@angie032386 I'm in a similar boat, kinda skinny and haven't done lifting in forever so I am always lifting the least weight, mass moves mass and all that. Been doing it for a few months now and I have started being able to finish some workouts in the middle, and if it is a running heavy workout I'm normally top 3. I also find eating enough difficult sometimes, but crossfit has really been motivating me and I am the heaviest I've ever been (only by a pound but I'm still proud).
@angie032386 You should be scaling to your ability. Then when that gets easier lessen the scale. Scaling could be reps/volume and/or weight.
Edit: I also agree with the comment about eating more. Make sure you are fueling and hydrating properly! Also the comment about telling your coach how you feel. That’s not ok.
@angie032386 Nah...your fitness journey is yours and yours alone.
You'll be surprised to know that for the most part, people aren't really looking at when people finish because they're focusing on their fitness journey.
I didn't love it personally, but I understood the intent...often times, the rest of the members would cheer me on when I was last. Nobody puts equipment away until the last person is done.
@angie032386 Keep going. As an individual that’s been in gyms their whole life we love go getters like you. Keep showing up! You may regret quitting later in life… most people are intimidated by gyms, scared, but yet always say they wish they started sooner. There’s an old saying, “Those that matter don’t mind, and those that mind, don’t matter.” Maybe follow a YouTube hiit or abs or leg workout on your days your not going to that class to help improve your performance. Nonetheless, keep going, keep trying!
@angie032386 I know where the fastest person in the workouts finish...I'm a bit competitive...I have not a clue about anyone else. I think once the workout starts everyone could walk out and I'd never notice until the end. I could not tell you who is "last." I had your concern when I started but it ended somewhere into my first month.
@angie032386 I also played soccer year round up to my 30s when I had multiple spinal surgeries with the last one being a fusion. Took a few years off of everything and then came to CrossFit. I was last at everything. Just kept with it and now I can do most things and have been finish very well in the open for an old guy.
@angie032386 [exaggerated comment, way harsher than reality]: this type of bullshit ego feeding "ooh woe is me. I'm last" is one of the dumbest things in fitness.
Everybody has a different starting point, different goals, and different approaches for each workout.
WHO CARES where you "finish". We could send you to a gym where you "finish first" each time. What would that do? you dig? work for you and improve for you. Nobody cares or notices or is interested in where you finish. But I bet they're all glad you're there working hard! that's the cool part!
but this is EXACTLY what "check the ego at the door" means. Don't be so fragile that this matters
@angie032386 Here’s the gods honest truth. I don’t give a shit how many rounds anyone else finishes. First, last, I don’t care.
I do, however, notice and care how much effort someone puts in. If someone is pushing themselves and working hard and they finish 3 rounds, I’m WAY more impressed than some super fit dude who half-asses the workout and finishes 5 rounds.
@angie032386 When I started I was also heavily scaling everything and finishing dead last. Happy to report I’ve now worked my way up to finishing everything dead last but doing it RX. Don’t worry about it, just compete with yourself and enjoy it.
@angie032386 The danger here is trying to hurry or lift stuff you shouldn't. You will get injured. Just keep having fun, challenge yourself, but put form and technique first. The pr's will come naturally. If your box is supportive, being "last" as you put it shouldn't be an issue. Being last is in your head. Be a finisher?
@angie032386 I feel you. I go 4-5 days a week. It’s been two years since getting covid and I have come in dead last ever since. Before covid I was at least making progress to rx and middle of the pack. Now I just get frustrated and embarrassed every workout. Just keep working, eat healthy, as you put on muscle things will get easier and faster. I’d say at least try three days a week. You can do your own style CrossFit workouts at home on your off days to keep the conditioning going. All you need is one set of medium dumbbells.
@angie032386 I am about 9 months in. When I started, I was absolutely last. I’m typically middle of the pack (the scaled pack). If I RX, I am closer to last. There is the occasional workout that is in my wheelhouse and I get in the top few but that is few and far between.
9 months in, I can go harder, longer, and stronger than before…by a long shot. I am still not the best and will never be, but I just focus on myself and improving. As someone else said too, it’s not a linear progression. It is a bit of ebb and flow and depends on rest and how well your nutrition is going.
Stick with it and you’ll see results so long as you’re supporting yourself properly with calories.
@angie032386 I haven't done CrossFit for a while, but my advice is. Write down all your workouts and feed off the energy for sure but only compete against your previous self, not against others. All that matters is improving week to week.
Part of being fast at CrossFit is about learning the movements as well. For things like olympic lifts, double unders, kipping pull ups, they're as much technique as they are strength. So don't be afraid to slow down and try to get your form right. I definitely practiced some of these movements on my own time so I could nail them in workouts.
@angie032386 If anyone judges you for getting after it but coming in last, they suck, and you shouldn't concern yourself with their opinion. BUT I've met zero to few people in Crossfit gyms like that.
@angie032386 When I started Crossfit, Id never really considered myself and athlete. id always been pretty average in that regard. But I started at 26 and something about it was just appealing to me, but I wasn't good at it or fit. the "sport" aspect and the community motivated me to stick with it. that was 12 years ago. Ive had the opportunity over the years to coach a bit in addition to my full time job. Right now at the gym, I'm constantly competing for the top time/score most days. it strikes me as so strange when be people talk to me like im some freak athlete or whatever. I tell them the same thing I'm telling you. the only difference between you and I is that ive been doing this for 12 years. that's it. be consistent and one day you will realize how far you've come. you cant compare chapter 1 of your story to chapter 10 of someone else's.
@angie032386 You're new and it will take time. And the coach should be more positive.
When I was new I was the oldest in the class. My coach asked me to arrive early so I could check in with her to discuss a plan of action for our workouts. Most of the time I just scaled. If the w/o called for 45# for 10 reps, if I was unable to get near it we'd cut my weight down so I could finish it using good form even if it was a struggle. Sometimes we'd get the reps a bit too. But finishing last isn't something to be ashamed of - you're new and cannot except to knock it out of the park immediately.
Fix that diet to make sure you're getting good food in you, working on proper scaling and form, and talk to your coach. if they aren't supportive then move to another coach or gym. I had a great coach at my first gym but when I had to attend another class I ended up with one who was very comp oriented and had her own clique group. I ended up moving to another gym that is made up of misfits like myself. Oddly, the new gym mentions "we take those others won't".
