blog

[/caption] There are mistakes in every workout. Let’s just be honest about that. In the history of Functional Fitness, I doubt many workouts have been judged absolutely correctly. Even top the top judges are human, and guys such as Adrian Bozman and Chuck Carswell will tell you judging is hard work that requires a quick eye and instantaneous decisions. Good athletes move fast, and it’s hard to see exactly what they’re doing. “Was he at full extension? Maybe for a tenth of a second. Did I see it? Am I sure? Really sure?” As the Functional Fitness Open continues, Facebook and the Interweb are full of people complaining about good reps, bad reps, missed reps and no reps. Of course, we want every rep to be there, and we want every one to be perfect. That’s the ideal. In reality, that doesn’t always happen—and I say it doesn’t really matter. Don’t get me wrong: I think we should hold athletes to the highest standards possible. I think judges should be strict, fair and accurate. We should strive for virtuosity in both athletes and judges. But we’re all human. If an athlete’s 263rd rep of 423 looks just a touch short maybe from this angle if I squint and tilt my head and watch it in slow motion on YouTube, I really don’t care. Here’s the deal: the best athletes are going to make it to regionals, and the best athletes are going to make it to the Games. I couldn’t beat Chris Spealler even if I cheated on every rep in this week’s workout. He’s a better athlete, and a few sketchy reps aren’t going to make a difference. Not one bit. Again: strive for perfection in workouts whether you’re competing or judging, but realize it isn’t possible. Accept a few mistakes and keep on trucking. Disallow the bad reps. Count the good ones. If a mistake happens either way, keep going. Work harder. In any competition, it’s human nature to call people out and question standards and scoring and so on, but all the time spent complaining could be spent training. And in the end, there are mistakes in every workout. Maybe even in yours. That levels the playing field. And guess what happens on a level playing field? The best athletes win. Every time. Good luck in WOD 2!