09/09/2026
NOT GETTING BETTER AT CROSSFIT?
You might be spending too much time in the wrong bucket.
Most people spend their training time in the wrong order. They spend too much time competing, some time training, and almost no time practicing.
They chase the person beside them, select weights based on the leaderboard, rush through skill work, and treat every daily workout like it is the CrossFit Games.
Then they wonder why their technique, strength, and fitness stop improving.
You cannot test your way into better fitness. You must build it first.
PRACTICE — 20%
Practice develops the skill.
This is where you slow down, learn positions, improve technique, and work on movements you have not yet mastered. The clock does not matter. If your technique breaks down, you stop, adjust, and try again.
TRAINING — 75%
Training builds your capacity.
This is where most of your time should be spent. You work hard, challenge your strength and conditioning, and learn to maintain quality movement while tired.
Training means choosing the right weight, movement, and pace to achieve the intended purpose of the workout—not simply chasing the fastest score.
COMPETING — 5%
Competition tests what you have built.
This includes the CrossFit Open, local competitions, benchmark workouts, and planned testing days. This is when you take calculated risks and attempt to produce your best possible performance.
The competing bucket matters—but it should be the smallest bucket.
If you compete every day, you never give yourself enough time to practice your weaknesses or build your capacity. Eventually, your progress slows because you are constantly testing the same fitness instead of developing new fitness.
Practice develops it.
Training builds it.
Competition reveals it.
If you are not getting better, ask yourself:
“Am I spending too much time in the wrong bucket?”