I wanted to share pieces of an article I recently read from one of my favorite CrossFit content writers, Stephane Rochet. This one was called, “CrossFit Means Failure.”
“No matter how hard you work, CrossFit will humble you. Forever. Regardless of your ability.
Newcomers to CrossFit often ask breathlessly after their initial exposure to intensity (and a good dose of mechanics and consistency FIRST), “When does this get easier?”
The short answer: “Never.”
Sure, your technique will improve, you’ll get stronger and fitter, and your scores will improve. But that just means you’re building an organism that can handle more work and greater intensity. The physiological and psychological effects, however, remain basically the same.
And actually, as an added “bonus,” the better and fitter you get, the more often your best on that day will fall short of your best time. You’ll fail to record a numerical improvement in your fitness. If we just go by the scoreboard, you will have lost. Fortunately, that’s not all we go by.
The fact is, regardless of what the stopwatch or rep counter says, every day, win or lose, fail or succeed, is a massive victory.
“Is this supposed to be a pep talk, coach?”
With the right mindset, we can frame failure as a good thing, as a beautiful lesson and great motivation. And let’s be honest, if you were drawn to CrossFit, sitting back and skating through life isn’t your MO. If you’re still doing CrossFit days, weeks, months, and maybe even decades after your first workout, failure is about as comfortable as a nice hot shower.
Success is not lifting more than someone else at the gym, getting a PR every time we test a benchmark, effortlessly learning new skills, always doing the workout Rx’d, or never having a meal that doesn’t match our plan. Success is showing up and giving your best for that day and doing this over and over and over.
In CrossFit, we are always works in progress, and we have a lot to be happy about so we try and try again. The only chance failure has of stopping us is if we quit. So fail forward and fail often, my friends. I’ll see you on the leaderboard.”
**This Week’s Workouts:**
This week has a strong mix of squatting, gymnastics, barbell cycling, running, and longer conditioning pieces.
**Monday** starts with box squats for strength, building to a moderate weight across 3 sets of 10. The workout is an interval-style AMRAP with bike calories, alternating dumbbell snatches, and max sit-ups. Athletes should push the bike and snatches, but leave enough room to move fast on the sit-ups each round.
**Tuesday** brings a 20:00 AMRAP of box jump overs, pull-ups, and strict handstand push-ups. This is a steady gymnastics stamina piece with a lot of shoulder and upper-body demand. Coaches should help athletes choose pulling and pressing options they can maintain without hitting failure early.
**Wednesday** is a front squat and rowing day. Athletes build through a squat clean plus front squat EMOM before taking on descending front squat reps with a row after every set. The bar comes from the floor, so loading should be challenging but manageable under fatigue.
**Thursday** is simple and aerobic with running and jump rope. The descending run and double-under workout will reward athletes who can stay relaxed, breathe well, and pick the rope up quickly after each run. The goal is smooth pacing, not sprinting early and falling apart.
**Friday** brings a 3-position power snatch strength piece, then repeat intervals of power snatches, bar-facing burpees, and toes-to-bar. The score is the slowest time, so athletes need repeatable sets and smart transitions. This is a big grip, midline, and barbell cycling day.
**Saturday** is a partner workout with running, Russian kettlebell swings, push-ups, goblet lunges, and rowing. Partners will split the run and row every 200m, then break up the middle work as needed. Communication and sustainable sets will be key, especially through the push-ups and lunges.
