay forwarded my way. It’s made only more appropriate by the fact that today, Decemeber 27th, is George’s birthday. As such, we will be doing a birthday WOD in his honor…so George, you better be here!
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From “CrossFit Montgomery County:”
I tell people all the time that they need to work as hard as they can. To get into the right position, to get finished with the workout faster, or to get in a few more reps before time runs out, it’s one of the most consistent things you’ll ever hear me say to anyone (and likely you) at the gym: work as hard as you can.
There is something really amazing about seeing someone truly work as hard as they can. I’m not talking about someone who is working hard, someone who is going really fast, or even doing better than they ever have, I’m talking about seeing someone truly and literally go as hard as they are physically capable.
I really don’t give a sh*t about who beats whom in the workouts. What I care about is who gave everything they possibly could, and who cheated themselves. Did Kevin beat Jackson? Did Little Tony beat Big Tony? Did Mike or Mike beat any of the other Mikes? I honestly don’t care, because none of it actually matters in the least.
What matters are the answers to these questions: did you push yourself as hard as you possibly could? Did you hit the wall, and then continue on anyway? Did you work like hell to be better at each part of the workout than you were the last time you did it? Did you eliminate every ounce of unnecessary rest? Was every single rep so clearly valid that I could see it from across the street? Did you blow past your comfortable level of discomfort? Did you ever honestly (if subconsciously) question whether or not you’d be able to get through the workout at that pace? Were you working so hard that a bomb could’ve blown up the gym and you would’ve finished the entire workout before noticing anything had changed? If the answer to all those questions is “yes,” then I don’t care what your time was, whom you beat, or who beat you – you were absolutely amazing in that workout.
If, however, the answer to any of those questions is “no,” then you could have done better. And no matter how amazing your time was or how many people you beat, you simply didn’t give your best effort. Then the unanswerable question remains, “how much better could you have been if you’d worked as hard as you possibly could?” I guess we’ll never know.
Don’t waste your talents by stopping short of all that you’re capable of. Give your best effort every single time. Then, after tomorrow’s workout, ask yourself those questions and see what you come up with.
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If you’ve ever been in the gym when George is going through a WOD, then there should be no doubt in watching him that he is going as hard as he can…save for a few less trips to the chalk bucket!
Seriously though, give it a shot, go as hard as you can. You just might amaze yourself.
A. Skill:
Snatch Balance – 5×3
 
B. MWOD:
T-Spine Smash
 
C. WOD:
“Just Go”
12min AMRAP
Run 1 lap
5 Ground to Overhead (135/95)
10 Burpees
*Note: Add 1 lap each round