2013 CrossFit Open Workout 13.4 Redux – WE Win!

This one’s not about me. (Sure, I’m the guy in the forefront of the field of view, but actually, I’m tucked the furthest back in the whole building.)

This one’s about community (specifically at North Shore CrossFit in Danvers MA, but really across all concepts, localities, and people groups).

When you watch the video below, do yourself a favor and look past me. See everyone else in the mix. Watch as we all feed off of each others’ energy, encouragement, and achievement.

Everyone plays as an individual, but everyone’s playing on the same team.

Some will register scores for global comparison in this workout and others will just post another “I did it!” on their social media pages or run home and tell their families about something new they just did. Some went at it with prescribed weights and ranges of motion while others modified either or both to suit their particular conditions and experience levels.

When I watch this video, sure I’m looking for things that I did well and things that I can tweak to be better next time (no, I will not be three-peating this one, at least not in 2013!), I also watch for the thrill of seeing all the barbells head straight for the ceiling within a few seconds after “GO!” is called (what an awesome sight!) like pistons in a giant engine of sheer human power output without regard to cylinder age, finish, displacement, or origin.

When I watch this I notice the individuals, the everyday athletes, the folks who, outside of this building, you’d never know were such monsters of movement:

• I see Matt tearing it up, who just a couple months ago, had surgery on a foot and who a few days ago was identified in a photo that I still can’t believe was him (at 2x his present size and about 1/4 his current physique).
• I see Adam, who two years ago was just looking on from the sidelines, watching, supporting his then girlfriend (now fiance, a phenomenal athlete in her own right) at a weightlifting competition, never once letting on that he was going to dive in and become a benchmark for so many to chase after.
• I see [Super] Ed, who decided that he’d spend his birthday with the crew, doing what we all love to do – pushing past our comfort just so we can say we did those 60 reps and demonstrate what we’ve been working on over the last few years [he even gifted us with A) no burpees, and B) coming to play in full uniform!].
• There’s Tara over there playing hurt, scraping for every rep (sticking those jerks like a nationally ranked weightlifter or something), knowing that within reason, once the condition it indicates is acknowledged and addressed, pain is just another obstacle to be overcome along the way.
• I’ve got Amos counting my reps, knowing what my target is and making sure I stay on pace to achieve it – he got me exactly there (he’d go on in Heat 2 to put out some serious work himself, with solid focus and a ton of determination).
• Toward the end, you’ll hear a little bit of extra moral support from my brother Dave, who just came to check things out (and who now has a completely different perspective on CrossFit, up close and personal).

When you watch the video, don’t just see me. See the people I’m surrounded by.

See the adrenaline-pumping hearts and at-capacity lungs of thirty individuals all out to get past their own mental inhibitions and achieve something they’ve never before achieved (this is just one of two heats – half of those folks hadn’t even stepped up to the bar yet).

Don’t just watch this to see “another one of those CrossFit workouts”. See what a community of like-minded individuals who don’t focus on or fight about their differences can do when they’re targeted on the same things, knowing that their own psyches are their only enemies.

If you really think about it, it might even make you wonder what great achievements these people must be able to accomplish outside of the gym too. If you’re so inclined, go check out a CrossFit near you and ask. I don’t think they’ll be timid about it; and if you’re not so inclined, just enjoy the game from the bleachers (but please do find something that you enjoy that engages your own mind and body in such a manner that it produces greater health for your own story).

2013 CrossFit Open workout 13.4:

• 5 AM Thursday, Heat 1 – 63 reps
• 6:30 PM Friday, Heat 1 – 64 reps. I win again!

Heat 1 in its entirety:

One need not be a BIG dog to LEAD from the pack. – steelbladeninja