Monday, June 14, 2010

Longevity

This past weekend I attended the wedding of one of my best friends.  The wedding took place in Columbus, Ohio and the Wife and I decided to drive down to it.  I have never actually visited Columbus, Oh but have driven through it a number of times.  It was a nice little city with a nice arena district and a great collection of little bars and restaurants.  I can't imagine how crazy it must be when all the OSU students are there especially during football season.  The wedding was great!  Lots of family and friends all coming together for a common cause...celebrating the union of two wonderful people. 

There was a very special moment during the reception.  Instead of throwing the bouquet the bride decided to give it away in a different manner.  She had all the married couples stand up and move onto the dance floor.  At that time the DJ started to play a slow song and as the song progressed he would ask people to leave the dance floor based upon the length of their marriages.  "If you have been married 5 years or less you can leave the floor now", etc.  He worked his way through everyone except one couple.  This couple had been married for 54 years and they were my best friends Grandparents.  They played a very special song for them and they got their own personal dance.  The bride handed my friend's Grandma the bouquet and the room erupted with cheers.  People throughout the room had tears of joy streaming down their faces.  At that moment I thought to myself how amazing it must be to have a love that has lasted that long.  One decision these two wonderful people made many years ago led to everyone celebrating that night.  Trust, faith, and love brought these two people together and has kept them together for more than half a century.  They were amazing...it was amazing!

So how does this relate to my usual Crossfit stuff?  In every way possible.  Longevity is very important in an athletes career.  Without longevity success is only short lived, training is not effective, and the health and fitness benefits are not obtained.  Why would anyone want to put so much time and effort into something and not stick with it?  We have all seen it within our boxes.  There is the person that starts in the foundations/on ramp course, makes it all the way through and then never comes again.  There is also the person that comes for a couple of months makes huge gains and improvements but then just stops coming.  I get so frustrated with these people.  I want these people to be successful and to stay with it but they just won't.  I think that maybe they get in over their heads, find it too difficult, or other things in their lives interfere. 

The simplest solution to all of these problems is to take a step back and re-examine their pursuits in Crossfit.  Maybe they don't fully understand the movements, are using too much weight during the WOD's, or in need of more coaching and support.  Whatever it is we need to give it to them.  Now we cannot make Crossfit easy...that would be a sin.  What we can do is help teach these individuals that they can conquer the hardest of Crossfit challenges... it just takes time and hard work.  Maybe this will carry over into their everyday lives.  Maybe they will improve their work output at their places of business or will work through tough times with their significant others instead of running away and giving up.  Whatever it is the lessons in Crossfit longevity can carry over to longevity in their everyday lives.

We need to train consistently and with purpose and direction.  We need to work to make consistent gains and improvements and to never be satisfied with where we are in Crossfit.  To increase our longevity in this sport means that we need to train smart, maximize recovery, and perfect our nutrition.  We need to realize that even though there may be sprints in our WOD's that our career in Crossfit is more of a marathon.  What I mean is that it takes time for us to reach our maximum potential.  We cannot just walk into the games and win them.  It takes many years of refining your skills, building strength, and working tirelessly.  I have to remind myself this on a daily basis.  I need to contribute more time to becoming a better Crossfitter and refining my skills.  We are a product of what we contribute to fires that forge our being.  If we work hard and contribute all of our effort into our training we will become the athlete we only dream of.

"The way to learn to do things is to do things. The way to learn a trade is to work at it. Success teaches how to succeed. Begin with the determination to succeed, and the work is half done already.”
-Anonymous

2 comments:

  1. 54 years of marriage is an incredible accomplishment. Both people have to be resolutely committed to the relationship in the face of all the challenges life throws at them. Too many people are in love with the idea of marriage, and not the person they're marrying.

    A group of us from Fit Club will be coming up to Chicago next year to participate in the "Tough Mudder" event. I'd like to make it a point to visit you and your gym if that's ok.

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  2. Sounds great come by. I work out at Windy City Crossfit. Here is the website:

    www.windycitycrossfit.com

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