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
Comments
Post a Comment