This is (CrossFit) Philosophy
Today, we tackle, the question of the CrossFit fitness philosophy – what is it; and how does this play out in our training and day to day lives?
But first, a quick recap before we dive into this…
In the first post we discussed that philosophy is: “a collection of our own authentic experiences. We see and interpret the world, based on things that we encounter in our day to day lives”.
In the second post, we addressed fitness philosophy: “how we like to train and move towards our health and wellness goals” and discussed, how dabbling in different modalities allows us to learn and add to our understanding of health and performance.
Rounding out this series on philosophy, we arrive at CrossFit – “constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity”.
There are three aspects to this definition…
1. Constantly Varied
Every day the workout is different – one day we have heavy back squats, the next, we’re leaping over boxes.
Why?
That’s because within the CrossFit philosophy, the best athlete is the person who performs well throughout all these modalities. In CrossFit, fitness is characterised as the most versatile, resilient and well-rounded athlete.
In simpler terms, there is no point being able to deadlift 200kg if you can’t run around and play with your kids.
2. Functional Movements
What is a functional movement?
Well, it’s something that we utilise in our day to day lives. We deadlift to pick up boxes, squat to reach those bottom shelves, and press to launch our kids through the air.
And that’s why we practice them in the gym – there is a direct crossover and benefit to these everyday tasks.
3. High Intensity
We’ve all probably seen videos of athletes competing at the CrossFit Games – stooped over in agony after an enormous set of thrusters. We probably think that this is CrossFit and if we aren’t working that hard we aren’t doing it right.
Well, if that’s you, you are completely wrong.
You don’t need to trash yourself to be an awesome CrossFitter – on the flip side, the best athletes understand their capabilities and work with an intensity that is relative and individual to their capacity.
That’s because, “high intensity” is individual.
The firefighter in his mid 20’s will have a completely different gauge than the post-natal mother. What matters is that both these individuals show up and train with intention and effort – and that’s why they both cop a high five on their way out the door.
To Conclude:
So, there it is, the CrossFit philosophy.
CrossFit is intended to be inclusive to all individuals; scalable and relative to the athlete.
CrossFit is not rolling around on the floor dry heaving post Fran.
CrossFit is not heaving weight off the floor with no consideration for form or technique.
CrossFit is not the divide between the Rx’ers and the rest of us.
CrossFit is not even the whiteboard, written up every day by the coach.
CrossFit is what you make it – everyday your body, energy levels, stress and lifestyle may vary, and so should your approach to training.
But, if all else fails, remember that CrossFit is fun and should make you happy. If you’re missing this, then you’re doing it wrong.
Happy Training Team!
– Serge Houhlias –