Do you think Matt Fraser is learning how to air squat today?
Matt Fraser is a professional exerciser. He’s awesome to watch (I hope you got to see him in Madison last weekend; I did.) He won the CrossFit Games and was crowned “Fittest on Earth” for the second year in a row.
If you’re in his shoes this morning, do you go back to basics?
Tom Brady has a throwing coach. After every season, he starts from scratch with his coach: learning the forward pass, just like he did as a six-year-old.
Greg Glassman said: “Stick to the basics and when you feel you’ve mastered them it’s time to start all over again, begin anew – again with the basics – this time paying closer attention.”
Steven Pressfield wrote “The Legend of Baggar Vance” and “The War of Art”. He also wrote “Turning Pro”, a book about developing habits and committing to a higher level in life. Steven is ALSO a professional exerciser, even though it’s not his career or even his passion. He’s a pro because he turns up to meet his trainer at the gym every day, even when he doesn’t feel like it.
He learned to be a pro exerciser by being a pro writer. He doesn’t always feel like writing, but he does anyway. And on an interview this morning, he said:
“The defining feature of a professional is the willingness to go back to basics over and over again.”
Sounds familiar, right?
When you finish OnRamp, you earn the right to call yourself a CrossFitter.
That doesn’t mean you’re a professional CrossFit athlete. Not yet.
You have a lifetime of learning ahead of you–and you’ll have to practice the air squat all the time–but you get to wear the same badge as me. Welcome, friend!
When you take the CrossFit Level 1 course, you earn the right to call yourself a coach.
That doesn’t mean you’re a professional coach. Not yet.
You have a lifetime of learning ahead of you–and you have to practice the fundamentals of coaching all the time–but you get to wear the same badge as me. Thank you for your service.
When you open a CrossFit gym, you get to put on a NEW badge: owner.
That doesn’t mean you’re a professional owner. Not yet.
You have a lifetime of learning ahead of you–you’ll go back to “Roles and Tasks” all the time–but you get to wear the same badge as me. Thank you for reshaping our world.
I used to think that being a “pro” meant showing up every day and trying really hard. But I don’t think that anymore. As I look over the results of the best gyms in the TwoBrain family, I see other things in common: the willingness to revisit the basics, no matter how successful; the wisdom to seek a coach; and the humility to consider that their way–while good–might not be optimal.
Now, finally: I spent some time with the new CEO of CrossFit, Jeff Cain, this weekend. And I had some good talks with CrossFit’s COO, Bruce Edwards, too. Greg Glassman is still the Chairman–and figurehead–of CrossFit, but there’s certainly a shift at HQ, and it’s a great one for Affiliates. I’ll go through that more on my podcast in the next few weeks.
But I have a feeling CrossFit just turned pro, and I’m really excited for the future. So I’m booking calls with my business coach, doing my Roles and Tasks exercises. I’m practicing my air squat, in other words, because I want to be ready for the next level.
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