Why CrossFit's "Commandments" Are Keeping You Small

I've been seeing this list of "CrossFit Commandments" floating around again, and honestly? It's making me a bit uncomfortable.

Don't get me wrong—I spent six years as a competitive CrossFitter. I've lived and breathed this stuff. I've counted reps until my brain went fuzzy, cleaned up more barbells than I care to remember, and yes, I've definitely been that guy who needed to check his ego at the door (usually after attempting a snatch that was way too heavy).

But here's what bothers me about commandment culture: it turns us into rule-following robots instead of aware, intuitive athletes.

The Day I Stopped Counting

Let me tell you about the workout that changed everything for me. It was a simple EMOM—every minute on the minute, 12 burpees. Should've been straightforward, right?

I was obsessing over hitting exactly 12 reps each round. Counting religiously. Making sure I wasn't "bearing false witness" as the commandments would say. But somewhere around minute 8, I realized I was so focused on the numbers that I'd completely disconnected from my body.

My form had turned to trash. My breathing was chaotic. I was basically a counting machine in human form.

So I did something radical—I stopped counting and started feeling. I let my body tell me when I'd done enough quality burpees each round. Some rounds I hit 11, some I hit 13. But every single rep was intentional, connected, present.

That workout taught me more about training than any commandment ever could.

Why Rules Actually Make Us Worse Athletes

Look, I get why people love commandments. They provide structure, clear expectations, community standards. They make us feel like we're part of something bigger than ourselves.

But here's the psychological trap: when we follow external rules religiously, we stop developing internal wisdom.

Take the commandment about "being concerned only with thyself." Sounds good in theory, right? But what if your training partner is clearly struggling with form that could cause injury? What if someone new is feeling intimidated and could use some encouragement during their workout?

Rigid rule-following can actually make us less human, not more.

Or consider the rule about not limiting yourself to just CrossFit. Sure, cross-training is valuable. But what if your nervous system is telling you it needs more recovery? What if you're in a life phase where the community and routine of your box is exactly what you need emotionally?

The commandments can't account for the nuance of being human.

The Alternative: Mindful Training

Instead of external commandments, what if we developed internal awareness? What if we learned to:

• Feel our way through workouts instead of just counting our way through them?
• Listen to our bodies instead of rigidly following prescribed weights and movements?
• Read the room instead of blindly following social protocols?
• Trust our intuition about when to push and when to pull back?

This isn't about throwing all structure out the window. It's about upgrading from external control to internal wisdom.

What This Looks Like In Practice

Instead of religiously cleaning up equipment because "thou shalt tidy up," what if you cleaned up because you genuinely care about creating a good environment for everyone? The action might look the same, but the intention—and the growth—is completely different.

Instead of forcing yourself to work on weaknesses because it's a commandment, what if you got curious about what your "weaknesses" might be teaching you? Maybe your body is asking for something different than what the program prescribes.

Instead of leaving your ego at the door because you're supposed to, what if you brought your ego in and got to know it? What drives it? What's it afraid of? How can you work with it instead of against it?

This approach requires more maturity, sure. It's messier than following a clear list of dos and don'ts. But it's also where real growth happens.

The Questions That Matter More Than Commandments

Here are the questions I wish more CrossFitters were asking themselves:

• How does this movement feel in my body right now?
• What is my energy telling me about how hard to push today?
• How can I be genuinely helpful to my training partners?
• What would it look like to approach this workout with curiosity instead of obligation?
• How can I use this physical challenge to become more aware, not just stronger?

Notice how different these feel from "Am I following the rules correctly?"

Your 30-Day Experiment

If you're still with me, here's what I want you to try for the next month:

Pick one area where you typically follow CrossFit commandments religiously. Maybe it's rep counting, maybe it's weight selection, maybe it's social interaction at the box.

For 30 days, replace the external rule with internal awareness. Instead of counting reps mechanically, feel your way through sets. Instead of following prescribed weights blindly, listen to what your body is asking for. Instead of following social scripts, respond authentically to what's happening around you.

I'm not suggesting you become a selfish jerk or throw all standards out the window. I'm suggesting you upgrade your operating system from external compliance to internal wisdom.

The Real Transformation

Here's what I've noticed after years of training this way: the external stuff—good form, appropriate weights, positive community contribution—happens more naturally when you're operating from awareness instead of rules.

But more importantly, you start using physical training for what it's actually best at: developing your capacity to be present, aware, and responsive to what's actually happening instead of what you think should be happening.

That's a skill that translates way beyond the gym.

The commandments aren't wrong, exactly. They're just... incomplete. They're training wheels for people who haven't learned to trust themselves yet.

But you're not a beginner anymore, are you?

What would it look like to train like the aware, intuitive athlete you actually are?

What's your experience with rule-following vs. intuitive training? Have you found areas where the "commandments" actually held you back? I'd love to hear about your experiments in the comments below.