My day at the Crossfit Games

My day at the Crossfit Games

            This past weekend I was asked by RockTape to offer free taping at a Crossfit event in New Jersey. There is a CrossFit box in my training facility and I have seen the good work that they do but I have never witnessed a CrossFit Games before. Therefore I went in with an idea of what I would see but very little expectations.

            Let me take a step back here and introduce myself a bit. I have been in fitness for over 17 years.  At this point in my career I would consider myself a “Movement Practitioner”. I do video assessments on all my clients and I am very detailed on how I develop & write their programs.  The athletes we train (mostly youth athletes) are not loaded until they learn to move properly. Once they have shown that they have learned proper movement patterns, we then load them to cement the patterns in. All of this is used to help our athletes increase performance while staying injury free.  

            As a Fitness Professional I have seen and heard so much negative talk about CrossFit and at times I have bashed it myself. I think it is very easy to poke fun and rip it apart from the outside looking in. I mean look at all the fail videos on youtube, blogs with negative writings, injury post on instagram, etc.  It’s the one system whose program is made public. Just like any other system there are flaws and areas for improvement. If any person claims to have the perfect system for everybody they are most likely wrong.  

            Back to the story….

            This weekend I got to spend 8 hours at the games and I must say after spending that time there, I GET IT! I see why so many people are drawn to it. They have found the one thing that most fitness programs are lacking…….COMMUNITY. I mean, I always knew that they did a great job of getting people together but I never knew how good of a job until now. Imagine over 200 people cheering you on as you are jumping, lifting, and giving it your all.  I got to witness people helping their fellow competitor, people networking, giving advice to the very person who they are about to compete against, sharing training tips, etc..  I got to see the human spirit at its best. Men, women, old, young, fat, skinny, all coming together and sharing an experience.

I know what my fellow fitness pros would ask. Did some people get hurt? Yes Did some people have bad form? Yes, but some also had perfect form.  But I couldn’t help but think about the questions fitness people DON’T ask. Were people inspired? Yes. Did people have fun? Yes. Was there a sense of Unity and Purpose? Yes.  You can’t only pick out the bad and judge a movement by that. You have to see the good as well and if you are going to be fair you must advertise both equally. I was moved to see so many people celebrating fitness. I think many people need to look at their own programs, their own community and ask why do they really not like CrossFit ? What is it about this community that they don’t like? After you answer those questions, I got a few more for you. When was the last time your gym was packed with over 300 people all coming together for one cause? When was the last time your members cheered for one another during a workout? When was the last time you got members from other gyms to come see your facility and measure up against your clients? I can bet the answer for many of you would be, NEVER.

            Let’s face it, we are community driven animals. I am currently reading a book called “The Village Effect’ and the entire book is based on how being part of a larger community helps us to live longer, happier, healthier lives. With all the technology out there we are missing the very thing that makes us human. Community. No lap top, ipad, skype or facetime can ever replace face to face communication. Nothing can replace the feeling you get being in a room with someone and talking about common goals, dreams, and aspirations. We are meant to talk, share, and be together. This is what has helped us advance all these years. As a fitness community we should embrace those with like minded goals as opposed to ripping each other apart. Educate as opposed to discriminate or hate.          

            This blog is not meant to promote crossfit or bash it. I will not be doing crossfit as my training.  This blog is meant to help people realize that we are all here for the same goal. We are trying to improve the lives of others and fitness happens to be our tool.  This blog is meant to promote dialogue and show that there is more than meets the eye. There are layers below the surface of every program. If something is successful, there must be a reason. Find the good in something and learn from it. Keep an open mind and don’t get sucked into having a fixed mindset. Because when you display hate you are actually advertising your own ignorance. There is room for all types of fitness programs out there and they can all teach us something about ourselves. We all want the same thing, we all long to be part of a COMMUNITY.

-C. Flo