I’ve been doing CrossFit for 11 plus years, in about 6 different states, and been a regular at about 7 different affiliates. In those 11 years, I have seen a large number of people come and go. People leave for different reasons, but I think people stay for the same reasons. Based on my observations and conversations with people, below are those reasons why I think people stick with it and actually improve. Most people that stick around will demonstrate more than one of the following.
#1 – Making sure you actions align with your goals.
This has to do with why you even started on a health and fitness journey in the first place. CrossFit really blurs the lines between participation and competition. The reasons are obvious, but if not, it is because a clock is running, there are people around you, and everyone is keeping score. I’m not saying don’t compete (with others, in local comps, or with yourself), but let’s set the record straight – sports is not health. When you decide to be a competitor, you are choosing to forgo the health benefits of that activity. Your lifestyle has to reflect that demand you have placed on your body with more focused programming and improved recovery strategies. Not many CrossFit Games athletes live like Dennis Rodman circa 1998. I know people that do, and their CrossFit performance and overall health is directly related to that lifestyle. And that’s perfectly fine. I went to war twice to fight for your freedoms, what you choose to do with those freedoms is your choice. Just don’t lie to yourself about your actual health status. What you do in the gym and outside the gym are not independent of each other.
#2 – Embrace the Community
A major benefit of CrossFit is you are surrounded by like minded people, typically in your demographic. Everyone brings a unique skill set into the group and everyone can provide value to each other. Embrace the community, it can be your tribe. Connect with others, share in each others successes, and try to add value to it. This may be the most important aspect, and it requires the least amount of words.
#3 – One workout a day
Many gyms program a strength and a conditioning piece each day. This is a business decision – members perceiving value from it – and not based on any effective training methods. We need some context, so let’s look at an extreme example.
Extremes provide some clarity since things are harder to differentiate closer to the middle. Neither A nor B would be good or bad, but B is definitely a harder workout to recover from based on the movements and the volume. If most of your training days are heavy barbell work and a 12+ minute “metcon” squeezed into an hour, I think I can safely assume that:
- You have lost track of your goals
- Your coach has lost sight of your goals
- You aren’t getting closer to skill mastery because you spend more time doing, not learning, if this is crammed into a 1 hour class.
I’ve never seen a workout like A programmed, but I’ve definitely seen workouts like B programmed all of the time.
#4 Focus on strength and an aerobic base
People fall in love with metcons, but it won’t take long before metcons don’t make you better at metcons. This thought process is a reason for the Army’s fitness woes. The Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) was created for leaders to assess soldiers’ physical fitness at a given point in time. Eventually the APFT became the gold standard and a reward system was created around it, so training evolved to pass the test. You passed? Promotion points or ranking on an Order of Merit list. Fail the run? I’ll see you at “fat body PT” so you can run extra. Not getting better at metcons? Obviously I need more metcons. NO!! This equates to you taking an APFT ever time you work out. This is testing instead of training, which is common in CrossFit – because there is a reward system built around it. You know, like the score, high fives, posting on IG for likes, etc. Instead, address the components of fitness. Improving your strength will make workouts easier since the prescribed weight will be less of a percentage of your rep maxes. Strength is worthless if you can’t breath enough to use it. By focusing on the components, the tests will take care of themselves.
#5 Skill Mastery
I think this is the main reason people come and go to CrossFit, or any program, really. There are things you won’t be good at, so you have to commit to getting better at them. CrossFit’s components come from sports that people spend years training for – weightlifting, power lifting, gymnastics. Also, there is an inherent skill in CrossFit to figure the best way to combine the movements to work for you, something I mentioned in my last post. Those that don’t commit to skill mastery end up leaving, or constantly have nagging injuries. Learning the skills makes you more efficient, allows you to progress in your training, and sometimes makes workouts more challenging because efficiency makes you faster. Every movement has a regression that allows you to master the basics. Commit to that and revisit those basics on a routine basis.
#6 – Find a good coach
Everyone has a different idea of what makes a good coach, but typically a good one helps you achieve your goals, not one that dictates his/her goals on you. They also have to have the tools to reach your goals, or have a resource available. There are specific relationship requirements the individual needs with a coach, so that is something the individual has to decide, and the coach needs to be aware of this as well. That awareness should come intuitively based on experience or because the two of you have had a conversation about it. When in doubt, remember your goals, and figure out if you are meeting them.
So those are the things I’ve noticed over the years. These aren’t just observations I’ve made as I silently sit and judge people, these are things I actually believe and try to incorporate into my own journey. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose, but that’s part of journey.
3FN 