![]() Love it or hate it, it cannot be denied that CrossFit is the most popular and profitable brand that the fitness industry has ever seen. CrossFit has exploded in just over the last decade from 1 to over 12K affiliate gyms. This happened for many reasons, the biggest 4 of which are outlined below. 1) Results. Constantly varied, fully functional movements applied at a high intensity = results. When you combine things like barbells, kettlebells and gymnastics with running, rowing and swimming in a safe, efficient and progressive manner, it's almost impossible not to get results.
2) Accountability. The best indicator of whether someone will be successful in a healthy lifestyle change is his or her immediate social network. If your friends are into something that has made a positive impact on their lives, chances are, you will be too, and you’ll stick with it. CrossFit gyms tend to create their own community of like-minded individuals seeking to make positive changes to their lifestyles. You won't find many big box gyms hosting nutrient dense potlucks. (You will however find some gyms serving bagels and pizza...talk about job security!) 3) Competition. Although when asked, most people will say they’re not competitive, those same people always want to know where they stack up. For example, if we give our gym members the task of doing as many pushups as they can in two minutes, the first thing they want to know is “Is that a good number?” Wait, I thought you weren’t competitive? Most people just want to be “strong & healthy”. Thanks to the last 70 years of strength and conditioning research, coaches can now tell you exactly what strong & healthy looks like on paper and with a barbell. 4) Controversy. People love to talk smack, especially if they don’t know much about a subject other than what they’ve seen online or read in the headlines. With articles out there like “Can CrossFit Kill You?” and “CrossFit’s Dirty Little Secret”, it’s no wonder that people are talking about it. Nobody ever asked if Jazzercise was going to be the death of you. CrossFit isn’t leaving the building anytime soon. But before anyone starts to naysay something that they don’t fully understand, I suggest they find a quality CrossFit gym in their area and try it out for at least a month. Why a month? As a society with an “I want it now” mentality, it's easy to try 10 different things to attempt to get 1 result, only to say that none of them worked. The reality for most folks is that their fitness level didn’t drop overnight, nor did those 10 lb. of fat around the midsection happen in the last month. To really make some positive changes, its going to take some dedication and some serious work in both the gym and the kitchen. If you’d like to start getting healthier, whether that’s losing body fat, increasing muscle mass or both, then awesome! Congratulations, you’ve taken the first step that most Americans haven’t even thought about. The next thing I would recommend is finding a gym that fits your needs. CrossFit or otherwise, a good gym/community can be the difference between success and failure. Next week we’ll be posting an article on what to look for in a CrossFit gym. In the meantime, if you want to start preparing your kitchen for success, check out this article on nutrition here. See you in a few weeks folks! Ryan Humphries Co-Founder BushCraft CrossFit
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WarriorsThese notes are the musings of a few BushCraft CrossFit warriors who pride themselves on prepping for performance. Archives
May 2017
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