Competed for the first time in CrossFit — here is what I learned

After 15 months of training CrossFit I entered my first competition. I lost. It was the best thing that's happened to my development in the sport.

Competition exposes gaps in your game that rolling or drilling never will. My Olympic lifting in metcons fell apart under pressure. My understanding of WOD was theoretical, not instinctive. I came home with a specific list of things to fix, which is more valuable than any win. how varied the programming keeps you engaged was what I took away from the experience beyond the tactical lessons. If your gym trains you for competition, do it. It will accelerate you.