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Ryan Costenbader

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October 14, 2021

HWPO

Hard Work Pays Off. That's the mantra Matt Fraser, the greatest male CrossFit Games athlete of all time, preaches on a daily basis. It might seem trivial, duh of course working hard at something pays off. But it takes more than just listening to that phrase to put it into perspective, you need to believe it and act on it. I’ve been doing Crossfit for almost 6 years now and at this point, and I like to think that I’ve become pretty good at all of the movements. From snatches to pull-ups I can confidently do these movements and present them to all of you in class. But it was certainly not always like that.When I started CrossFit, like most, I was unable to do most things. One of my very first workouts had jump rope in it, and I couldn’t even do that (my coach had me jumping back and forth over the lines in between the mats instead). I initially started going to the gym because I could not do a single pull-up and frankly I was sick and tired of seeing all my friends being able to get one in gym class.Fast forward a few months when we had to retest our pull-ups I was able to get 5. Through good planning, a great coach, hard work and determination (and a lot of 3x max sets of pull-ups) I dramatically increased my pull-up ability. If you’re reading this and thinking that's me, “I stink at this movement” I get it. All of the coaches, members, and anyone who has ever started something new gets it. Getting good at something doesn’t mean you stay stagnant and wait for yourself to improve. You need to go outside your comfort zone and push yourself to get better. I got better at snatches because I went outside my comfort zone and stayed after classes to practice them. I got better at kipping pull-ups because one day I decided I’m done with this band. If I had stayed at lower weights and not pushed myself past what I thought I could do I’d never be where I am right now. You are the only person who knows when it's time to leave the band behind, or try a double under, or even put an extra 2.5 lbs on the bar. So next time you’re about to do a workout and thinking, “should I try and do double unders even though I could probably do it faster with single unders Do the double unders. The hard work will pay off.Ryan Costenbader

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