We often get prospective members wondering if CrossFit is a program “for them.” They feel like the stuff they’ve seen on TV or online is meant to deter them from ever stepping foot into a CrossFit gym and nothing could be further from the truth. I understand the people that make it to the CrossFit Games look like descendants of King Leonidas and the mighty 300 themselves, but that is not your typical member at any CrossFit gym. If you were to walk into any CrossFit gym, you would largely find soccer moms and police officers. Dads that are part of a local ‘basketball league and moms that host play dates every weekend.
The great line that gets told to anyone who has attended a CrossFit HQ seminar in hopes of earning a certificate of Level-1 trainer is, “our needs differ by degree and not kind.” This is just a fancy way of saying we all need to do the same exercises, but just maybe not the same degree of difficulty. For example, if I have someone come into my gym in hopes of being an Olympic weightlifter, my goal is going to be to make them as strong as possible. They are going to have to be able to snatch, clean and jerk, and deadlift as heavy as possible relative to their competition. If a grandma comes into my gym, my goal is going to make sure she can snatch, clean and jerk, deadlift, and squat, however, they need to be able to only do it to the point that they don’t have a hard time getting off the toilet or walking up the stairs anymore. I don’t need them to do the heaviest possible weight. They don’t have a need in their life to master that degree of difficulty. They do have to master the degree as to which allows them to stand up off the sofa or toilet easily. This is the upward portion of a squat. Both people need to squat. It is simply a question of which degree of mastery they need? This is where the difference comes into play.
CrossFit is for everyone. We all have to be able to perform these basic movements to ensure physical independence into our later years. A loved one that can’t take care of themselves physically any longer is quite the worry for a lot of families. What if you could leave that loved one at home and not worry about them falling down? Did you know that leg strength and foot speed are the biggest preventions to falling? Think about it. You trip over something, you have the speed to get that foot down quickly and push off the floor with strength to re-establish balance. What about someone who hasn’t exercised, and i mean REALLY exercised, in YEARS? They’re going down hard and fast. Don’t let what you see on tv or online stop you. Everyone needs to squat.
Ready to throw that intimidation aside? Want to learn more about functional movements? Email me at jobie@crossfitvirilis.com or call 210.651.1047.