More Than a Title: Lauren Taylor Does It Again Two years. Two championships. One incredible athlete.
Lauren Taylor is once again the CrossFit Games Adaptive Neuromuscular Moderate Champion.
And while the result is incredible, the gold medal only tells a small part of the story.
This year’s CrossFit Games carried even more significance as the sport celebrated its 20th anniversary, with the Adaptive CrossFit Games taking place July 24–26 in San Jose, California. (CrossFit)
For Lauren, it was another opportunity to do what she has done for years: show up, work hard, embrace the process, and refuse to let the obstacles in front of her determine what is possible.
Championships aren’t won on the competition floor.
They are won in the countless training sessions when nobody is watching. They are won when you’re tired, when something doesn’t feel right, when progress is slow, and when motivation isn’t always there.
Lauren has made sacrifices that most people will never see.
She has put in the hours. She has travels far to train with me. She has adapted workouts. She has worked through challenges. She has stayed committed when it would have been easier to make an excuse.
And perhaps most importantly, she has continued to believe in what she is capable of.
That is what makes this championship so special.
The title is the outcome. The dedication is the achievement.
Motivation Gets You Started. Dedication Keeps You Going.
One of the things I admire most about Lauren is that she understands the difference between motivation and commitment.
Motivation comes and goes.
Dedication is what gets you to training when you’re tired.
Dedication is what makes you do the extra work.
Dedication is what keeps you focused on the long-term goal instead of today’s discomfort.
And sacrifice is part of that equation too.
To become exceptional at anything, something has to be given up. Time. Comfort. Convenience. Sometimes even the opportunity to do what everyone else is doing. Lauren has made those choices over and over again.
And now she has the opportunity to stand on top of the podium for the second consecutive year.
Even on the Road, You Can Find a Way to Move
This trip was also a reminder of something I talk about all the time:
You don’t need perfect circumstances to take care of yourself.
The Games weekend meant incredibly long days — sometimes 12 hours or more between being at the venue, coaching, watching athletes, traveling, and everything else that comes with a CrossFit Games experience.
There wasn’t always a gym.
There wasn’t always a barbell.
There wasn’t always a lot of time.
But there was always an opportunity to move.
And sometimes that’s all you need.
Over the course of the trip, I got in four simple hotel / air-bnb workouts.
2 Rounds for time:
Run ( some distance)
(3 rounds of)
30 Air Squats
15 Burpees
20 Sit-ups
Fight Gone Bad Style (1:00 each station - 3 Rounds)
KBS
DB Thruster
Box Jump
DB Snatch
Burpee
Rest
5 Rounds for time of:
30 Air Squats
20 Lunges
10 Strict HSPU
Tabata (20 sec on/10 off)
Air Squat
Lunge
Push-up
