A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Symptoms and how they effect us all to a greater or lesser extent. If you didn’t listen to the short radio shows I encourage you to do so before they are removed, as I guarantee you’ll be able to see yourself in many of the OCD stories told.
You see I believe that being Obsessive Compulsive is a natural trait of being human, it’s only when it gets to be a problem in your daily life that you could call it a “Disorder”. We all have our little idiosyncrasies, only normally these are kept quiet, locked up inside us, only let out in our mind or when no others are about. However there is one place I’ve witnessed other peoples Obsessive Compulsive Disorders: at the Crossfit Gym.
You see there’s something special about Crossfit and the Crossfitters that partake: egos are checked at the door. I’ve never before met such a bunch of honest accepting souls who are free and liberated enough to sweat, bleed, grunt, belch, fart (rarely), lay exhausted on the floor and generally bear their souls to those around them. It’s in these situations where you occasionally get to witness what I shall now call Obsessive Crossfit Disorder!
Please bare in mind, I write this with the greatest possible respect for those I won’t mention by name, for I too have OCD in the Crossfit gym. It’s easy to see how it starts, given Crossfit’s penchant for Olympic weight lifting where failure to succeed in a lift is common. Take me for example, I have many idiosyncrasies that are exclusive to Crossfit, most of which have grown up from either what seems sensible for safety’s sake, or what contrived sequence of events seemed to conspire together to bring about a successful lift.
So how many of these top 10 OCD Symptoms do you see in yourself, post your answers in the comments:
- Chalking your hands before attempting a lift, whether your hands need more chalk or not.
- Ensuring that every last crevice of a certain part of your hand is completely covered in chalk or following a set pattern or process of chalking.
- Having a “nervous wee” before starting a crossfit workout, irrespective of when you last went to the loo.
- Always using the same pull up station / oly bar / bumper plates etc, even if there are other closer free ones.
- Ensuring only matching pairs of bumper plates are used and then in the correct order, e.g. descending diameter. Note that where bumpers have writing on only one side, one must ensure the writing is facing out on both, or in on both, no mixing.
- Making sure oly grips are on tight, with no air gaps between the bumper plates, and the grip handles must be facing in the same direction on both sides.
- Always taking the same water bottle to the gym.
- Lining the bar up so it’s right in the middle of a rack or floor tile, before lifting. Additionally, no standing on cracks or seams in the floor.
- Grunting / coughing / sniffing, in a specific way before a lift or starting a Crossfit workout.
- Completely unnecessary stamping of the feet before a lift.
I won’t say exactly how many of these OCD symptoms I’m guilty of, but it’s more than half! Feel free to post up any extra’s you think I may have missed.
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These are some of my favourite CrossFit inspired designs for t-shirts and mugs and the like. I love these phrases, but it’s trying to explain them to non CrossFitters that makes me laugh the most! Just click on the image you like to see it in more detail, and buy it if you like it. They make great gifts. |
