ONE LEG AT A TIME? WOW REALLY ME TO?
ME TOO! CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, YES WE AS CROSSFITTERS GET DRESSED THE SAME
AS YOU. I SWEAR MOST OF YOU THINK THAT THIS WHOLE CROSSFIT THING IS ONLY FOR
THE ELITE. WHILE I WOULD LOVE TO GET DRESSED LIKE THIS, IT’S NOT HOW IT GOES
DOWN.
THE NUMBER ONE EXCUSE I HEAR FROM
PEOPLE THAT WONT TRY CROSSFIT IS THAT IT IS TOO INTENSE, OR THAT THEY ARE NOT
IN GOOD ENOUGH SHAPE TO START. THIS EXCUSE HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY KILLING ME
FOR YEARS, KNOWING THE BENEFITS PEOPLE WOULD GAIN FROM WALKING IN OUR DOORS.
WHILE I LOVE THE PUBLICITY CROSSFIT
HAS BEEN GETTING AS OF LATE, COMMERCIALS ON PRIME-TIME TV, THE CROSSFIT GAMES
ON ESPN, YOUTUBE VIDEOS OF PEOPLE DOING ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS WORKOUTS, THAT’S
NOT A COMPLETE IMAGE OF WHAT CROSSFIT IS.
LETS GET ONE THING STRAIGHT RIGHT
NOW. THOSE UNBELIEVABLE ATHLETES ON ESPN ACCOUNT FOR LESS THAN 1% OF THE
CROSSFIT POPULATION. YOU DO NOT
WALK INTO THE GYM AND SEE A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT ALL LOOK LIKE ANNIE AND RICH.
THESE ARE THE TWO FITTEST PEOPLE ON
THE PLANET. LET’S PAUSE FOR A SECOND, GO AHEAD AND READ THAT LAST SENTENCE
AGAIN. I’LL WAIT.
CROSSFIT IS NOT ABOUT BEING THESE TWO
PEOPLE, YES I RESPECT THEM AND STRIVE EVERYDAY TO GET BETTER TO BE MORE LIKE
THEM. BUT I RESPECT EVERY PERSON THAT WALKS THROUGH THAT DOOR EVERYDAY JUST AS
MUCH. SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY THE MEDIA TOOK OVER AND TURNED CROSSFIT INTO
BEING THE BEST IN THE WORLD.
THAT’S NOT WHAT ITS ABOUT, ITS ABOUT
BECOMING THE BEST VERSION OF YOU. IT’S ABOUT PUTTING YOURSELF IN AN SETTING
WHERE IT BECOMES AN EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE TO HELP YOU GROW AS A PERSON. NOT
ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU CAN BEAT IN A GIVEN WORKOUT.
IS THE ATMOSPHERE COMPETITIVE? YOU
BET YOUR ASS IT IS, BUT COMPETITIVE AGAINST YOURSELF. WE NEED THAT AS HUMAN
BEINGS, AT THE VERY SOUL OF OUR BEING WE NEED SOMETHING TO PUSH US, NEED
SOMETHING OR SOMEONE TO HELP US PROGRESS. IF WE AREN’T CHALLENGING
OURSELVES, IF WE AREN’T STRIVING TO GET BETTER, THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING???
IT MIGHT SOUND CLICHE BUT CROSSFIT
HAS A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYONE IN THE GYM. IF YOU WALKED IN AND ASKED AROUND THE
GYM YOU WOULD FIND NURSES, IT ANALYSTS, TEACHERS, STUDENTS, GRANDPARENTS,
MILITARY, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN. IN ESSENCE, CROSSFIT IS FOR EVERYONE..SORT
OF. THAT PHRASE, “CROSSFIT IS FOR EVERYONE” IS SOMETHING YOU MIGHT HAVE
HEARD BEFORE, BUT I AM GOING TO DISAGREE WITH THAT ONE.
CROSSFIT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. WE
DON’T WANT PEOPLE WITH EGOS, WE DON’T WANT PEOPLE THAT DON’T WANT TO BE
COACHED, WE DON’T WANT PEOPLE THAT JUDGE. WE WANT PEOPLE THAT WANT TO GET BETTER,
THAT ARE WILLING TO TRUST A COACH, THAT IMMERSE THEMSELVES IN A COMMUNITY,
PEOPLE THAT WANT TO BE A PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER, THAT WANT TO GET BETTER
THEMSELVES BUT ALSO HELP THOSE AROUND THEM GET BETTER.
THERE IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS
WITHIN A CROSSFIT GYM THAT YOU WILL FIND NO WHERE ELSE, AND THAT IS THE GENUINE
SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT NOT ONLY FOR YOURSELF, BUT FOR THE GROUP OR COMMUNITY
AS A WHOLE. SURE I HAVE SET GOALS, ACHIEVED THEM, MADE NEW ONES ACHIEVED THOSE
AND SO ON, BUT SOME OF MY BEST MEMORIES IN CROSSFIT ARE SEEING OR BEING A PART
OF SOMEONE ELSE ACHIEVING A GOAL.
THAT COMMUNITY AND
FAMILY EMOTION IS NOT FAKE, IT IS SOMETHING BUILT BY BEING PUT THROUGH AN
EXPERIENCE THAT IS OUTSIDE OF EVERYONE’S COMFORT ZONE. IT BRINGS YOU CLOSER TO
THOSE AROUND YOU BY HAVING THAT SPECIAL BOND, THAT BOND OF KNOWING YOU ALL JUST
ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING YOU DIDN’T THINK POSSIBLE…AND YOU DID IT TOGETHER
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU FELT REALLY
ACCOMPLISHED, THE LAST TIME YOU SAT BACK AND THOUGHT “WOW, I NEVER THOUGHT I
COULD EVER DO THAT IN MY LIFE?” IF YOU ARE MISSING THAT THEN I AM TELLING
YOU RIGHT NOW TO GET YOUR ASS MOVING. DON’T WASTE TIME SITTING IN THE AUDIENCE,
GET OUT AND CHALLENGE YOURSELF, CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE.
