A Fit Community

Starting this coming Sunday (December 6th) I will be traveling around the greater Washington, DC area meeting and working out with some of the top CrossFit coaches at their boxes.  The goal with this endeavor is two fold: first, I want to meet new people and get some damn good workouts in.  Second (and really the main reason for this), is to network with coaches and enthusiasts of this amazing grassroots concept of fitness training.  The more I get involved with CrossFit, the more I appreciate what it truly stands for: getting people active and in shape.  It has clearly gotten a mixed bag of feedback over the years because by nature, it can bread a selection of people that sometimes takes things a bit too far for the general public.  Overall, I say this is actually another reason it is so good for people; really, anyone can get involved.  It allows people who want to take their fitness to the top levels the means to do so, and it allows for the Average Joe to have an honest and incredibly effective way to transform his/her life for the better.

In my profession, I tend to talk to a ton of different people about health and fitness (the conversation usually heads in that direction no matter what I do usually, it is such a strong topic for all people).  Whenever I mention CrossFit I have found that I always get something similar to these three responses:

1) "I know all about it and love it."
2) "I don't know much about that, but what I do know, it intimidates the hell out of me."
3) "That's that crazy form of training where people yell, throw their weights and try to make themselves puke and pass out right?"

Well, the first point is the one I obviously want to focus on here, but not before I address the second two.  Being intimidated by something is a very difficult thing to deal with, especially when it comes to matters of taking control of your life.  My only recommendation is to give it a try at the very least.  Do a little research (this coming project will help a ton) and go out there and try a class, pretty sure you'll really enjoy it.  The last point there is the one that is toughest to deal with.  I completely get this, and in fact, this is the view I had of CrossFit for a while because that is all I knew of it.  And the truth of the matter is, a huge majority of CrossFit and CrossFitters tend to lean in this direction.  That is precisely why I am taking this journey.  I want to show CrossFit as what I believe is its base concept, an open community for people to share and support their own, and other peoples fitness goals.  It also supplies the most efficient and effective method to achieving those goals.  Given the fact that CrossFit is defined as a style of training that is meant to be performed at a high intensity, it is only natural that you will get a large group of people who take that to the extreme.  And if that is what they choose to do (I personally love this) that is completely their prerogative.  If you choose to be a little lower key in life, so be it, CrossFit is still for you.

Just go google CrossFit and see the amount of different information there is up there.  Check out different affiliate websites and see how their programming is slightly different, their styles, moods, settings are all very different.  Their client base is different.  That is the beauty of it all and it is the differences that I wish to shine a light on.  All with the same goal of spreading fitness around the world in an open forum manner, each person, coach and box does so in their own personal manner.  And they are all right.  In the same way one will never truly be able to understand the world unless one travels it, one will never truly understand fitness for his or herself until one tries all different methods and styles.  Will a strength based program work the best?  What about metcon based?  Should you use the Zone, go paleo forr diet?  Should you avoid machines, be inside, outside?  Should you workout alone, with a group, with the world?

I say try it all.  So, starting next week I'm headed out for the first baby step.  Every day I will post a little on each spot, how they work, how they feel, what they believe in.  I'll also videotape the WOD and post that as well!  And at the end, I'll be writing up a much more in depth article based on my points with this post.  But this time with a little more fuel.  I'm so excited to meet all these people and try new workouts.  If you're around and want to join, shoot me an email or call and come along, the more the merrier!

Schedule (as of now):

Friday 12/4 @ 10am - Trans-Continental Workout #3 w/ Blair Morrison
Saturday 12/5 - OFF
Sunday 12/6 @ 9am - Albany CrossFit (not really DC area I know, but I'll be up there)(Maybe)
Monday 12/7 @ 10am - CrossFit MPH
Tuesday 12/8 @ 10am - Capitol Jiu-Jitsu CrossFit
Tuesday 12/8 @ 6pm - CrossFit DC
Wednesday 12/9 @ 10am - Primal Fitness
Wednesday 12/9 @ 6pm - Still working on this one
Thursday 12/10 @ 10am - Still working on this one
Friday 12/11 @ 10am - CrossFit Extreme Fitness
Saturday 12/12 @ 4pm CrossFit Balance

Should be fun!!

Never Stop, GET FIT.

Josh Courage