4 Lies That Lead to Burnout in CrossFit

Before getting too far into this, Greg Glassman said it best about CrossFit in that, “CrossFit is for Anybody but not Everybody is going to like it.”

That being said, there can definitely be high levels of turnover in this type of fitness. Here are 4 lies you may tell yourself that cause you to eventually lose the enjoyment you once found in CrossFit.

The first lie that you may tell yourself is you don’t have an EGO. This can present itself in a lot of different ways…. being unable to take feedback, choosing inappropriate workout weights, or an unwillingness to change form. Why would your EGO cause you to lose your enjoyment?. One way is you can compare yourself to someone else and think because they can do it, you can as well. The reality is you might not be ready for that skill or may not yet have the adequate strength to do the movement properly. This becomes a breeding ground for frustration and disappointment. The final reason is the faulty “just because you can, you should” mentality. This may result in working outside of the intended stimulus or not doing the workout as it was meant to be done. For example, if you are supposed to do touch and go reps and you do single reps because the weight is too heavy then you are missing vital pieces of fitness. If you are unwilling to change how you do workouts, how are you supposed to get better?

The second lie you tell yourself is that the STIMULUS isn’t important. Most workouts that are written have an intended effect on the body we are trying to elicit. Let's say we want you to run a mile as fast as you can and that's 10 mins. Then we told you to go run a mile but we want it to take 1 hour, the effect on the body is drastically different. There is a time domain or a rep amount that is targeted each day. If we blow off the Stimulus of the workout, we can miss adaptations to our body because we are over or under the intent. Thus not seeing all the results you should be seeing.

The third lie you might tell yourself is that REST DAYS aren’t necessary. This is something that happens all the time because people love CrossFit and it becomes an idol where it has to be done everyday no matter what. CrossFit is expensive so sometimes people feel the need to get their “money's worth”. Let’s say you start a fresh week at the gym and you are functioning at 90-100%.  Then you workout at a high intensity Monday through Friday, by the time Thursday hits your body is no longer working at 90% but it now might be working at 65%. People will say “I'm working as hard as I can", which might be true but you are actually working at 100% of the 65% your body can provide. This can lead to overuse injuries, overtraining of certain muscle groups and body parts, and overall decreased energy levels. The reason why CrossFit works is because of the Constantly Varied, Functional Movement, at High Intensity. If we are only working at a percentage of 65-70% availability, we really aren’t producing the HIgh Intensity part of the methodology.

The fourth lie you might tell yourself is that the Process doesn't work. We can lose out on a lot of fitness over time if we try to skip straight to the end result. An example could be achieving a new movement like a bar muscle up, but you have to chicken wing every time and climb above the bar. Yes you “can do them” but the amount you can do and within time constraints will be way less.  Or you can jump rope really high with your arms locked out to do a set of 10 double unders, but afterwards your shoulders are on fire and that becomes your max set. We are losing out on value in doing big sets of double unders. The question of doubting the process can also happen as we age or if we get a set back outside of the gym. Our training process will change with our life circumstances, but the goal is longevity not short term fitness.  By trusting the process we won't stunt our fitness or hold ourselves back by just trying to quickly get a movement.

In conclusion there are a multitude of things that can cause you to burn out or pass on another season of CrossFit. Your EGO can get the best of you and can cause injury or just sheer envy of others. You can miss the STIMULUS of the workout and not get the full effect of the fitness causing you to think it’s not working. You can avoid REST DAYS and only work at a percent of what you could be working at if you just gave your body rest. The final of not being able to TRUST THE PROCESS which could result in the inability to progress in skills or cause feelings of plateau and frustration. The good news is that these “Lies” are just that….lies.  You can recognize them and instead focus on continuing to participate in the best fitness program for not just a Season, but a Lifetime. If you are feeling Frustrated, Plateaued, or just unsure how to move forward…Talk to a coach. We’re here to help you get back loving CrossFit again.

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