Expect More of Yourself

“Expect more of yourself.”

I was observing a CrossFit Level 1 Course last year and I heard CrossFit trainer Denise Thomas say this to someone in the middle of a workout. In the middle of a workout. “Expect more of yourself.” It struck me enough to stop and write the note down in my phone. I’ve heard a lot of things yelled by a lot of people during workouts (including some of the choicest, most creative use of swear words ever) but I had not heard that phrase said in a WOD before.

The gentleman she was talking to was doing a circuit of sprints, kettlebell swings, and push-ups. But Denise wasn’t just pushing him to go faster or to do more: she was pushing him to be more. Think about that. When’s the last time someone (outside of your CrossFit circle) nudged you in the back like that? Psst. Hey you, you’re better than what I’m seeing here.

We get so used to this attitude in CrossFit: the prevailing notion that we can improve our bodies, our minds, our spirits, our lives. But it’s not necessarily how the rest of the world operates. I get the feeling that a lot of non-CrossFitters think it’s okay to aim low. Or it’s okay to underachieve. To underperform.

But it’s not okay in our CrossFit world, not if you’re doing CrossFit right. We’re really not interested in making the WOD easier for you, but we are interested in adjusting the workout so that you are working as hard as you possibly can.

Change your own expectations of what you can deliver, of what you can do, of what you can be. But you can’t do that with easy. You can do it with hard.

Expect more of yourself.

(Photography courtesy of Nicole Bedard Photography.)

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