“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”
– Haruki Murakami

Deep Squats (Thoughts)

“I PR’d my deadlift and cleans today! It’s amazing how much the environment and encouragement make a difference.”

“The open is always a blast.”

“Thank you so much for yesterday. It was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. Truly. I wish it was more than once a year!”

The 2025 CrossFit Open is complete. It was another amazing year. Lots of work, frustration, pain, suffering, elation, screams of joy and grunts of effort. Congratulations to everyone that made it to one, two or all of the workouts. The quotes above are just some of the many that I receive over the course of The Open and they help make it all worthwhile for me. That is really because it’s so rewarding to me to see our members realize how worthwhile the extra effort is.

As I’ve gotten older, I get reflective after big events. I want to soak in everything they have to offer while knowing I’ll still miss some things. It’s funny because I’ve watched my kids play game after game, score tons of goals, win/lose games and tournaments without a second thought to the impact they may be having. But, that’s youth for ya’.

CrossFit is hard. We don’t shy away from that. I believe that it is why people value it so much. Hard things cost us something. Time. Energy. Our ego.

After more than 20 years of doing CrossFit I think the ego is the biggest strength AND weakness. The many psychologists in our gym and mailing list are welcome to correct me on the following. But, here’s one of the many ways I see things happen in the gym regularly, and especially during The Open.

Workout gets released. We watch young professional exercisers perform said workout in near superhuman time with unrelatable scores. We then strategize how to execute the same workout with a vision of ourselves doing what these pro’s do. Saturday rolls around and we are HYPED up. Then the workout happens and it is kicking the crap out of us. We get stuck. We hit a wall. We start to fail. Maybe we finish. Maybe we’re time capped. Regardless, we get mad.

“I should be able to do this!” is a phrase I have heard since I started CrossFit in 2004. Most often from myself.

The ego drives us to go harder, faster, learn new skills and puff ourselves up. It also holds us back and keeps us from accepting the growth we have achieved. I can just about hear the voice of Veruca Salt in Wonka’s factory, “I want it now!” We’re happy with our progress and results. BUT, we want more progess and results even faster than what we’ve already done.

Serendipity won with me again. This past week I started listening to Win The Inside Game by Steve Magness. (Did you know Details below. I get a lot out of these types of psychology books. And this one drove home the importance of having identity outside of sport, work, etc. Steve questions how our culture values people, winning and everything in our lives. Perhaps you need to question how you see yourself. Maybe try to see yourself like someone at a CrossFit gym sees you.

Your friends and peers at CrossFit will cheer for you the loudest when you get your first pullup, heaviest lift or fastest time. But, really, we don’t care half as much as just seeing you show up to class and giving 100%. That inspires the rest of us to keep showing up and working hard, knowing that the gains and PR’s will come when they come.

With that, I encourage you to treat yourself like you would treat another member of class. Pump yourself up. Tell yourself to give it all you’ve got. Also, be kind. Love yourself for showing up and doing some crazy workout with a bunch of other people looking for the same things that you are.

See you in class.

Tim

 

What’s Going On?

Spring’s Teen Class

Who: Boys and Girls aged 12-17
Dates: March 4 – April 24th
When: Tuesdays/Thursdays at 4pm
*Email [email protected] to sign up*

Nutrition Coaching
Coach Rebecca is now offering nutrition coaching which will include:
Initial assessment, InBody testing and weekly check-ins. Contact her for details.
[email protected]

Overheard in Class:
“I’m so glad I came on Saturday.”

Timfluencing

Win The Inside Game by Steve Magness:

Striving is in our nature. We all want to perform at our best when it matters most. But in today’s world, many of us feel lost, isolated, and overwhelmed. We’re paralyzed by fear of failure and crippled by insecurities. We know we’re capable of more, yet no matter how hard we try, we feel stuck. We’ve been sold the wrong path to success and personal fulfillment.

Magness argues that excellence and fulfillment are not mutually exclusive; we can and should seek both. When we measure our worth by our achievements, cement our identities to our careers, and sacrifice our well-being in the pursuit of external validation, it backfires. We default to survival mode, protecting and defending ourselves instead of being free to fulfill our potential.

Tim’s Take: I don’t think there is one best way to win this mental game, nor the game of life. But, I like the challenge and different ways Steve comes at competition and winning. Ultimately, I like that it’s a never ending process of learning about myself. I can then use that to help others, and as I learn about others I will be helping myself.

Thank you for your support.

I look forward to what we will do together.