#137 - Competing without Going Crazy

Legion Strength & Conditioning Podcast

For someone devoting themselves to the sport of CrossFit, the way they train and approach competition is pretty clear-cut. Similarly, for the person doing classes to be healthy and stay fit, the way you train is clear-cut. But for the person who wants to do local competition, treat CrossFit as a recreational sport, but isn't interested in overstretching themselves, it can be more challenging.

It's this messy middle ground that can be hard for athletes and coaches to navigate. The sport of CrossFit is different from the training methodology, and it's a challenge to try to get the best from both.

In this episode of the podcast, we discuss our experiences working in gyms where this comes up and remote coaching athletes who try to do this. We also talk about some ways CrossFitters can take themselves a little less seriously in their training but still get something from the competitive side of the sport. We also discuss the recent move towards endurance activities for many CrossFitters as they get older and transition out of the sport.

If you're not already subscribed to our newsletter, head over to www.legionsc.com to get a weekly selection of training tips and our favorite articles.

We run online workshops for coaches as well. Find out when our next workshop is here: https://legionsc.com/program-design-workshops

These podcasts are posted in video format on YouTube as well.

Show Notes:

• [1:00] Competing but not taking it too seriously
• [2:20] Competitors at South Loop SC
• [4:30] Competitors at CrossFit Omnia
• [6:30] CrossFit as a methodology versus a sport
• [8:13] Competitive landscape in different countries
• [9:30] When it might be inappropriate for someone to compete
• [13:30] Behaviour and competitiveness other recreational sports compared to CrossFit
• [16:00] Compartmentalising training and competing in CrossFit
• [17:30] Magical thinking in competitive CrossFit
• [19:00] CrossFitters transitioning into more endurance style events