So There's Hope?

Yesterday, I had a jarring conversation with a woman I had just coached through an AMRAP.  She had struggled a lot with the negative pullups, the prescribed scaling option for dead-hang pullups that morning.  She's new to CrossFit and to pullups, and lacked the strength to control herself on the descent.  When I explained how I learned to do pullups by using thinner and thinner bands over the course of many months, she was surprised.  She had assumed that I had walked in on day one being able to do pullups - and that the same was true of the other women at the gym.  In her mind, pullups weren't a learnable skill or an attainable goal - they were something you either have or don't.

CrossFit Metropolis visits CrossFit Grand Cayman

Her reaction reminded me that I used to feel the same way.  I remember walking into Black Box years ago and seeing women doing pullups in a WOD and thinking that there was no way I'd ever be that strong.

Now, of course, I know better.  The woman who walks into our gym with pullups is a rare creature; but I've had the pleasure of seeing many achieve them over time.  And it's not just pullups.  The same is true of all aspects of fitness.  That's why I can stand here and tell you that, even though I lack the strength and technique to do a muscle up today, some day, I'll be able to.  I have faith in the process.

"So there's hope?" she asked me. 

"Absolutely."

 -Gym Belle-