Hello all,
“I want to have fun but, who has fun losing… nobody” – Rich Froning (2nd place 2010 CF Games)
Discuss.
Today’s Workout
Buy-in: Build up to WOD weight in the Deadlift and Push Press
- 10 min time frame
WOD: Crossfit.com – Deadlift Push Press AMRAP
This is a short one gang, but intense… and comes from our friends at crossfit.com. Check the blog postings here to see what scores people are putting up.
Rx – 5 min AMRAP of:
- 3 Deadlifts (185/275)
- 7 Push Presses (75/115)
Zone 4: scale DL to (155/225), PP to (65/95)
Zone 3: scale DL to (135/185), PP to (45/65)
Zone 2: scale DL as needed, PP as needed
Zone 1: scale workout as needed
WOD 2: Partner 400’s (running) – 4 x 400m each (scale to 200m in Zone 2)
Cash-Out: Foam roll and lacrosse ball the angry bits
I’m not really sure where to start with this one. I think if you’re too focused on the destination, you miss the journey. And the journey is actually the fun part. The journey in crossfit is the constant challenge to become better than you were, to do more than you ever thought you could and to find some amazing friends along the way. I think for most of us, we’re not ever going to “win” crossfit, but it certainly doesn’t make it less fun.
I also think that the losing part is where the learning takes place – if you aren’t challenged or come up short sometimes, you never have the opportunity to step back and figure out what you can change and what you can make better. Part of the fun is knowing that you had a hard time with something but you overcame that…. and the thing you need to overcome isn’t some other person’s time or score but your own limitations.
Is he really trying to say that no one else has fun in crossfit except the fittest on earth? As a sport psychology major, I need to say that the focus solely on beating everyone else is not necessarily the healthiest. The psych undergrad also taught me to remember that there was probably context around this, and if you actually talked to Rich, he probably wouldn’t say that the only fun thing in crossfit or in competition is winning….. assuming he’s a good person.
can we just look at his abs?
b stop hitting on my future ex-husband!
I think this is a perfectly reasonable thing to say after placing second in a competition. Nobody competes in a sport to lose (that would be the antithesis of competition, no?). If your goal is first place and you fall just short of that…you’re probably not going to be psyched about it. Placing second in a poker tournament is not as fun as placing first. Placing second in Scrabble is also not as fun. This is not to say that placing second is not awesome because it definitely is, but generally speaking winning is way more fun than losing (if and when your goal IS to win).
I would be surprised if the person who said this is worried about coming first in every workout every day. I know that my definition of winning and losing (and there can be many where we’re talking about CrossFit) changes depending on the day and the workout. However, if we’re strictly talking competition environment…isn’t winning usually the goal? And if it’s not…wouldn’t it be just a little bit more fun/awesome if you did win? I think so.
I can’t speak for elite athletes in any sport, but I think that anyone who is at or near the top of their game would say that losing kind of sucks. I don’t think Rich Froning is saying that only the fittest on earth have fun. In CrossFit you don’t have to “win” every day, but when you sign up to compete (and to compete specifically for first place)…I think you catch my drift.
This makes sense coming from an elite and someone who is on the doorstep of 1st place. From what I’ve experienced, elite athletes during training and competition are focused, dialed-in, and not distracted (i.e. engaged in the moment.) In the arena, fun doesn’t really exist in their world.
When I lift my head to see CFZ’ers pushing themselves through a difficult WOD, I don’t see fun. I see dedication and plain hard work.
I think fun is an outcome of a successful performance. Whether that outcome is hitting your first full RX WOD or winning a local competition, improving on a lift or whatever.
GAH! I want to do this, but won’t subject you all to my runny nose / sneezing / coughing. SUCKS!
Good points gang…
Winning can be a different thing in different circumstances and in between individuals…
In competition, winning is beating other people (or beating your previous best placement)
In everyday training, winning is improving on things and moving forward in fitness (everyone would agree that working hard and seeing no progress or backwards progress isn’t fun!).
winning may just simply be showing up on a regular basis for some people also.
We get a blend of both in CF – opportunities to “win” in competitions (Zone games, Sectionals, mini challenges, etc) and also opportunities to “win” at mastering movements and creating PB’s.
I enjoy all of the opportunities to win – as long as I’m moving foward, getting better, and training/competing with my buds I’m having fun!
I think the older I get, the better I get at loosing. And sometimes it’s a better motivater than being at the top of the pack. But not everyone can win at everything all the time. So whenever I get destroyed in a Wod I just remember that I’ll always have my looks 🙂
I think our definition of winning must (necessarily) evolve. Eventually evening “winning” (1st place) isn’t enough. And the circumstances surrounding the win are important. If I won because someone else made a mistake but was actually better than I was, could I really be truly satisfied? I see this attitude sometimes in the gymnasts that I coach and it saddens me.
Since I’ve retired from gymnastics I often talk about how the scores will long be forgotten & the medals lost – but it’s all the intangibles that are with you forever. For me it’s the day to day battles that make you a WINNER. Being a winner is more important than winning (unless you’re Charlie Sheen). Being a winner is about a constant state of mind, attitude, approach & work ethic. The kind of title that no one can take away.
I agree with Lindsay about learning from our ‘defeats’… after coming so close in my career & just missing I could look back and consider myself a failure – but with distance & perspective I realize it has made me stronger and shaped the person I am today.
PS – B, Dee & Craigger I <3 you guys …hilarious 😀