“We’re forging elite fitness but we’re filtering for character.” – Coach Greg Glassman
I can’t say it more clearly than Coach. If you’re CrossFitting and you’re cheating your reps or your time, you’re not CrossFitting — you’re just exercising.
If you’re CrossFitting and you don’t have respect for your fellow athletes just because they may not be as strong as you or they might look a little different or they’re not firebreathers: you’re not really CrossFitting, you’re just working out.
If you enter and leave your CrossFit affiliate and you don’t say hi or good-bye to anyone, guess what? You might as well go to the globo-gym and zone out. You’re missing half the point here.
CrossFit is about the workout, the community, and not being an a**hole to everyone in this life. Sure, we boast about elite fitness, who wouldn’t? We work hard. Damn hard. But somewhere in that boasting, your heart better be open wide — damn wide — for your fellow athletes or you’re just not getting our message.
We’re forging elite fitness, but we’re filtering for character. It’s not enough to be a character in CrossFit, you need to have character. Integrity, honor, respect: these things matter here. If you don’t have them for yourself and for others, then don’t cross my threshold: I don’t want you. Find your own community that does not require these things. But if you have a good heart and an open mind? Come on in. Join my world. We’re like you in many ways. Say hi, shake hands, and grab the barbell. You’re one of us. Welcome. You’ve finally found where you belong.
