After being injured during the 2017 CrossFit Regionals, the toughest thing for Rachel Campbell has been getting her mind back in the game…

“Mental game is the biggest challenge in this sport… “ – Rachel Campbell

Though an athlete of high caliber, Rachel has competed in and been injured twice at the CrossFit Regionals in 2016 and 2017.

In 2016, Rachel’s injury did not prevent her from finishing the weekend of competition and she managed to take 33rd overall. However, this performance was noticeably worse than the previous year’s placement. In 2017, a bicep tear forced her off the floor mid-workout and disqualified her from taking part in the rest of the weekend. Because of that, she placed 44th overall.

Rachel has routinely come close to her dream goal of attending the CrossFit Games, only to fall short due to injury and lack of of belief in her abilities. The bicep tear was a heart wrenching moment for Rachel that left her unable to pursue her passion of CrossFit Competition as well the basic use of her left arm.

“I was really depressed for about a month, I had a hard time accepting what happened because I had worked so hard to get there and my dream basically shattered. It was the biggest heartbreak I had in my life because CrossFit is a huge part of it.” – Rachel Campbell

Many athletes who experience injury become emotionally shattered irreparably. After all, these individuals define themselves by their athletic achievements. Without the ability to express their physicality through competition, they lose purpose and direction.

Though Rachels predicaments naturally frustrated her, she has never let setbacks cloud her approach to her training or how she defines herself. While many athletes lose purpose after injury, Rachel has found clarity and a new path to follow.

“Once I started looking at the positives; I realized that this injury  wasn’t a set back it was a comeback. Since I’ve gotten back into with OPEX Fitness I’m a completely different athlete.” – Rachel Campbell

When you compete at the highest levels of athletics, injury becomes an inevitability rather than a theoretical concept.