TOUGH. I don't need to be any tougher. I'm already as tough as I want to be. I sometimes feel like crying when the WOD is extra challenging. Every now and then I scale workouts. And if my hands hurt really really bad during pull-ups, I stop. I don't go and go and go until my body collapses and my hands are bleeding, because that's not who I am. It might be who you are. And I'm cool with that.

ME. I wear makeup to the gym. I like tall socks with cute designs. I have a pink headband that matches my pink sports bra that also happens to match my black shorts with hot pink trim.Tough isn't for everyone. It isn't for me. I don't wear t-shirts with profanity on them. Actually they make me cringe. I don't cheer when people puke after a WOD.

HUGS. Know what I do a lot of? Hugging. High-fiving. Cheering and clapping. Because that's who I am. I'm tender and kind and I just so happen to have a love for lifting heavy weights. And you know what? That's ok. It doesn't make me any less of a "CrossFitter" because I'm not tough. CrossFit is infinitely scalable and so is the "toughness" that our community has become famous for. Or infamous. Whatever you prefer.

BE YOU. Consider this the CrossFit Fire PSA that you don't have to be tough all the time. It's ok to break down once in a while. There is a time and a place for that mental toughness....but there is also a time for kindness and lipgloss. Lucky for me CrossFit Fire allows me to be whoever I want to be today.