What It Really Takes to Go RX: It’s Not the Goal—It’s the Result of Doing Things Right

Going RX in workouts is one of those milestones in CrossFit that people often talk about as if it’s a badge of honor—and in many ways, it is. But what most people don’t realize is that it’s not just about being strong enough to lift the prescribed weights or skilled enough to perform the full movement variations. RX isn’t a switch you flip. It’s a mindset you grow into. And the journey toward that level of training maturity is filled with small decisions, daily discipline, and an evolving awareness that most never see unless they’ve walked the path themselves. As both an athlete and a coach, I’ve seen it time and time again—people hungry to go RX, fixated on the goal, but missing the layers it truly takes to get there. It’s not about ego or crossing off a checkbox. It’s about doing things right, with intention, and backing it all up with consistency.

When I talk to athletes about going RX, I never just ask if they can do the movement—I ask if they should. And that question has nothing to do with avoiding challenge and everything to do with preparation. It’s about asking if the movement will be done with the proper mechanics under fatigue. It’s about knowing the purpose of the workout and whether going RX will help or hinder that purpose. For example, if the WOD is a sprint-style workout with heavy power snatches, going RX means you’re not just able to snatch the prescribed weight once—you’re able to hit that lift repeatedly, with control and solid positions, even in the red zone. Too often I see athletes chase RX for the wrong reasons—because it looks cooler on the whiteboard, because someone else is doing it, or because they feel like they’re falling behind. But the truth is, the ones who truly grow in this sport, who actually sustain long-term progress, are the ones who understand when to scale, when to modify, and when to lean into their current level while working patiently toward more.

I encourage my athletes to view RX not as a destination, but as a process that starts way before the workout begins. It begins in the warm-up, with how well you prep the positions. It shows up in your attention to movement standards during skill work. It’s in the way you listen to the coach’s brief, not just hearing the time domain or the stimulus, but understanding how to pace and break up the reps based on your capacity. It’s in the willingness to ask for a cue, even when you think you’ve got it. Every time you rush through a workout just to finish faster, or let a rep slide that wasn’t quite locked out or deep enough, you’re not just cutting corners—you’re reinforcing habits that will hold you back from ever truly earning RX. Because that’s the real truth about RX: it has to be earned. And not just once. You have to earn it every single day you show up, every round you move, every rep you count.

There’s a maturity that comes with earning RX, one that’s developed by trusting the long game. That might mean spending six months scaling ring dips before you’re able to hold solid positions in a muscle-up. It might mean choosing to drop the weight on your overhead squats so you can build the shoulder stability and mobility to hit depth with confidence. And yes, it might even mean getting your ego checked in workouts where you could go RX, but you know the smarter choice is to scale and move better. I’ve done this in my own training, and I’ve seen the payoff. I’ve intentionally trained scaled for weeks at a time to dial in positions, improve efficiency, or give my body the time it needed to adapt properly. And when the time came to go RX again, I moved better, felt more confident, and performed with less doubt.

One thing I tell my athletes all the time is that RX isn’t the end-all, be-all. It’s not a requirement to be a strong athlete. What matters more than the letters next to your name on the leaderboard is whether you held your standard, whether you pushed your personal limits, and whether you walked away from that workout knowing you gave your honest best. RX is a byproduct of consistent effort, not a shortcut to validation. And it only means something if you’ve built up the integrity behind it. Because let’s be honest—if you go RX but your reps aren’t clean, if your standards are loose, or if you gas out halfway and start shortcutting the work, then what’s the point? You didn’t go RX—you just wrote it down.

I’ve seen athletes get stronger, move faster, and hit milestones that once felt impossible—all because they were willing to take their time. They trusted the process. They let go of the need to prove something and focused instead on improving. That’s what I recommend to anyone chasing RX: keep your standards high, your ego in check, and your purpose front and center. Ask yourself the hard questions. Are you just trying to get through the workout, or are you trying to get better from it? Are you making decisions based on pride, or based on preparation? Because RX doesn’t just measure strength—it measures discipline. It asks whether you’re willing to do the boring work behind the scenes: the mobility drills, the accessory lifts, the tempo work, the form checks, the strategy breakdowns. And it rewards those who are patient enough to master the basics over and over until they become second nature.

So what does it take to go RX in workouts? It takes humility, first and foremost. The willingness to not be the best in the room, to fail and reset and try again until things start to click. It takes self-awareness—knowing your limits and pushing them intelligently. It takes consistency, showing up on the days you’re tired, sore, or unmotivated. It takes curiosity, asking questions, seeking feedback, learning from every rep, good or bad. And more than anything, it takes a deeper reason than just checking a box. Going RX should reflect the work you’ve put in behind the scenes. It should be a celebration of movement quality, not just capacity. It’s earned through thousands of reps done right, not just a handful of big lifts on your best day.

To every athlete who’s chasing RX—don’t rush it. Own every step of the journey. Scale with intention. Move with integrity. And when the time comes, when you’ve built the foundation, honed the skill, and cultivated the mindset—you won’t just go RX. You’ll be RX. Every movement will speak for itself. And you’ll know you didn’t just get there… you grew there.