It's About My Shirt

I have a lot of t-shirts and my t-shirts define me.  They define my style, whether they are v-neck, low v-neck, rounded, short sleeve polo's, an A-shirt, tanktop, crewneck, or squareneck (Old Navy, Old Navy, Old Navy Performance Fleece. . .), so what on earth does that have to do with CrossFit?  Read on . . .




My CrossFit gym, your CrossFit gym, they take pride in their t-shirts.  It's their culture, it's the cultivation of their style.  Members are proud to sport their shirts, some gyms even go so far as to create t-shirts when members hit goals, like muscle-ups.  Other gyms have bench marks for their members, like when a t-shirt I once read a long time ago read, "I did 50 WOD's and I want more".

I only bring it up because t-shirts are a form of inspiration.  We are all like children in my eyes when it comes to t-shirts, we want the ones that catch our eyes, that provide us with some sense of pride.  CrossFit members wear CrossFit t-shirts with a lot of pride.  They are a benchmark of where you have been, who you have talked to, and what you represent.

In our culture, the CrossFit culture, they are a uniform.  A uniform is indicative of a team.  Many members had a really hard time working out last night, it was a difficult workout, but the team environment took over.  They pushed each other, as well as themselves, as they overcame huge obstacles to finish the workout.  I felt slightly callous as I yelled for movements to be accomplished faster, with more authority, with less rest being taken.  I felt like a drill sergeant, then I felt like a football coach, once in awhile I felt like Tony Robbins, (minus the banana hands - that's from Shallow Hal - just so I could get one movie reference in for the night) I felt like I was inspiring, as if my words ignited the fire but their actions caused the blaze.

I likened hands going into a chalk bucket as signs of defeat, when in reality they were signs of I need more chalk.  Hands on the knees were unacceptable as sweat dripped off of noses onto the floor, but once they stood up it was onto the t-shirt.  It all goes back to the t-shirt when it is heavy with sweat, when it lays crumpled on the floor, when the shirt is discolored because of the white speckles from chalk or the blood from hands that have been marred by the pull-up bar.  You just completed the workout, laying out on the floor, the shirt leaves the body print of the athlete, a reverberation that embosses that floor with some semblance of the workout that was just performed and the intensity and passion that was poured into it.

“Pride is a personal commitment. It is an attitude which separates excellence from mediocrity.”
             -unknown

So the t-shirt can take all forms prior to the workout, it goes through so much during the workout, but once the workout is accomplished and it gets washed, dried, folded and put into its proper storage, it will once again come out to fight with you another day.

-Coach Tony