Last weekend, I completely lost my voice after 15 hours of hosting a sports event called The Juggernaut Malaysian Open 2015. Even though I call myself a fitness enthusiast, I would probably look like a fitness wannabe next to these athletes. This was like the most legit form of pumping iron, minus the speedos and tanning oil of course! (Thank GOD!) There were aspects of power lifting, gymnastics, metabolic conditioning and the grunts and groans that went along with it. Aside from determination and the competitive spirit from these guys and girls to win the first-ever Malaysian games, I definitely learnt a thing or two about this “Crossfit community”.
1. Build a community around your life.
From the onset, you could see the competitors differed greatly from those who came from a strong community to those who just went on their own. Your community can give you that extra bit of support and push you past your own limits. It was so encouraging to see one of the gym affiliates cheer for their competing athlete without fail, every step of the way. I’m sure after the 100th squat, it made all the difference! Have a group of supporters who encourage you, not haters that are jealous or put you down each time you achieve success. Friends should celebrate each other and that’s what building a community is all about. (Shoutout to my #goldencircle)
2. Size doesn’t always matter.
I’m not making a sexual reference here, so keep your head out of the gutter. Haha! Sometimes you meet people and it is easy to get intimidated by their demeanour but it’s actually all in your head. In this competition it was incredible to see people test their strength: Women’s deadlifts @ 120kg was shocking! Besides, it’s more about what you can do with what you have! 😉
3. When you do something, do it right or it doesn’t count.
Aside from teasing the judges about their “NO REP!” It is often that people do things for the sake of doing them. Its much more important to do things right, to set the course right for anything you do in life. I’m a bit of a stickler when it comes to formulas and processes because it saves time from having to re-do and relearn. I hate redundancy. I mean, if you’ve spent so much energy trying to lift up 180kg and you dropped it before the judge called it, it’ll probably feel shitty that it didn’t count.
4. Don’t let your mind limit your ability.
Guilty as charged! I have a difficult time thinking big and believing I can achieve things greater than ever imagined. Sometimes its the weak bit about yourself that feels exposed and makes you shut down, well it is for me. I dwell on it and I can’t seem to let it go, then I jeapardize my own ability to move beyond it. Most of the events in this competition became a mental state of mind, those who had pushed through found themselves on the podium. Given most of the competitors were strong and their stats already proved what they could do, the tough part was being in the right state of mind. Once fatigue and lethargy hit, that entire concoction is a huge mind fuck and it makes you want to give up. But if your mind is limitless, you can do anything. I saw so many people hit their PR (yes, I just learnt that word over the weekend).
*PR=Personal Record
Aside from those great lessons, I also learnt that no-hand pushups don’t exist and that they are called hand release pushups. (I’m convinced it exists, y’all just don’t know it yet). I also know where the hot guys hang out! hehehe I learnt that if a guy can lift twice my bodyweight (53kg) over his head, it would mean he’s strong. CHECK.
Mostly it was very great to see the shirtless bodies, I mean, the energy of event carry on until the very end. I think it was a good way for all of us to look at this as a closer step to a more better faster stronger fitter Malaysia. #fitMalaysia
Congrats again to all the winners, I hope your bodies have finished aching by now. We got impressive representation from people all over Malaysia which is a real testament to the organizers. For all the other athletes, good job “putting your best to the test”.
Good job to the organizers Razlan from Ahem Ideas, our games director Jonathan Wong, both who talked me into joining Crossfit last year when they were preparing for this event! I’ve gotten incredibly fat since then and I’m in need of a good trainer, any takers? 🙂
(Photos courtesy of @brolab_msia)
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