Guest author Matthew Webb apologies for the collective barrage that is CrossFit-hysteria.
Dear non-CrossFitting friends: please be patient with us. It’s just that we’re really stoked.
Disclaimer: this post is going to sound like an advertisement for CrossFit. Sorry in advance about that.
I want to tackle a certain topic head-on, which is this: why do CrossFitters seem to be filled with this rabid, “OMG I’ve-just-joined-this-awesome-cult” excitement for what they do?
If you’re not familiar with this phenomenon, or don’t know any CrossFitters, visualise the following: in all your circles of friends, there is probably at least one person who is really “into” exercise and fitness. Maybe they are a personal trainer, triathlete or gym junkie, but it’s recognised by everyone that fitness is their “thing”. They’re always refusing cake or booze at parties, and if you engage them in a conversation about fitness, within 10 minutes you’re looking around for some way to get out of there.
Well, many CrossFitters are just like that… or worse! We’re doing “the WOD” every moment we can, half our Facebook friends list is other CrossFitters, hell even our profile picture is one of us lifting something stupidly heavy or swinging like a gibbon from some piece of equipment. We can’t help it – we’re just really stoked.
So what is this thing that has the previously well-adjusted guy in the next cubicle frothing at the mouth with enthusiasm and beaming as he describes his most recent workout? Well, CrossFit is… ok, to save me embarking a whole different post, check this out, or watch this.
Doing this stuff carries all the benefits of starting ANY fitness regimen, but in my experience, CrossFit has a few points of difference, and they make all the difference. They are:
1) Best one first: you get to be awesome.
For many people who start CrossFit, it’s the first time they’ve been athletic since high school. For some, it may be the first time they’ve EVER been athletic. Thankfully, they get to start at a level appropriate to their fitness (but still challenging). Better than that, they are doing the SAME workout as the guy in the back that looks like he just walked off the set of 300. The beginner may have some form of assistance for their movements, or have a substituted movement, or a lighter weight, but apart from that, it’s the same workout as the guy or girl who’s been doing this for 3 years. Then, with consistent technique and commitment, they start to find that they are accomplishing stuff they had previously never thought possible. Fast 500m rows. Double-unders. Lifting heavy stuff. They’re getting fitter and stronger. They’re tackling greater weights and finishing intense, lung-clearing workouts. They are no longer afraid to get in and throw themselves at the exercise. They are slowly becoming badass.
Many people can’t do one pullup (I certainly was one). But the number of people I’ve seen celebrating their first pullup at Range of Motion CrossFit is both fantastic and affirming. And it’s great to see how the other gymgoers and the coach are as pumped as they are. Then before you know it, they’re doing multiples and off they go.
People who are already enjoying a sport or exercise regime often come to CrossFit and find that they do really well in one aspect of it, but struggle with another; this is because CrossFit deliberately addresses not just strength, and not just cardiovascular endurance, but a wide range of the many elements of “fitness”. So if you have an area that could use more work, CrossFit will mercilessly show you what it is! You can use this to round yourself out as an athlete.
2) The people and atmosphere are great.
The atmosphere when you walk into your CrossFit gym is a bit like that of an association or hobby club, with that kind of quiet enthusiastic buzz you get in a club (this quickly gets louder when the workout is on). And it’s friendly, almost family-like. At the very least, you KNOW people. In my book, this beats going to a gym where it’s more comfortable to listen to your iPod because basically, you’re alone in there.
Your gym buddies in a CrossFit gym will ask how you are, shout encouragement at you in that really tough bit in the middle of the workout, and pat you on the back when you’re done. Hell, in a competitive situation, if they finish the workout before you, they’ll turn around and cheer you on. I mean, who does that?
Many fellow CrossFitters end up becoming new friends.
3) Fitness becomes a lifestyle.
You end up improving your body shape and body image doing CrossFit, which is great. But you may not notice this at first, because you might be too busy noticing that your exercise regime is making you more physically effective in your everyday life. We’re talking stuff like picking up heavy things with greater ease and safety, or being able to play with little kids for longer. It makes you want to keep doing it. Getting fitter also prompts you to pay more attention to your diet, so you end up compounding your success (and CrossFit has a thing or two to say about diet, too).
4) It doesn’t get boring.
The workouts are constantly varied – no more doing the same stuff week in, week out. Don’t worry, you’ll still develop yourself all over and get stronger… but you don’t have to accept monotony to get there.
The workouts are intense and challenging. The reason for this (without going too far into the geekiness behind it) is that lazy workouts don’t get results, and that’s why we don’t do them. Plus it’s time efficient. Oh, and digging deep to conquer a hard workout shows you what you’re made of (aka finding out you’re tougher than you thought).
5) It’s getting bigger.
We have these competitions. The biggest is the CrossFit Games. This year, the initial stage of the Games, the Open, was an invitation to anyone in the world to enter and have a crack. Almost 60,000 people from 17 regions around the world did so. That this event is sponsored by Reebok (who have decided to make shoes and apparel just for CrossFit) indicates a growing popularity. It’s exciting to be part of a competition on such a large scale, and to be doing the same workout as some of the fittest people on the planet. Maybe not getting the same score… but, hey.
So yeah… you can lose weight without CrossFit, and even make fitness a lifestyle without doing CrossFit. But if you combine the five points above, I believe there’s too much fun to be had doing it this way. Come and check it out sometime… and in the meantime, just ask us to calm down a little bit.
Matthew Webb, Level One CrossFit Trainer.
