Words: JAMISON KIRBY
Photos: ANIMA MUNDI
Fitness fads like CrossFit can be found all over the world much like the Shake Weight or the Ab Blaster Machine. They are promising quicker results and a better life through fitness. I personally have found myself lured in by a clever sales pitch which promises better results for anything from car waxes to teeth whitener. It must be a very daunting task for a business to prove their product superior to others without a proven sample, necause when it comes to results, the answer always rests within the mind of the beholder.
Let’s just say CrossFit is different … Oh no, here we go again! The sales pitch shows how our product is better than yours or how my program will work for you. I know it’s a bold statement, but one I am willing to make without hesitation, CrossFit is, without a doubt, the best fitness program of our time. It’s not just because you get results, or the fact that they build a community or even the fact that you will be healthier overall, it’s a combination of all those things. For example, when was the last time you cheered your friends on to the finish of a tough workout at your local gym? Or maybe you have taken a ski trip with your gym mates? Or better yet, when did you actually see results from your fitness program within 6 months? Well, CrossFit offers that and more…See, I told you it was different!
CrossFit is quite possibly the biggest fitness revolution in the history of our planet. OK, maybe it is rivaled by the jogging craze of the 70s or Jane Fonda’s aerobics, but you get the point. There are over 20,000 CrossFit affiliates in more than 120 countries and still growing. They also sponsor the world’s largest fitness competition called the CrossFit Games with over 170,000 participants in 2016. The CrossFit Games seeks to find ‘the fittest on earth’ by opening the annual event to anyone in the world. Participants who make it through to the final event should be prepared for the ‘known and the unknowable’ and stand a chance to win 1 million dollars. All you need is some gym equipment, the internet and a camera to enter the event.
Founder, Greg Glassman’s program, has continued to grow exponentially in popularity each year since he opened his first gym in 2000. Coach Glassman attributes its popularity to the concept that the local affiliate or ‘box’ owners not only believe in the process but they have full control of programming, pricing and instructional methodology. But he also states that there is imperial data to support the CrossFit methodology. If you are able to perform more work, in less time, with more weight then you have proven to be more fit. The idea also spreads to medical health markers by reducing blood pressure, cholesterol, and overall health. But the program also works to build a community of people who share a common bond while pushing themselves to the limit on each workout.
Outsiders looking in say that CrossFi has a cult like culture. That may be true, but the believers have that mentality because they have seen the results first hand. They have also grown both physically and mentally along with their ‘box’ mates. They also share a bit of themselves when you sour your heart and soul into an extremely difficult workout. That kind of emotional event leaves you vulnerable and helps you grow as a person.
So I guess what I am saying is, go try CrossFit. Not because I said so, but because it works or because you like the idea of sharing the common bond of a fitness community or just to appease your curiosity about what goes on behind the walls of that scary looking gym with all the free weights and gymnastics rings. Believe me when I say, it will not be what you expected and you will see positive results!
