Immortal Beloved
Here’s a funny (and true) story. A building supervisor was receiving numerous complaints about a slow elevator in his building so he called in a team of engineers.
The engineers scratched their heads for a while trying to figure out a way to cheaply improve the elevator’s performance. Finally, they came up with an ingenious solution. They simply installed mirrors in the elevators. No more complaints. Problem solved.
This anecdote underscores the difference between perceived performance and true performance. In this case, the engineers realized they could distract the customers from the true performance of the elevator by simply distracting them during their elevator ride. And what better distraction than a mirror, the primary instrument of human vanity?
Nowadays most elevators have mirrors. So do most gyms. Does your gym have as many mirrors as a circus funhouse? What does this tell you about the gym’s performance? Is your gym trying to distract you from noticing something?
CrossFit gyms almost never have mirrors. TwinTown CrossFit doesn’t have any and never will. Here are some reasons why:
- Mirrors are crummy coaches. Correcting technique in a mirror is not effective. Athletes make the most dramatic progress when they are coached. Your coach can give you much better feedback than a mirror ever will.
- Mirrors break. Which means in a mirrored room you can’t throw anything without the risk of hurting yourself or someone else. CrossFitters want to be good at throwing things. We also sometimes have to drop things. Very heavy things that we cleaned overhead.
- Mirrors cannot inspire you. If you’re staring at yourself in a mirror you’re not paying attention to the other athletes in the gym. Which means you can’t be inspired by others and you most certainly cannot be an inspiration to others. CrossFit is incredibly aspirational, but mirrors tend to put your aspirations in a box. Resist!
