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Taken from Crossfit Watertown:

Rarely do I see women overestimate themselves.

We are excellent pacers. It’s like something intrinsic to our nature — some survival of the species instinct that almost forces us to go lighter, go just a tad slower, “save something” for the last round. We worry that our form is not right, that we’re not doing things well enough, that we should stay in the “minor leagues” just a tad longer before we’re ready to play with the big girls.

I saw it when I raced mountain bikes in California. The women’s “Beginner” category would be the largest, with a small Intermediate, and very few Expert or Pro racers. Even tough female mountain bike riders were reluctant to bump up from Beginner to Intermediate, scared that they were not ready for the next level. Over on the men’s side, the Intermediate cat was huge, with guys fighting to get into it, to prove themselves, to make it to the next level. The only men who stayed at the Beginner level were sand-baggers — guys with small cojones who wanted to dominate longer in the small pond with the little fish.

It’s time to get out of the small pond.

Women with the small weights on the bar and the extra gas left in the tank, I dare you to grow some cojones. Not literally. (Ewww.) But figuratively. Stop thinking of yourself as weaker than you are. Banish those “slow” or “old” thoughts from your head. Throw some mother****ing weight on the bar and make the lift happen. And run faster. And try for the extra pull-up and the handstand push-up. Maybe it won’t be perfect. Maybe you’ll fail. Maybe you’ll fail a bunch. I don’t care. That’s okay. You won’t die from failure here. More importantly, you’ll be living. Someone kinda famous once said to me: “You’re going to misstep and you’re going to find success. So what. I love you no matter how it turns out and most things are fixable (or not, so ****ing what).” This is the way to live life — with these thoughts in your head. Be bold, be brave, be invincible.

So, the next time you’re setting up your bar in a workout or you’re grabbing a kettlebell, go heavier. It’s worth a try. You might succeed, you might fail, but I’m going to love you no matter how it turns out.

(Words by Lisbeth Darsh of CrossFit Watertown.)

I came across this article last week and it really struck me. I thought I was the only one who tries to "strategize" my WODs by maybe not lifting quite what I'm capable of, saving a little stamina so I can "make it" to the end and finish the WOD with some gas left in the tank. I'm beginning to overcome some of that. But it's a mental battle with myself each and every time. There's no worse feeling than finishing a WOD and feeling like you could've done more. There's no better feeling than finishing a WOD and feeling like you absolutely crushed it.

This article is a great reminder for us to Go Harder. Lift Heavier. And Breathe Less. -(to quote our very own SicFit.com superblogger Jen Cardella)