On June 6th, 2021 in Eagan Minnesota, I became a CrossFit games athlete. A moment that has been at the forefront of my athletic aspirations for the past decade had finally come to fruition. Even while writing this blog, I still have difficulty accepting this dream as reality. But how did I get to this point? How did such an outlandish dream of mine planted over 10 years ago actually come true? Was I just simply in the right place at the right time? Was it all luck? I don’t think so – but I have some information to fill you in on first.
I began my “real” athletic career during my sophomore year of college. I don’t like to include high school athletics in this timeline only because I really didn’t take them very seriously. To be honest, I didn’t know what “serious” athletics really were. Passion, direction, a dream, and directed hard work dedicated to a sport is how I differentiate “fun athletics” from my “real” athletic career. It wasn’t until college that changed the way I prepared, ate, slept, and recovered based around my sport schedule. That sport was lacrosse. It was the first time that I really started to train, and not just workout. I ate to perform, and not to just to consume. I slept to recover, and not just crashed at the end of a late night hoping for a good night’s rest. These habits eventually caught on, joined my daily routine, and my unhealthy high school habits eventually faded. Repeat these consistency’s over and over for as long as it takes. I promise you, they will pay off.
This “moment” referenced is the acute opportunity to reach for and grasp the dream in mind. The ability to jump, leap, and attain the goal that has been the rabbit you’ve chased for years and years. Something that once seemed so far away is now somehow within reach, and your moment finally comes to take it. Day by day, month by month, year by year – the habits, consistency’s, training sessions, and recovery sessions have accumulated into a well-oiled machine “ready” for the taking of the moment. Just like a skyscraper is built – brick by brick – one small inch of progress at a time.
This “moment” is different from sport to sport, passion to passion, and goal to goal – but the same ideology remains the same. Tackling a task or dream does not come easy. This is obvious. There is no luck when chasing a dream; especially one of this size and difficulty. You have to create your own luck, and that’s exactly what we did as a team for the past 10 years of hard work and consistency. As the 5-time fittest man on earth, Mat Fraser, say: “Hard work pays off”. Period.
Ryan Schafer
CrossFit Games Team Athlete
Strength and Performance Coach
8th Day Gym