WHY CROSSFIT?

In any Strength and Conditioning Program there is a goal. That goal is typically directed towards one sport or multiple events depending upon the sport (triathlon,  decathlon etc). Yet, defining what the need is tends to be an issue for some Strength Coaches.
More than likely, you (yes I’m talking to you!) were a former athlete or has competed in something sometime in your life, correct? If so and most likely this is true, when asked “did you ever play or do you currently compete in any athletics or sports (now we are talking anything from football, gymnastics, dance etc)?  Chances are, if you were a FORMER athlete your answer is; Yes, I  USED to play… fill in the blank.
The reason why I’m posing this scenario to you is that in CrossFit,  you are no longer a “has been” or “used to be” athlete. As a “CrossFitter” when asked, “hey do you play any sports” your answer and my answer is “Yes, I do CrossFit!” Now you don’t have to be on the CrossFit competitive spectrum and compete in the CrossFit games to be an athlete. It’s just like saying you don’t have to play in the NBA to say you play pick up games every Sunday with your friends at the YMCA. An athlete is defined as a person that is INVOLVED in athletics. Competitive athletes vs. weekend warriors vs. training to be more athletic is all relative.
So, Why CrossFit? What does this program do for me?
Lets take it back to where we started at the beginning of this blog post. As a CrossFit Coach who programs each workout just as a Strength coach who develops their athletes programs, there needs to be a goal for that sport. For example, the goal of a Powerlifter is to be strong in the Bench Press, Deadlift and Back Squat. The goal for a football player (depending on position) is a little bit more tricky. They need to be strong and powerful, but need to have the endurance and flexibility to get into particular positions. They need to be quick and agile etc.
So lets take CrossFit and define what does the CrossFit programming aim to get you better at as a CrossFitter. Well, as you might have read in my last post about the 10 General Physical Skills, these are the areas in which we aim to get you better at.  We aim to increase you Cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Speed, Power, Agility,  Balance, Coordination and accuracy.
This truly defines a WELL BALANCED ATHLETE. If you improve in all 10 of these domains you are tremendously more “fit.”And what does being “Fit” mean to us, it means we have increased your Work Capacity Through Broad Time and Modal Domains (Greg Glassman, CrossFit Founder). So we have increased your ability to do more work over time through various exercise domains.
This is what CrossFit does. It gets you more Fit, more athletic and more willing to try things you would have never imagined you could do. It aims to help you be better at everything! It helps you perform tasks outside the gym that once seemed  hard to be easy (walking up stairs,  hiking, yard work etc).
Look at CrossFit like this; at age 10 and age 70, its just as important to have the ability and functionality to pick something up off the ground. Just as its important as a parent to be able to run around with their kids or grandkids. CrossFit promotes FUNCTIONAL FITNESS in a  fun environment. That is what we do!
I’m not telling you that you are going  to be or are training to be an Elite athlete, what I’m saying  is that athletes are the fittest and healthiest  people generally.
So Why CrossFit? This shouldn’t be the question, thats easy. The question should be WHY NOT CrossFit? Thats a harder question and quite frankly I don’t have an answer for it! : )