On Agency and Constant Variation

JT Scott | 03/08/2017 | 3

Some people view CrossFit as a goal in and of itself: “to be good at CrossFit” is totally a valid goal, and is in fact the main aim of people approaching the Open as a way to get to Regionals, Championships, and Finals.

Your coaches here generally take a broader view of CrossFit, though. For most of us, CrossFit isn’t a goal – it’s a means to an end. It’s a way to get stronger, or faster, or more resilient for the other athletic pursuits in your life. It’s a way to increase your fitness so that you can enjoy your life more, do more fun activities, or live longer. It’s a way to connect with other humans so that you can make friends, share experiences, or get out of your bubble.

Ultimately, CrossFit Somerville is about increasing your agency – your capacity to create change in the world. I want you to be happier, stronger, and more capable people because I love you and quite frankly because I need your help to make the world a better place.

Here’s a quote from the linked article:
“There are many ways in which you can influence and control your own life that will provide you with a sense of agency. These include striving for personal health, creating reasonable and attainable goals for yourself, developing resilience to cope with stressful situations, mastering new tasks or challenges, developing your talents, and striving for mutual respect and cooperation in your interactions with others.”

That sounds like a definition of CrossFit Somerville to us, and if it sounds familiar to your experience here then we’re doing it right. Our training here is constantly varied in order to increase our agency and prepare us better for all of the challenges and opportunities of life. I’d suggest that a life well-lived is also one that is constantly varied.

So let’s train today (and tomorrow, and the next day) with a little love in our hearts. Let’s train strong in the knowledge that this work makes us more capable of doing all the other work we need to do to change the world. And then let’s get out there in that beautiful constantly varied mess and get engaged in something new.

STRENGTH:
EMOM 12
3 Power Cleans

WOD:
AMRAP 8
8 KB Swings (2/1.5)
24 Double Unders