I have a secret for you.
Pssst… are you listening?
You don’t have to be good at CrossFit to start. Shoot, you don’t have to be good at anything to start.
We are all beginners at everything when we start out. We don’t come out of the womb knowing how to talk and walk.
Yet, we’re so hard on ourselves when it comes to starting something new. We feel like we have to know how to do something in order to do it. But the truth is, we literally don’t know how to do ANYTHING before we do it for the first time.
When is the last time you did something for the first time? Really think about it.
I gave it some thought for myself and it took awhile for me to come up with something. The last time I did something for the first time was giving birth and becoming a mom to a newborn. Yes, I know. That was going to happen whether I was ready or not, but that was almost 11 months ago.
There may be other, smaller first things since then, but that’s the big one that stands out in my mind. And I can tell you, being a beginner at that was a lot.
But that’s how life is. It’s a series of first times. Changing schools, moving, starting new jobs, starting at a new gym, starting new relationships, learning a new sport, learning to dance… whatever the case may be, your first time doing it isn’t necessarily going to be easy. And it is going to take time and consistency to get better at it.
It’s the same with CrossFit. I get it. I was scared the first time I walked into a CrossFit gym. I was scared to learn the movements and to look like an idiot doing it. But the beautiful part about it is that every single person in the gym was a beginner at some point. We all remember the first time we tried CrossFit. In fact, I can pinpoint my very first CrossFit workout.
So where you may think people will point and laugh at you for being a beginner, you are completely mistaken. CrossFit communities are one of the most inviting, friendly, and welcoming communities. We embrace beginners and we help as best we can.
So don’t be afraid to be a beginner, especially at a CrossFit gym. But also in life in general. Learning new things, trying new things will help you grow.
Start small if it scares you. Try a personal training session, where it’s one on one instead of in a group setting. Or take private lessons if it’s in dance or something else.
But if you never start, if you never try new things, you’ll always remain in the same place.
Try something new this week. You never know, you may just fall in love with it.
Whitney
