What has been your biggest obstacle?

[Ben Kissam]

In terms of maintaining an active lifestyle, what has been the biggest obstacle you've faced towards adherence or making massive change in your life?

If you no longer deal with the obstacle, what was the most difficult thing when you started?

From newbies to ten year vets in the CrossFit world- your responses are welcomed.

[Steven Wingo]

Pre-existing injuries, most notably a very bad shoulder injury dating back to 1988 when I was in college. It was a weightlifting injury--dislocated shoulder (torn labrum) doing incline dumbbell press. Too bad CrossFit wasn't around then maybe I'd have learned to lift correctly and not gotten hurt. I also suffer from left ankle issues dating back to a badly sprained ankle which occurred when trail running in 2004, although at this point it is more of a nuisance than something holding me back.

[Christopher Sorg]

I think for most "normal" people the biggest obstacles are life in general. I mean if you, like me, have a family and a job where you may be working 50-60 hours per week. You probably don't have the time to be one of those 3 hour a day gym guys or gals where you can really make leaps and bounds.

That said, I have been a CFer for 5 years and I make great progress when I go 5 times a week, eat the right foods and get at least 6 hours of sleep. That's my goal but rarely achieve it. I don't beat myself up for that as work and family are going to win the priority contest.

I'm 48. I love Crossfit and hope I can do it til my last days.

[Mark Dennis]

I'm 47 and just started. Probably my biggest obstacle in starting from a relative older age is really noticing niggly injuries and strains. My knees especially.

[Michael A. Jones]

I think that my biggest obstacle is injury....I served over 20 years in the Infantry and I'm pretty banged up. Crossfit has helped my mitigate some, but a few still haunt me.
I don't train muscle ups nor a lot of overhead due to shoulder injuries. My back flates up ever so often but I go to chiro on a regular and deadlifting and kettlebell work has done wonders!!
Hoping to maintain an active Crossfit life for many more moons.

[Steven Wingo]

Originally Posted by Michael A. Jones

I think that my biggest obstacle is injury....I served over 20 years in the Infantry and I'm pretty banged up. Crossfit has helped my mitigate some, but a few still haunt me.
I don't train muscle ups nor a lot of overhead due to shoulder injuries. My back flates up ever so often but I go to chiro on a regular and deadlifting and kettlebell work has done wonders!!
Hoping to maintain an active Crossfit life for many more moons.

I've got friends with back injuries who won't come give CrossFit a try because they think deadlifts and squats would be terrible for them. If they only knew... ...because it is actually exactly what they need. Start light, dial in the form, build them up right, and their backs would feel better than they could ever imagine.

[Ben Kissam]

Originally Posted by Steven Wingo

I've got friends with back injuries who won't come give CrossFit a try because they think deadlifts and squats would be terrible for them. If they only knew... ...because it is actually exactly what they need. Start light, dial in the form, build them up right, and their backs would feel better than they could ever imagine.

Have you thought about tagging these friends in the scaled versions of the Open WODs that CrossFit has been posting on FB?

Seems like a really good time to showcase that CrossFit is universally scalable to the needs of the individual. Just a thought!

[Eric R Cohen]

Life, work, travel...just tough to get where I want to be on 4 1 hr classes a week...

[Joe Spinelli]

The biggest obstacle for me was knowledge!

There is SO MUCH bad information out there about fitness, crossfit, diet, what to eat, how to lift, when to recover, supplements, etc, etc. It took me about a year once I made a real commitment to be consistent before I figured all of those things out.

I didn't realize my body would require so much more fuel on training days. I didn't realize at my age, 44 now, how much time I need to spend working on mobility and getting enough rest to recover properly.

I didn't realize that my lack of mobility was causing me to squat in a poor position, limiting my progress.

I recently switched boxes and I had no idea what I didn't know, even after doing crossfit for more than 3 years. I am now of the opinion that we should all switch boxes every 1-2 years, just to get different coaching tips and new eyes on our progress.

Also, I didn't realize how much B.S. I would receive from people who don't commit to a healthy lifestyle. I was told I am/was obsessed, over doing it for my age, not living, etc just because I want to be active and eat right and consume less alcohol.

As others have said, my family is my #1 priority, but I make time to train and be healthy. I have no aspirations of qualifying for the Games, but I enjoy the Open very much and I surround myself with like-minded people who help me progress!

Good luck!

[Ben Kissam]

I appreciate all of the replies thus far!