CrossFit 2024

The problem

“I want to get in better shape, I just don’t like the gym and refuse to spend hours indoors working out”. I have heard this many times throughout my decade as a trainer and it irks me every time I hear it. It’s not the fact that someone may not want to be stuck indoors or that they find the gym boring that bugs me. As a matter of fact, I feel the same way myself and I am someone who has decided to spend his entire life in the grind of trying to pay my bills as a coach and personal trainer. What really bugs me about this statement is that we as a culture have made working out into something that it doesn’t have to be. Since when did getting in great shape have to involve a gym that you go into for hours at a time, all alone with your headphones in your ears while trying to avoid any communication with others. Why do you have to be surrounded by machines, mirrors, and huge roided-out guys flexing as if everyone is there to see them? And why in the world do we still teach people that they have to spend at least 30 minutes to an hour each day, 5 times a week doing some type of slow steady cardiovascular work followed by 30 minutes to an hour of weight training? Oh and don’t forget you MUST make sure to hit certain body parts every other day! If you’re anything like me, you’re getting bored just reading about this type of exercise.

Now to give you a quick glimpse of my background. I started working out in the Navy when I needed something to do during my down time out at sea. As I started seeing my body change I became obsessed with learning everything I could about diet and exercise. Eventually I found interest in bodybuilding and set a goal for myself to become a fitness model and stage competitor. Thankfully, that road was short lived and after competing on stage and doing a photo-shoot I realized that I had an extremely unhealthy outlook on fitness. One day as I was working at a physical therapy clinic, a buddy of mine showed me a video of these 2 guys named Dan Bailey and Jason Khalipa doing a CrossFit workout. I won’t go into detail about the workout but lets just say I was fascinated. These dudes looked like they should be on the cover of a magazine but weren’t just doing the boring old back and biceps workouts that I had spent years believing was the only correct way. I had finally discovered CrossFit. So why do I tell you all of this? I tell you this story because at that moment, I said the same statement you first read when you opened this blog.

The Fix

There is something exciting about walking into the gym and having no clue what the workout is that day. There is something cool about meeting with your trainers and workout partners and heading down to the lake for a couple mile run. There is something amazing about trying an exercise or movement you may have never done or even heard of before (like a handstand or muscle up). “But Jared I don’t think I will ever be able to do a handstand. And a couple mile run? Theres no way I could run that far!” Well let me tell you one more thing….theres something incredibly empowering about thinking you can’t do something and having a community around you to help carry you through the pain without a single ounce of judgement. That is what CrossFit provides. It provides a variety of workouts that you will never repeat twice. It provides time inside as well as outside the gym. It provides you with the opportunity to try something you’ve never tried or maybe been too scared to try. It lets you overcome your fears. Most importantly it provides a great community to cheer you on every step of the way. I could ramble on and on about what CrossFit provides but instead ill just put it like this: CrossFit is fun. If you’re bored with the same old routine and want a challenge just give it a try. I promise you’ll meet some cool people and get a great challenge. Besides, if you don’t like it you can always cancel your membership and go back to the same ol’ routine you’ve done for the last few years.

Oh! I almost forgot…there IS one side effect of CrossFit….you’ll get in amazing shape and gain a confidence in yourself that you have never felt before! Come see us. www.CrossFit2024.com