So the Crossfit Games 2013 recently passed and saw Rich Froning capture the title of “Fittest Man on Earth” for a third time which was absolutely amazing. It also saw England’s own Sam Briggs capture the title of “Fittest Woman on Earth”. The third time a European woman has captured the title.
I myself use to be hugely into Crossfit doing 2-3 WOD’s (Workout of the Day) a day 3 times a week combined with skill and strength work 2-3 days a week which involved working on my Olympic lifts and my squat, bench and deadlift. I loved it at the time but it would be what I call now “Training Hard Not Smart”. This is because of the huge volumes involved in Crossfit which really beats the body down. You only get one body so look after it, do not beat it down you would not do that to your car, so why would you want to do that to your body. It was not the workouts that I loved though it was testing myself both mentally and physically which I found addictive, seeing if I could make it through the workouts. Fran was a favourite of mine, I did it with strict pull ups though unlike what Crossfit purest recommend. Check out the “Fran” Workout below.
I use to spend all my time thinking about working out and beating my times and my PR’s as well as thinking about eating and preparing meals. Is this paleo? Is that paleo? Was all I could think about. I had no time to do anything but workout, not even time to play video games or socialise with my friends. But I have to admit it I did get fitter and stronger and it was fun to PR on all my lifts and beat all my times but the sacrifice was too great. There is more to life than working out and I was letting life pass me by. I do still like Crossfit and it is growing ever more popular by the day. Checkout the video of the 2013 Crossfit Games awards ceremony below.
Now I just watch it as a spectator and Eat Clean and enjoy Training Smart Not Hard. I am in the best of health that I have ever been in and I have more time for my friends and family and I am way more productive and doing all the things that I enjoy without obsessing about workouts and food. After all you only live once.
