I'm not competing in the CrossFit Games because my training goal is not a leaderboard, it is being able to fish, hunt, and live hard when I'm 80. CrossFit is a big part of how I train, and competition can be a powerful motivator, but the demands of competing and the demands of training for life are not the same thing. In this Physical Friday I talk through why I made that call, what I train for instead, and how to decide whether competing actually serves your own goals.
Listen now: press play in the audio player above and follow along.
Because my training has a different purpose. Everything I do in the gym is aimed at being capable on a boat, in the woods, and in life for decades to come, what I call training to be 80. Competing at the Games level demands specialized preparation, added volume, and added injury risk in pursuit of a leaderboard, and that trade does not serve my actual goal. I love the training itself; I just do not need the competition floor to justify it.
Absolutely. The overwhelming majority of people who do CrossFit never compete beyond their own gym's whiteboard, and they still get the benefits that matter: strength, conditioning, mobility work, community, and accountability. The methodology of constantly varied functional movement is what produces fitness for life. Competition is an optional layer on top of that, not the point of it.
Tie your training to a purpose bigger than a scoreboard. Mine is being able to pole a skiff, fight a fish, and keep up with the life I love when I am 80. Benchmarks, challenges like the 10,000 Pushup Challenge, signing up for events, and training with a group all provide the push that competition provides, without organizing your whole life around peaking for one weekend.
Training for competition means specializing: maximizing performance in tested events, accepting higher volume and higher injury risk, and peaking on a schedule. Training for life means building broad, durable capacity, strength, mobility, balance, and conditioning you can keep for decades, while staying healthy enough to use it. Both are legitimate. The mistake is doing one while believing you are doing the other.
Sure, if it serves you. A local competition, a 5K, or a friendly throwdown can sharpen your training and be a great time. The question to ask is whether the event is pulling you toward your long-term goals or away from them. If preparing for it makes you fitter, more consistent, and more excited to train, sign up. If it pushes you toward injury or burnout, skip it with a clear conscience.
This is the framework I talk through for deciding whether competition belongs in your training.
I walk through each of these in the episode. Press play above.
Every Physical Friday comes back to the same mission: building a body that lets me fish, hunt, and live hard for the rest of my life. That mission decides what I do in the gym far better than any leaderboard could. I talk through how that purpose shapes my week in the episode, so press play above.
It is easy to let someone else's goal become yours, to chase numbers that look impressive but do not move you toward the life you want. Competition is a tool, and like any tool it is only right for certain jobs. I get into how to spot when the scoreboard is steering you wrong in the episode, so press play above.
The thing competition really provides is urgency, and urgency can come from plenty of other places. Challenges, benchmarks, events on the calendar, and training partners who notice when you do not show up have kept my intensity high for decades. I share what works for me in the episode, so press play above.
There is no medal for being able to pole a skiff at 80, but that is the podium I am training for. Decide what yours is, and let it make your decisions.
If you have been wrestling with whether to sign up for something or let it go, this episode is for you. Press play above and listen to the whole thing.
CrossFit Games · CrossFit · training for longevity · competition versus training for life · fitness benchmarks · 10,000 Pushup Challenge · training motivation
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen, where I share the training, nutrition, and mindset that keep me ready to fish, hunt, and live hard for the rest of my life.
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