It is time of year again, the CrossFit Open. It is a time of year where a lot of athletes compete in CrossFit for the first time.

Performing a workout with a judge can be a tough adjustment. For some of us, it might be a wakeup call that the reps we have been doing all year are not quite as good as we thought.

I remember the first time I did wall ball shots to a 10-foot target in a judged workout, getting no reps left and right. It was frustrating as a no rep is almost as much work as a good rep. After the workout was over, I reflected and realized it was probably exactly what I needed. When you take a shortcut instead of doing something right (intentionally or not), you are only cheating yourself.

One the other side of the spectrum, one of my friends from London is so diligent that he once no-repped himself in the final workout of a competition. He ended tied for first instead of winning, but we valued his integrity more than his placement. I can only imagine how he might have felt if he won with a rep he knew was not good enough.

There is a saying, “how you do anything is how you do everything.” Are you doing the best you can or looking for shortcuts?