CrossFit just released a powerful video with a simple but profound message:
“It all starts with a choice. You don't feel strong. You don't feel ready. Good, you showed up. That's the only starting point. This isn't about perfection. It's about the fight. Failure—it is not a detour. It's the road that progress demands. We don't ask, ‘Are you able?’ We ask, ‘Are you willing?’ The true test has never been about ability. It's willingness.”
That message hits home for me because I remember being in the exact same place. Long before CrossFit Viroqua existed, back when CrossFit La Crosse was just getting started, I used to drive up there and do outdoor workouts with the crew before they even had a gym open. I can tell you this, every time I pulled up, I felt nervous. I didn’t feel strong enough, wondered if I had the cardio. I didn’t feel ready enough. I wondered if I belonged. Wondered if I would make a fool of myself.
But I showed up.
And that one choice changed everything.
The Fear Everyone Feels
If you’re considering starting CrossFit, or any fitness program, it’s easy to think you’re the only one with doubts. What if I can’t keep up? What if I fail? What if everyone is fitter than me?
The truth? Everyone feels that way. Every single person who has walked through our doors has wrestled with those same fears, including me!
But that’s exactly where the journey begins. Not when you feel ready. Not when you’re already fit. Progress begins the moment you’re willing to step into the unknown.
Failure Is the Road
I love the line from the video: “Failure—it is not a detour. It's the road that progress demands.”
Think about that. In CrossFit, you will fail reps. You’ll try lifts you can’t yet make. You’ll need to scale workouts. And that’s not a sign you don’t belong, it’s the very process that makes you better.
The road is bumpy on purpose. Without struggle, there’s no growth. Without missed reps, there are no Personal Records. Without the shaky first push-up, there’s never the celebration of the first push-up or pull-up.
Ability Isn’t the Test
One of the biggest misconceptions about CrossFit is that you need to be in shape before you start. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Nobody asks if you’re able. The real question is: Are you willing?
Willing to take the first step.
Willing to embrace being uncomfortable.
Willing to keep showing up when it would be easier to quit.
When I think back to my own early days in CrossFit, that was the turning point. Not that I could do the workouts perfectly. Not that I was the fittest person out there. But that I chose to keep showing up, even when I felt out of place, even when I wasn’t ready.
The Invitation
If you’re reading this and thinking about starting, I want you to know this: you don’t need to feel strong. You don’t need to feel ready. You just need to be willing.
Willingness opens the door to transformation. And that’s what CrossFit is really about, building confidence, resilience, and strength you didn’t know you had.
So, take that first step. Walk through the door. Join us. You’ll discover, just like I did, that your fears become fuel, failure becomes progress, and showing up is the hardest and most rewarding part.
Because in the end, ability will come. What matters most is the choice to begin.
Watch the video that inspired this post, and then ask yourself the real question: Are you willing? Schedule your FREE consult today!
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