Before I start, let me acknowledge that not everyone who follows this blog cares about CrossFit, or even knows what it is. I also acknowledge that this blog post isn’t entirely about nutrition. If you need to skip reading this one, totally fair. ; ) However, as an (ex?) competitive athlete in swimming and CrossFit, I love watching an athletic contest of almost any kind. You know, like how we all watch the Olympics when they’re on, even though we’re not rhythmic gymnasts ourselves? It’s kinda like that.
Anyway, the CrossFit Games happened last Wednesday through Sunday in Madison, Wisconsin and included contests between male and female individuals, 4-person teams, masters, teens, and adaptive athletes. Super cool and a HUGE event.
If you’re curious and haven’t watched any of it, feel free to hop on YouTube, type in 2022 CrossFit Games, and watch some things. You might be impressed.
Okay, without further ado, here are some of the reasons why I love watching the CrossFit Games each year (that you don’t have to know anything about CF to understand)…
They’re insanely motivating!
Watching insanely fit people doing super athletic things makes me want to do super athletic things (at my level, of course!).
How many of us tried Crossover Double Unders after watching that movement get announced? Or practiced your Single Unders? Wall-facing Handstand Pushups, anyone?? I know I did!
When we watch people complete impressive feats of strength, or struggle to do so, we may feel inspired to try a little harder at what we’re doing. Or, we try to prove that we can do XYZ movement and then it feels good to be successful at it, too.
And, from a female perspective, some of these women out here competing are moms! Like, moms to young children! They took time off from CrossFit to have their babies and heal, and now they’re right back at the top of the game, and for many of them exceeding what they were able to do pre-babies. The human body, specifically the female body, is capable of SO much and those women have all of my respect and admiration!
I love watching people (even elite athletes) try new things and fail… and also succeed!
These people are SO FIT that they can try brand new movements that they’ve literally never been faced with before, and can teach themselves how to do them IN THE MOMENT. Not only is that ridiculously impressive, but it’s amazing to watch!
Watching big and strong men and women lift super heavy sandbags was amazing. One of my favorite examples:
But, watching smaller athletes lift the same heavy sandbag is really something special. Like this woman and this sandbag that weighs over 100 pounds more than her! Unreal:
Add to that, most of these athletes had never even tried this sandbag lift movement before! So so so cool. Imagine being confronted with something you’ve NEVER been exposed to before on a world stage for the first time?! Crazy. And, if I haven’t made this clear, very exciting to watch.
I understand CrossFit isn’t for everyone, but movement and fitness debatably should be, and it’s fun to watch some of the fittest people on earth throw down
These individuals are some of the strongest, fastest, most versatile individuals in the WORLD. It’s like an annual Olympics, minus the specialization of individual sports.
This annual test of fitness reminds me of the importance of my own fitness… not necessarily for a competitive event like this, but literally for life.
Being able to move well and functionally, and successfully lift some weight, has so many benefits (some of which were highlighted in last week’s blog post) that it’s almost silly to not prioritize movement in some capacity in your life. Your mortality can literally depend on it.
I have a real appreciation of people who are SO dialed in around a goal that they nail everything they can to succeed
I’m talking about DIALED IN nutrition, fitness programming and execution, sleep, supplementation, all of it. What they do is near perfect in order help them be the best possible athletes each of them can be.
This takes a special type of person, with a very specific goal, that is SO important to them that they’re willing to do everything they can to be successful. They may make certain sacrifices with their time, they make sure they have X amount of protein every single day, they get specific amounts of sleep, do mobility and massage routines to support their recovery, among many other things.
Being so centrally focused on one goal is admirable, and certainly not for everyone, but, again, it’s impressive to see the outcomes of those efforts.
The Underdogs, the Consistency, and the Comebacks!
So, the same people won the Games this year (in the men’s, women’s AND team competition) who won last year. Some of these people won for the past SIX years!! And in this year’s competition, ALL of them had to fight from being not-in-first-place to get back to the top of the podium. That level of consistency in performance and drive to be the best is so incredible.
OH MY GOSH! Who doesn’t love an underdog story? Maybe the underdogs didn’t actually WIN the whole Games, but I loved seeing underrated athletes crush certain events, or take a bunch of points from someone who’s at the top of the leaderboard. I hope this kind of thing reminds all of us that we can do amazing things sometimes, even if we’re not the “best.”
And a comeback story?! Debatably even better. Two specific examples here. One: Brooke Wells. Last year, she dislocated her elbow during one of the events at the Games. This put her out of the competition last year, she had to have surgery, loads of rehab, and a very slow healing process overall. However, she made it back to the Games this year, CRUSHED IT, and tied her best overall finish of 5th place overall. Just unreal!
The other comeback example that comes to mind is an interesting one. Five years ago, Ricky Garard placed 3rd at the CrossFit Games. Then, failed the drug test he took at the Games and was guilty of steroid use. He admitted to using, and received a 4 year ban from competing in CrossFit. Fast forward 4 years, and he’s back at the competition. Right or wrong, I admit that this story of his cheating left me with a weird taste in my mouth, and I was hesitant to cheer for him this year. But, people deserve second chances, and as the competition went on, he grew on me. He did really well and performed relatively consistently and ended up placing 3rd again. I sure hope he was drug tested again this year, but barring any issues with that, I’m happy for him and his comeback story.
Last one, the most superficial one: Pretty people with hot bods!
One other reason to watch the CrossFit Games?! Very attractive people with all the muscles! *Swoon*
Okay, that’s what I’ve got for now. If you feel so inclined as to check out the CF Games footage, cool. If not, I’m not offended. While there certainly are/have been some issues in CrossFit as a corporation, I still love celebrating and supporting the abilities of the real human participants and athletes each year!
Did you watch?! If so, comment some of your favorite moments or reasons why you love watching!
As always, thanks for reading,
xoxo,
Sara
I love watching the CrossFit Games. Here's 6 reasons why.
Loved watching the games this year!! So inspiring and motivating. I know I’m not ever gonna be at that level, but I hope to be as successful in my goal to be my best self as they have been in their’s. :)
So many more skills I want to develop. My list keep growing. :)