“Competing in CrossFit is hard work. It’s really hard work,” writes Brandon Swan in a recent Instagram post. In a post written for aspiring competitors, Swan shares his thoughts on just how hard it is to compete for a spot at the CrossFit Games.
Swan is a three-time CrossFit Games athlete from 2012-2014. Swan has narrowly missed qualifying for the Games in the years since.
Swan writes…
Dear aspiring competitor,
I am writing to let you in on a few secrets.
Competing in CrossFit is hard work.
It’s really hard work.
You are witnessing far less than 1% of an athletes training year.
12 months of an athlete’s work can be defined by mere seconds.
You will ride a roller coaster of emotions, up & down, all weekend long.
You will probably sleep a lot less than you should, and because you think you should be sleeping, you’ll do so even less again.
If that doesn’t keep you awake, the soreness probably will.
Food is a means to an end. It all tastes the same and it’s all hard to swallow. Enjoy chewing on your chicken and rice for over an hour.
You will have next to no appetite, but you have to eat more than ever.
Then there’s the workouts themselves. Get ready to go to a darker place than you have ever encountered, and be ready to dodge and dart through a storm of no reps along the way.
I hope you packed more than one strategy, because you’ll probably need a few.
Did I mention this was less than 1%? Let’s talk about the other 99…
Training to compete is a mostly lonely endeavour.
You are going to miss a lot of stuff and a lot of people.
Do you love your gym? That’s a really good thing because you are going to be spending many a long evening or Sunday in that place.
If you don’t like your gym, I would find one you do like, and tell the owner you are moving in.
Sponsorships are cool, but they aren’t going to help you get the work done and they aren’t going to make it feel good either.
So, what do you need to do?
You need to look within yourself and decide why you are doing this.
I can tell you now that if you are doing it for the sponsors, the Instagram posts or the 10 seconds of camera time you might get on the floor, then your career will most likely be short and unfulfilling.
I can also tell you that if you are doing this for reasons deeper, for you and your loved ones, and for the love of the journey and the love of the game, that this is exactly where you want to be.
The journey is not easy and the time at the destination is short, but for the right person and the right reasons, it is 100% worth it.
See you on the floor.
#swanstrong
