Far away from the glamour of the CrossFit Games and professional athletes, ordinary Crossfitters live, train together and carry their own stories.
Mine for example is escaping economic crisis in my country and moving to Germany to pursue my dream of working in fitness media as an editor. There are also other stories like 60-year olds doing their first pull-ups and then again there are adaptive athletes running their first miles and crossing over their first finish lines.
We’re not professional athletes. We work five days a week for nine hours a day. We have families, friends and pets. And we are not superstars. But we do call ourselves athletes. We deserve that!
We don’t care about titles. Or being the fittest on Earth. We just want hours. Hours of hard work spent with our coaches and fellow athletes. For us it’s not about winning an event, but rather climbing up and over our own obstacles. We don’t compete, we participate. Our finish line is endless, because we’re on this journey called passion.
My friends don’t understand why on Saturdays I get up early and go to the box. Or why I come back home at 10pm each day. Because for us box is not just a gym, it’s a sacred place where we feel belonged. Where different types, colours, body shapes, ages, haircuts, tattoos, levels, nationalities… come together and form a unique community. Community – the power of our sport!
We don’t compete at the Games. Although sometimes we dream about that. But we do compete with ourselves every time we step on that black rubber floor.
Although we don’t have big names, we still push through the pain. Every day. We turn our pain into power and squat more, pull higher and push through the WOD faster. We want to learn, seek knowledge and improve. But still Crossfit for us is not just a side afternoon activity. It’s the way of life.
We gain much more than money prizes. We earn self-belief, self-compassion and friendships.
We don’t strive to be on top of the event podium. We’re searching our own greatness within. Any yet we’re only flash and blood to the bone. So sometimes we stumble, get hurt and take a break. But that’s ok. It’s ok to fall and have a rest.
Because our victories are not defined with gold medals. But rather with happy moments like achieving our first pull-up, first muscle-up, new snatch PR, running the first mile and deciding each day all over again we’re doing this for ourselves. Every day we decide on overcoming media’s news about obesity, health-treats and lost generation. For us women it means even more: Crossfit allow us to feel strong.
I strongly believe moving daily heals conditions like depression, addiction and other issues. In my opinion sport should be prescribed as a medicine. But it’s not just your body doing was it created for: moving. It’s also the social support and empathy you get through sports like Crossfit. And if anyone knows that, it’s us – the ordinary Crossfitters.
So maybe we are actually our own… or each others superstars?
Oridinary Crossfitters 5 ©
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