"How Do I Know if I'm Ready to Sign Up for a CrossFit Competition?"

Competing isn't for everyone. Typical competition days are very long (6+ hours) and usually have 3+ very intense workouts. They also can cut into normal training quite a bit. So why do we do them?

Competing is all about pushing your limits. Competitors want to see what they're made of, and where they stack up against the rest of the field. While winning is always cool, sometimes surprising ourselves with a PR or doing better during the competition than we did in practice is cool too.

Some competitions are partner or team events. Competing with one or more other people that you know can take quite a bit of stress away. The bond that you build while competing with someone is awesome! You'll forever have that moment where you all pushed each other, and allowed yourself to be pushed as well.

As far as the prerequisite of fitness for competitions, there isn't one. Every local competition programs their events similar to how we do our classes. Every workout is infinitely modifiable. But, if you modify, that will take you out of the running for the podium.

So, are you ready for a competition? If you can mentally get behind all these things that I've laid out here, then "YES"! Ask a coach, or search social media to find local events near you. And if you're still a little nervous, grab a buddy, and then sign up!

CAUTION: Competing can be addicting. Don't compete yourself out of shape. I've seen it plenty of times where an athlete has 3+ competitions coming up, and instead of sticking to a periodized program, they practice constantly. They get better at events or movements, but they're overall fitness drops, or even worse, they injure themselves. Competing is great, but should be done sparingly.