By a long shot.
For some reason, somehow, it became assumed that doing workouts as prescribed (or “RX”) equals success in the CrossFit world. Even worse, people assume that they need to “get in shape” before walking into a CrossFit gym. Both beliefs could not be any further from the truth of our gym, and that is because we use a little tool called scaling.
It’s no secret that some CrossFit movements require lots of practice and skill: handstand pushups, ring muscle-ups, double-unders, you name it. “Scaling” is the act of modifying these difficult movements in a workout based on your present skillset. For example, with an athlete lacking the strength to bust-out handstand push-ups in a workout, we may scale the movement to piked push-ups to build strength in those same muscle groups. The scaling options that we substitute with are stepping stones towards the “RX” movement.
Now, scaling doesn’t stop with just movement substitutions. We can also modify the number of reps in a workout to better suit an athlete’s current capacity. For example, an athlete that has built the strength to do handstand push-ups but hasn’t spent much time working on the skill may do half as many repetitions as the workout “prescribes.” Scaling this way allows the athlete to continue developing skill while furthering their strength.
CrossFit is INFINITELY SCALABLE. Because of this, there is no need to “get in shape” before coming to our gym. We have options for every movement on every skill and strength level imaginable.
Being able to “RX” certain movements is a fine goal to have and a good aim to work towards, but we must remember that our ultimate goal is to develop strength, healthier habits, and our fitness. Just because were not always doing the workout as prescribed (and P.S.- no one is!) does not mean we have failed ourselves in those departments.
Keep working hard, and you'll see progress. In the meantime, embrace those scales!
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