Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Every cue, every comment, every “just” carries weight.

Any CrossFit WOD can be scaled. You can cut the reps, change the movement, partner the volume, swap pull-ups for ring rows, or trade the run for a bike. You can even break the whole thing down into a thousand pieces and still carry the same intent.

But if you don’t scale the words, someone is still going to feel like they don’t belong.

scaling CrossFit starts with awareness

A well-meaning coach stands in front of a class and says, “If you need to scale, just run 200 meters. Anyone can do that.” And that sentence lands like a trap door.

Because not everyone can.

For someone in that room, running is the roadblock, the fear, the thing they have spent years avoiding. Maybe it is chronic pain, trauma stored in their hips and knees, or a reminder of every time they were picked last or laughed at in gym class. Maybe they are carrying a hundred pounds of history and shame in their body, and that 200 meters might as well be a marathon.

But at that moment, they didn’t speak up. They nod, walk to the starting line. They carry the quiet weight of “I guess I’m the only one who can’t.”

And that is what they take home with them; not the scaled version of the workout, but the feeling that they were still too much for the “easiest” option.

this is not about blame

This isn’t about calling out coaches. It is about inviting you all to see what you might not have seen before.

For so long, scaling has been framed as a performance adjustment, a way to “still get the stimulus,” a strategy to preserve intensity. And yes, those things have value. However, when scaling is only talked about in terms of outcomes, we lose sight of the human being in front of us.

We stop seeing the fear in their eyes, miss the hesitation in their body language, and don’t hear the silence that follows when we say, “This is the simplest option,” and someone still can’t do it.

That moment matters.

they will remember how it made them feel

Because what we say when we scale shapes the story that person will carry.

They will remember if you made them feel seen or if you brushed off their fear. They will remember if your tone said, “Come with me,” or if it said, “Why can’t you keep up?”

Scaling is not a ladder, it is not a downgrade, it’s a doorway, and it needs to be wide enough for anyone to walk through.

words matter when scaling CrossFit

That means rethinking how we speak. It means removing the word “just” from our coaching vocabulary. “Just do box push-ups.” “Just scale to 200 meters.” “Just use a lighter bar.”

It sounds harmless. But every “just” quietly implies that this should be easy for you; if it’s not, maybe you’re the problem.

That’s not the message we want to send.

There is no universal scale, no lowest common denominator that fits every body. Coaches need to understand that someone’s limit might be far below our expectations, and that does not make them less. That makes them honest, courageous, and worth meeting right where they are.

scaling CrossFit is not just for the movement

It’s for the moment…..

The moment when someone is deciding if this place includes them or the moment where they are holding their breath, wondering if you will see them or skip past them. This is where they are balancing on the edge of belonging, waiting for someone to say, “You’re good. I’ve got you. Let’s build from here.”

That moment matters more than anything on the whiteboard.

We can teach modifications and memorize progressions, but none of it matters if we forget to scale our language first.

Because language shapes experience.

And the right words? They can carry someone across the line. Even if they never ran a single step.