What I see at CrossFit

I have been a certified personal trainer for almost 2 decades. I have worked in physical therapy offices, sport performance gyms, big box gyms, private studios, home gyms and spin studios. I have done CrossFit and am a CrossFit Endurance Coach. I have been around long enough to know when I see a bad coach, a mediocre coach and a great coach. Sadly what I see most often in any gym, fitness center or CrossFit Box is people looking for an answer to their weight problem, sedentary lifestyle or bad diet. A few rare gyms, coaches and personal trainers actually have been able to make the connection that community and relationships are what will help any person to become stronger, change their eating paradigm and become more physically active. This community is where CrossFit gets it right but if you go to a CroddFit box keep your ego in check or you may end up in the physical therapists office.

Good coaches give you a well structured warm up and workout that is challenging but not debilitating for your fitness level. A mediocre coach gives the same warm up regardless of the workout and pushes you to more than you should be doing for your fitness level and exercise experience but you still finish the workout. A bad coach will put you into positions that you are not structurally prepared to get in to or that coach may not know how to modify for your limitations.

CrossFit has stepped up their game in the last 2 or 3 years with what they require for coaching education. However many of the movements in CrossFit require a level of muscle coordination that some people are not able to coach. Young coaches who think they are unbreakable will go for the Olympic Lifting or Kettlebell Certs while more seasoned coaches go for the Mobility Cert to help their members move better. CrossFit has proven that when you move better you then you will feel better and you will get stronger and lose weight as a side effect. If you have some good coaching you will probably stay at it longer.

CrossFit is NOT individualized by an outside source like a personal trainer or private coach. It is not "periodized" or developed with a scientifically tested and replicated method. Everyone gets the same WOD (CrossFit speak for Workout Of the Day) at each box (what CrossFit affiliates call their gyms). Some coaches program better than others. Some program for competition while others program for weight loss and others program a mix. Most boxes offer a free class, a free week or sometimes even 2 free weeks to see if you like it. CrossFit IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. Not all boxes are the same. Not all coaches are the same. Chances are there is a box near you that programs in a way that you like near you, just don't go looking for air conditioning and saunas.

Can CrossFit be "cultish?" Sure, in some boxes, but usually where the head coach is highly opinionated, sometimes narrowly educated and has followers in his gym who are looking to believe in his methodology. Many who do CrosFit can be "all or nothing" types who only eat Paleo and do CrossFit workouts and hang out with other CrossFitters. The same thing happens with triathletes, bodybuilders and Group Exercisers (Remember Curves, Tae Bo and P90X?). CrossFit builds communities and sometimes those communities give rise to something that people realize they have in common and makes them feel better.

I have seen people come to CrossFit with low self esteem in January and leave for Spring Break with downright swagger. I have seen former college athletes come to CrossFit with swagger and leave injured the ssame day. I have seen triathletes come in thinking they are fit and be absolutely humbled by their lack of strength and coordination.

What I see often is fear.

And most importantly: Triumph over that Fear.

Our bodies are capable of adapting to whatever we give them. The adaptation to too many calories and too little movement is weight gain. The adaptation to daily doses of increased activity is a shedding of that extra weight and improvement in the cardiovascular system. Those who are new to CrossFit and those who are experienced at CrossFit all have the same thought when the see the WOD: "Can my body do this?"

With the right community behind them and some good coaching the answer should always be "Yes."

Now a few caveats: Anyone attempting to begin or even continue CrossFit should know that it is not personalized and they may not get the attention they would get from a training studio. If you have a history of any shoulder, neck, knee or back problems then get them checked and cleared by a doctor before you begin any fitness program. If you have heart, lung or metabolic disease you should get cleared by a doctor also.

It is possible to do CrossFit for life. It takes a tremendous amount of body awareness and testing when you are at your limit. You will cross the line sometimes and do too much. Hopefully by that time you have enough sense of your body to stop before you break. I also hope you have a coach who is smart enough to build a strong base for you, present enough to push you to do more than you think you can and courageous enough to stop you before you do something that will get you hurt.

Now go move something heavy! (for time)

5 SMART Ways to Finding Better Health in Your Day

5 SMART Steps to Finding Better Health in Your Day

S - Small steps can add up to big changes

M - Make time daily. Any amount of time can help you stay on track

A – Activity is activity when you are starting from scratch

R - Read Labels beyond fats, protein and carbohydrates.

T – Try new things until you find exercise you like

Small – Regardless of your current level of activity, adding small changes can make a lot of difference. It is the small change that can make the difference between Olympic Gold and Olympic "also ran". The small changes you can be the difference between your weight loss or your weight gain. Something as small as choosing peanut butter with just peanuts and peanut butter with added sugar will effect you differently.

Make time daily- When we make time for exercise every day then we remind our subconscious that exercise feels good and is actually what our body wants to do. Daily exercise can improve cardiovascular, muscular and brain function.

Activity is Activity- Don’t expect vacuuming your house to help you run a marathon but you can definitely count it as activity. As an incentive do it for time. Rake your own yard. Take the stairs, but do it quickly and do it often for faster results.

Read Food Labels – We all know the basics around Fat, Protein and Carbohydrates but the story is not as crystal clear as you might think. The real devil is in the detail of the labels. Read the ingredients taking note of ingredients like modified corn starch, dextrose, sucrose, canola, carageenan and the dreaded Hydrogenated. These ingredients are known to cause heart disease, cancer or at the very least inflammation.

Try New Exercise – Though running is one of the best time exercises you can do for quick weight loss it may not be enjoyable for everyone. If you hate an exercise then it is doubtful you will want to do it enough to make it part of your everyday life. Don’t give up on the first try of something but don’t stick with something you detest just because you see results. Try swimming, weights, CrossFit, home exercise videos, yoga or just about anything for a couple weeks just to see if it is for you. Just like trying anything new, if a workout is so foreign to you that you feel awkward, allow yourself to not be good at it a few times, you will get better and just may see some results.

If you are trying to get some more healthy habits in your day then remember to start with only 1. The statistics show that you will quit due to frustration if you try to incorporate more than 1 habit at a time. Do not try to change your diet AND start exercising regularly, you will drop both. Do start with exercise. Make exercising part of your daily routine. Once you have made exercise part of your daily habits then you will realize that you cannot outwork a bad diet. Then you can begin to eat to fuel your workouts.

Food often has emotional attachment to it but so does exercise (did you ever have to run a lap or do pushups for messing up in a sports practice?) If you find it easier to confront your demons by confronting your food issues then you can start there. I find it easier to handle my issues with food after I have an exercise routine in place. Exercise can help with depression, a major cause of overeating or stress eating.

Be SMART in choosing your behavior. Be SMART in choosing how you live your life fully. Be aware that you are in charge of your life. Your health is in your own hands, not the hands of your doctor or insurance company. When you become empowered about your health, wellness and realize the future of your body is in your hands then you can begin to take more of a commanding role in how your physical life will go from here. Choose longevity and how well you can move. Seek health from this day forward and you will be rewarded with clearer thoughts and a sense that you are making the decision to live a longer and fuller life.

Reward yourself with play and movement, not a pizza or cake. The longer you leave the unhealthy foods off of your plate the less you will crave them.

Now go be healthier.

Tri Coach Andy