top of page
Search

Tuesday Feb 17, 2026

Push Ups Today: 64

Know


The Training Mindset: CrossFit Isn’t Just Exercise

By Stephane Rochet, CF-L3, via crossfit.com


Picture this: You’ve been doing CrossFit for two years. You can hit most movements, and your times are decent, but you feel stuck. You’re going through the motions, checking boxes, and getting sweaty, but are you actually getting better or fitter? The difference between what you’re doing and true training might be the missing piece that unlocks your next level of fitness.


The Nike Slogan That Changed Everything

About a decade ago, Nike used the slogan “Stop exercising, start training” to encourage a “shift from random physical activity to a planned, goal-oriented approach to fitness.” At the time, I recall wondering if this was a subtle jab at CrossFit’s varied programming in favor of the periodized, percentage-based programming that many gurus tout as the gold standard for achieving results. That might just be me being sensitive to the common criticism about CrossFit that if you are constantly doing different stuff, you’ll never get good at anything. 

Still, CrossFit fits very well into the marketer’s definition of training as a “methodical approach that strings individual workouts together to achieve a specific, long-term goal. It involves a plan, targeting weak points, and consistent progress over time.” This is precisely what we do. We have clearly defined our goal: to improve fitness or increase work capacity across broad time and modal domains. To achieve this, we create an enormous variety of effective workouts to develop a broad, general, and inclusive capacity. Along the way, we constantly test to identify weaknesses that need to be addressed. We may not use percentages often, and we might not use microcycles, mesocycles, hypertrophy, strength, or power phases in our programming lingo, but we have a plan and intent. We know where we’re going and that’s what we train for.


Exercise vs. Training: The Crucial Difference

I have a different slant on this slogan. “Exercising,” to me, is focusing on the work that needs to be done today, checking off each round and rep, pushing through the workout to get to the end. This is an easy trap to fall into, and we all do this at times. “Training” is more focused on the process, staying in the moment, and embodying the charter of mechanics, consistency, and intensity. Instead of seeing a task that needs to be completed, like doing the dishes or mowing the lawn, we’re honing our craft like playing the violin or perfecting a dance routine. We focus on the quality of each rep from the warm-up through the cool-down, practicing and refining technical elements, all while adding intensity to challenge us as appropriate. 


Eat

Do

OT2M x 15...

Sets 1-5: 2 Front Squat

Sets 6-10: 2 Back Squat

Sets 11-15: 10 Burpees + 30 Crossovers Skips

------------

9:30am Legends Class


OT 2:00 x 7 sets:

2 Back Squats


AMRAP in 12 min:

10 Burpees

10 Ring Rows or Pull Ups

10 Cal Ski or 100 Skips

Upcoming Dates:

 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page