Disappointed in Your CrossFit Quarterfinals Performance? This Might Be Why
Written by Kelly Sekulovski and Holden Rethwill 

Now that Quarterfinals have come and gone and this is where the season ends for most of us, we are left to reflect on our performance. How did you do? Are you stoked you finally made it to quarterfinals for the first time? Or are you dusting off your ego that you didn’t perform nearly as well as you thought you would? 

We get it. Sometimes it feels like you’re about to crush Quarterfinals, when in actuality, Quarterfinals crush you. 

If you’re reflecting on what might have gone wrong during CrossFit Quarterfinals, ask yourself the following questions: 

Did you work on your weaknesses before Quarterfinals? 

Ah the leaderboard: hate it or love it, is useful. The best use it has? Giving all of us a reality check as to how fit some people are in ALL areas of fitness. This isn’t meant to be discouraging, simply meant to show you that having a well rounded game is possible. The people you see crushing Workout 3 (all the gymnastics) and Workout 4 (all the barbell) were probably NOT gifted in both of those areas naturally. They may have come in great at gymnastics, but struggled with their strength or vice versa. The reason they are excelling in both is because they recognized and worked on their weaknesses, until they weren’t weaknesses anymore. 

Your performance in Quarterfinals can be a great tool to recognize your weaknesses and see what fundamental of CrossFit you should be working on this off season: 

• Did you struggle in Workout 1 and Workout 2? Time to work on your aerobic capacity.
• Did you struggle in Workout 3? Time to work on your gymnastics capabilities. 
• Did you struggle in Workout 4? Time to put in the work on strength training both raw strength and Olympic lifting fundamentals.  

While this work might not be sexy, it is the foundations that will make you a better, more well rounded athlete. Recognizing and working on your weaknesses can be one of the positives you take away from Quarterfinals. 

Did you follow a well rounded program designed to help you excel in CrossFit Quarterfinals? 

If you look at the programming you have been following over the past year, did you feel like it set you up for success during Quarterfinals? Or do you feel like it left room for holes in your game, that you felt during those 4 workouts? 

Now we aren’t saying that you should blame the programming you are following for your Quarterfinals performance coming up short of your expectations, not at all. But it is valuable to look at the programming you are following and see if it is setting you up for success. 

Are you following programming that is focusing on strength training, but long metcons are few and far between? Or are you metcon-ing your face off, but the programming rarely allows you to hit a heavy lift? These are signs that you might need a change.  

The programming you follow can make all the difference in how you perform- especially on higher skill movements like wall facing handstand push-ups, or ring muscle ups. If you rarely touch those movements in your workouts, how are you expecting to hit them in high volume during a weekend of marathon workouts? 

Use your Quarterfinals performance to gauge how the programming you are following is benefitting you. And ask yourself: “If I continue to follow this programming for the next year, will I improve my performance, or will I be asking myself this same question next year?”. 

Did you have accountability during this season? 

Something SO many humans struggle with is accountability. No one enjoys working on their weaknesses. Most of the time, those are the things you see in a workout and groan because you hate them and wish you never had to do them again. So, are you letting yourself off the hook or are you holding yourself accountable to working on those things? 

It’s very easy to let yourself off the hook and skip a workout that you feel is a culmination of all the things you aren’t good at. But those are the workouts that we need to do the most if the goal is to perform better in Quarterfinals. So, if you aren’t able to provide that accountability for yourself (which most of us aren’t), who is holding you accountable? 

There is a reason why every great CrossFit athlete has a coach. That person is their guide and helps them monitor their weaknesses so they can be addressed, holds them accountable to do the work even when it’s not glamorous, and helps them strategize for important workouts (like Quarterfinals) because they know their abilities better than anyone else. 

And you don’t need to be a professional athlete to get a coach. 

Having a coach can help you benefit in literally any area of your life. 

But in our case, we are talking about your CrossFit performance, so having someone whose job it is to help you address and work on your weaknesses, ensure your programming is well rounded and in line with your goals, and hold you accountable both inside and outside of the gym is something that any athlete can benefit from. 

The coaches here at Invictus have helped athletes of all skill levels, backgrounds, and sizes accomplish their goals- whatever those may be. 

If you are wondering where to even start in preparation for next season, set up a free consultation with one of our coaches. They will talk to you about your specific goals and ensure that it’s the best fit for you. Don’t spend another CrossFit Quarterfinals season feeling disappointed, schedule your consultation today.