8th November 2014

WCCF, Honesty and Integrity.

Integrity, is defined as, doing what is right when no one is looking and no one is there.

 

What do I mean?

Well, honesty with rep counting is first and foremost, and that’s got nothing to do with the cheater missing out. It’s how it affects everyone else. “They’re the one missing out” is what I often hear, but the impact is much deeper. Missing reps is not the problem to the individual so much as cheating form is. You often see that the very best crossfitters in the world are the most honest. Honest with reps, honest with finish positions, honest with diet, honest with approach and most of all, honest with weaknesses. Honestly. Everyone in the world miss counts, and I do mean everyone, but it’s the deliberate that is so blatantly obvious to all those that have ‘been around a while’. I quite often get messages about how much it hasn’t bothered someone…. It is very poisonous and poison can spread.

 

The very high chance is, if you miss reps, people know. It’s very, very obvious.

 

Types of cheater.

The newbie

They come into the session seeking to impress or boost their own fragile ego. Seeking to make an immediate impact, which they succeed in doing, for it is not long before everyone knows of their crimes.

 

The up and comer

They’ve been there a while, probably completed a few competitions and have a decent standing in the box. So people tend to watch them more and ultimately, catch them out. Result, tarnished reputation.

 

The Don

Someone has been at the top of the tree and when the throne is challenged, resorts to subtle rep shortages and big excuses. This is the worst type of cheater, for everyone looks up to them and their poison can spread the furthest.

 

Everyone will say to me,

‘it doesn’t matter but…..’

‘I don’t care but…..’

‘I had to turn away and not watch because it was putting me off’.

‘It’s really fucking annoying me now’

But why does it matter that much? People generally don’t like being made a fool of. And that at its root is an insult to people’s intelligence. It’s like saying ‘you’re stupid and you don’t know what I’m doing and everyone thinks I’m better than you’. It’s enough to get anyone’s back up and it can create a negative atmosphere and it’s obviously something I’m very keen to avoid!

 

By and large, the entire crossfit community across the world is cool as fuck, and stuff like this will always happen. For me personally, im stonger than that now. It used to bother me but the more motivated you are to become a better crossfitter, you will develop better coping strategies for dealing with the inevitable. If I’ve trained with someone who has cheated and beaten me, I don’t care, I’m satisfied with the fact that deep down, they know and if it come to a competition, I’d stand shining, because that is the proving ground, not in the box.

 

Stay strong and just.