Have you registered for the Iron Star Games Yet? No? Well, your coach will be asking you to register soon. So I’ve compiled the top excuses you can use as a basis for saying no. Hint, I’ve also explained why each reason isn’t reflective of the reality of the Iron Star Games. 🙂
Sand and Steel Fitness is not and will never be a competitive gym. Competitive people don’t like our all-inclusive atmosphere. Competitive people don’t like that we scale our workouts so that everyone can do them. Competitive people don’t like that we focus on exercise quality over quantity.
So when Paul announced that Sand and Steel was going to host the Iron Star Games — many of you said, “Eeek, that’s not for me. I don’t like competitions.” We get that, and that’s why we build the Iron Star Games differently. We built it to support our membership-base. We built The Games for people just like you.
With no further adieu, here are the Top 10 Excuses for not registering for the Iron Star Games, plus Paul’s thoughts as to why each excuse doesn’t hold up to the truth. When you’re done reading through all those excuses, here’s the direct link to register.
(1) I’m Not Competitive — I Don’t Want to Compete with Other People.
The Iron Star Games isn’t a competition in the conventional sense. You are not competing with other people. You are only competing with yourself. We individually score each event. Just like you log your workouts into SugarWOD. Someone always has the fastest time, but that doesn’t make the workout competitive. Focus on yourself.
(2) I’m Not Looking for a Competitive Atmosphere — I like to Workout at My Own Pace
95% of our members are “non-competitive” people. So guess what? The Iron Star Games won’t be competitive either. People come to Sand and Steel Fitness because they want to improve their own health and fitness. The vast majority of our members are not trying to win any competitions. Our members are looking to lose weight, get stronger, and maybe learn how to properly swing a kettlebell.
(3) I’m Afraid I Might Get Hurt
We will run the 14 events like we run our classes. You will have instruction and supervision. The coaches will require you to lift with the correct form. Moreover, Paul will be attending and competing in most of the events (coach’s division.) So he’ll provide additional supervision to athletes as needed.
(4) I’m New to Sand and Steel; I Can’t Win Anything
We have beginner heats plus our spirit award. We engineered the competition so that some beginners will win. Moreover, each of the powerlifting and Olympic lifting events are scored based on age and weight. Everyone has a fair shot to win.
(5) I Don’t see the Value of Competing
The Iron Star Games is an annual competition. It provides you and us with clear benchmarks for your fitness. It allows you to see how much you improve in a year. It provides us with transparency as to which types of training you need more work on.Paul built the Iron Star Games to service Sand and Steel’s Membership … Yes, it’s made for you.
(6) It’s Too Expensive
The cost of registration right now is $15. There are twelve winners and only 13 registrations at the time of this article. The value of prizes for each winner is about $250. You do the math … it’s worth it.
(7) It’s Not Consistent With My Programming
We selected the events to focus on fundamental movement patterns—movements like the squat, the deadlift, rows, lunges, etc. The Iron Star Games is consistent with your programming; I know because I either wrote or supervised your program’s creation.
(8) I’m Happy with the Current Class Programming
Everyone will be doing the Iron Star Games events starting January 4th, whether you have registered or not. People who have not registered will still do the same exercises / events. The only difference is that unregistered people cannot win the games.
(9) I Can’t / Don’t Want to Do all 14 Events
So don’t. Very few people will be able to attend every single event. You are not required to participate in every event.
(10) I’m Just Not Ready to Do This
So what if you aren’t at your peak performance? It’s not about winning. It’s about having fun. It’s about learning about your strengths and weaknesses. It’s about clear benchmarks on your fitness. It’s about cheering for your friends. It’s about learning how to CrossFit and Powerlift correctly.
Conclusion
If you’re still not convinced, come talk with Coach Paul. You are right to have concerns. Your health and safety are important to everyone at Sand and Steel.
The Iron Star Games is about celebrating our personal bests — and yes — everyone can do it.