Are you competitive? Did you grow up playing sports? If, so there's a good chance you are competitive. I am. My family thinks I am more so than I really am. But I guess that's simply a perspective on how we interpret or understand what being competitive means. Some people think that if you are competitive that by default you believe in winning at all costs. This includes bending the rules, or out-right cheating, as well as taking liberties on a fellow opponent. And that's not me. Competition to me is about testing yourself. And exposing yourself to find your weaklinks. And it's about a continued desire to get better. I also think the more competitive you are the more you are in control of your emotions and the better job you do at sticking to your plan. For example, in team sports you will see examples of an athlete do something stupid that results in his team being penalized. And commentators will excuse or condone it saying the athlete is just 'such a competitor'. I disagree. I say they were selfish. They lost focus. They cared about exacting revenge more than about success. Or another example could be in competition when another competitor passes you. And while you have a game plan in place you get sucked in to their game, abandon your strategy and compete with them. Personally this doesn't tend to work well for me and I chalk it up to losing focus and racing someone else's race and not my own. But this all has to with defining competition and the psychology of it all. Instead I want to share the benefits of competition. And why I think everyone should compete. Below are The Top 8 Reasons to Compete. Your Learn the Most About Yourself - Competition...

Team OPP just returned from the Tough Mudder in Whistler. And we killed it!By this I mean that we all:* completed the race* didn't suffer any type of injury* all bounced back as quickly as the next day* shaved up to 50 minutes off last year's time (way to go girls!)But what about you?Have you ever trained for a specific race or event?Maybe it was a triathlon or a powerlifting competition. You might like to run and entered a 10 k or half marathon.Whatever the event was there are a number of benefits of putting your name down for an event. Below are the Top 7 Reasons for Entering a Competitive Sporting Event.#1 - Increased Training IntensityFor most people knowing that they will have to face some type of challenge will help them to dig a little deeper during training and push harder.For me it was the hill beside the ski jump at Olympic Park in Whistler. Last year this climb destroyed me and I kept reminding myself that this wasn't going to be a repeat. Every step on the sand-dunes or run around the block with a sandbag was inspired by the thought of last year's event.But even if you don't have a previous experience to draw upon it's pretty easy to picture your opponent doing a little extra to gain an advantage. And you don't want them to get ahead or in competition when it matters so you up your game as well.#2 - End Point in SightWhich is harder to train indefinitely until a coach says 'stop' or to perform a set amount of an exercise, even if it's a lot, and know you're done when you get there?Obviously knowing when you're done is easier. And when you're going through a tough phase of training it's much easier...