Before starting CrossFit, the only time I saw RX was on a prescription slip my doctor gave me. Now I see it on the whiteboard as the “prescribed weight” to use for the WOD and anything less is considered scaled.
I remember the first time I RX’d a WOD. It was a milestone for me, for all of us! And once you go RX…you never go back or at least you don’t want to. This meant I was getting stronger and faster. I was addicted to having the RX right next to my name to say “hey, I kept up with the BADASSES in the gym” I made it my goal to have RX by my name but then I realized I was sacrificing my technique and the quality of my WOD.
I use to train at a competitive gym that always kept me on my “A-game” which had its pros and cons. We say it all the time that it is YOU vs YOU but do we really mean it? I was really hard on myself if I didn’t do as good as everyone else and I would let it consume my day when I knew I was never going to the games! I got annoyed because in MY MIND I trained harder than some of the girls at my gym but yet they were doing better than me!? WTF?! I worked my ass off at one point to qualify for a team competition and then to my dismay I didn’t make the team…wah…
REALITY CHECK

The opportunity arose where I moved to another state with a brand new start, no one knew who I was or if I could RX so there was no expectation especially if there was just a whiteboard and no one wrote RX because that certain gym didn’t really focus on that. And it was exactly what I needed.
The only thing that matter was if YOU tried your hardest. I finally learned, (yes, I literally mean learn) how to have more of level head about not RXing a WOD. I had to put aside my pride and focus on how I felt that day and what the WOD was. Just because you can’t RX a WOD doesn’t mean you didn’t get a good workout in because in the end isn’t that what it’s all about?
I hope so because after learning to be more focused on certain movements instead of having RX by my name, everything got better! I was hitting PRs here and there. My friends wondered if I was training more and I wasn’t. I felt like I was training less because I use to spend 3 hours at the gym and now I spend about 1 maybe 2 hours. The pressure of being as good as everyone else was gone but don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t anyone else’s fault but my own. I was the one who fabricated this thing around myself so I had to be the one to fix it and realize it wasn’t about everyone else. It was about me.
Now when I step up to the whiteboard, I might RX… I might not. I rather just get a good WOD in. Sometimes, I find myself not looking at the time anymore because the truth is, I don’t care. I’m happy I’m there to get a workout in. It’s always good fun to have friendly competition but remember, don’t let it consume your day.
So can you handle NOT RXing a WOD?
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March is the founder and owner of The Barbell Beauties which she started in 2015. She is from the Philippines and currently lives in beautiful Thailand with her American husband and daughter. She is an avid Crossfitter and has just started her journey into Muay Thai (kickboxing).