Among the gym communities, a new type of fitness has sprung up creating a stir and questioning the conventional fitness centers of the world. Crossfit has exploded onto the scene challenging the old ways of bodybuilding or any other fitness genre. Crossfit is a mixture of strength training, conditioning, gymnastics, speed, power, among others.
Basically, Crossfit challenges you on any given day with workouts specifically designed against adaption. With Crossfit, the goal is to enhance individuals at all physical tasks. Many people are skeptical against Crossfit; some are just old school bodybuilders stuck in their ways and others are puzzled about how Crossfit can help an individual achieve their own goals if the workouts constantly keep changing.
I want to give you my experience and other thoughts on the sport, but just remember, with Crossfit I am just like you-- a novice. I can only speak to what I am seen firsthand.
At first, I questioned Crossfit. I doubted the success of Crossfit and thought of it as any other fitness fad that would soon fade away. I was wrong and Crossfit has only become a stronger brand. A few years ago, a friend of mine took me to a Crossfit box. Crossfit has its own lingo and box is what they call gyms. It put me through a grueling workout that challenged me as an athlete to compete and test my strength. At the end, I was huffing and puffing, laying on the ground feeling defeated but craving more. That workout kicked my a** and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Not only did I know I worked hard but the WOD (Workout of the Day), tested my strength and endurance which until then, I thought were pretty good.
Again, I’m not a Crossfit coach and a nagging shoulder injury not related to Crossfit has kept me from converting entirely to “the dark side” as some would call it, but I have the utter most respect for the growing sport.
I can’t comment on Crossfit on any level more than just being a participant for individuals WOD’s but I was impressed so much that I try to implement certain Crossfit moves into every day workouts I do, or should I say, that my shoulder allows me to do.
The atmosphere inside a Crossfit box is very positive. It’s different from any other gym because the WOD has all the participants going through the same thing, contradictory to gyms where everyone does their own thing. I remember people were finishing ahead of me and cheering me on to finish-- a concept unheard of in a normal fitness center. The coaches were so nice even though they did know I was a beginner.
They took the time out to teach me and run me through what the workout was.
I’ve attended other Crossfit boxes since then and even a whole weekend of a Crossfit training camp in Ann Arbor, Michigan-- which again tested me, but my admiration only grew. Crossfit is unlike the conventional gym, whereas most boxes have their own meal plans with outside companies and other services to take care of their members. Boxes even have fundamental classes for new members to learn the moves and styles so you can ease into it comfortably at your own pace and it’s impossible not to, unless you never show up and become lazy.
The brand has signed a multi-year deal with ESPN to televise their own week of a championship playoff setting where they crown the “fittest men and women on earth” each year. An interesting comment was made to me after this year’s Crossfit games were aired on television about how jacked the men and women looked. The comment was why would I want to be like that? My answer is very simple-- you don’t have to be like them. Looking like that are those people's individual’s goals, not yours.
You do not have to adhere to their dietary guidelines or anything else but their workouts are designed to push you to your limits and then just a little bit further.
Crossfit, to me, opened my eyes to different styles of training. The coaches in an crossfit gym are all welcoming and will coach you up no matter what level you are at. The style pushes you to compete amongst yourself with friends or other members who cheer you on every second of the way.
My overall experiences with the sport have been amazing and completely opened my eyes to new exercises and ways of training. But Crossfit, like conventional fitness workouts, takes time to learn and master each movement. Please understand that with anything you do, there is an adjustment period and Crossfit is not the exception.
If you are looking to enhance your body composition, strength, endurance, or anything else and are tired of the same old fitness centers with “Chest mandatory Monday’s,” then maybe give Crossfit a chance.
Go into a box unbiased and try a new style of fitness-- which I’m sure will have you coming back for more.
