5 Things I Learned from the CrossFit About Life

Abdulkadir Pir
Sep 6, 2018 · 4 min read
CrossFit Games Athlete Josh Bridges, a former Navy Seal

I can’t say I was always addicted for sport. Until high school, I can honestly say that I was a real-life coach potato. With high school, I had the chance to perform numerous different disciplines. After that times sport became one of the main ingredients of my life. Discuss throwing and volleyball are the ones I had the chance to compete. Also, I spent a fair time on water skiing, fencing, pentathlon, and gym.

During all the times I spent on each discipline, I can say that every one of them taught me something.

I was aware of CrossFit for 4 years and tried some of its training with my friends. But with starting this discipline as a habit, a lot of things have changed in my life.

So I want to share the 5 lessons I learned from CrossFit with you and if you have any hesitation to start maybe this will help you.

1. There is always something you are bad at it

Although with my intense sports background I still remember the first WoD(Workout of the Day) as yesterday. All blood in my veins attacked my brain and I was feeling like dying. And the surprising thing was the training was just for 15 minutes. Whit a great question in my mind I was barely breathing. “ What the hell just happened to me ?”

To get used to the training took almost one month. Every day I felt better, stronger and faster. I was good at pull-ups, box jumps, wall balls, and weightlifting. But everything was horrible for me about kettlebells. I was really bad at it. Even now I am maybe the worst guy in the box(Crossfit Saloon).

I learned my first lesson from that. Even if you are good at a lot of things, there is always something you suck at it. Everyone has the one intimidating nightmare. So stop fear from it and fight with it.

2. Every day is another race

The good thing about CrossFit is that you don’t know what you’ll do on that day is unknown. You find out the WoD when you saw the WoD board. Even though the training of yesterday was terrible, you know that there is another race upon you to beat it.

You can look at it from a different window too. Even you were really good yesterday at the WoD, this is irrelevant now. If you don’t put all of yourself on the table you can’t compete with yourself.

It is just like the life. Every day you wake up to new opportunities and yesterday is irrelevant.

3. Focus on performance, not the shape

It can be disappointing that even you spent 2 or 3 years in CrossFit, someone with 3 months in the gym can look pretty better than you. But you should know that in CrossFit shape doesn’t matter.

Matthew Fraser, 3 times consecutive Fittest Man on Earth

Rather than growing all the muscles that you will never need, CrossFit focuses on the performance. That is the main reason for there are not any mirrors in CrossFit boxes.

This taught me that all the titles, needless certificates, and specialties are worthless if they don’t make you better. People don’t wonder about your fancy adjectives, the important thing is to create a difference with your abilities.

4. When you feel wasted take a deep breath and keep fighting

After all these months I still find myself on the floor of the box swearing in the middle of the WoD. I ask myself that “ Why I am here, What the heck I am doing?”. It is very normal to see someone laying on the floor and after just 5 seconds he or she stands up and continues push-ups just like he never stopped.

Katrin Davidsdottir, 2 times Fittest Woman on Earth

That taught me that even if I feel like stuck and can’t keep moving in life, I should take a deep breath and think about the prize: all the happiness of success.

5. I know you are ready to shoot for the stars, but first, you got trees to be climbed

When you enter the box and see the WoD on the board it is very normal to think that “ It is too easy”. Personally, I had several times when I feel regression at every inch of me about the weights I choose for WoD. To analyze the situation for the maximum performance is the right thing to do. Every training requires a different strategy and you should avoid from overestimating in this strategies.

That is just like the life. We all want the success and want to have it now. But every good result requires time to come true. So carry on making big plans but don’t forget to build the steps that will carry you through your way.


I know after I described all the compelling things about CrossFit you can be intimidated. But just after 5 minutes I complete the WoD , I feel like won the Olympics. Every day is another race for competing against your limits.

Thank you for reading.

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