Are you actually using your Fitness??

by Karl Nevin.

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In the “Fitness in 100 Words”  (by CrossFit founder Greg Glassman) he ends the note with the following sentence

“Regularly learn & play new sports”

The CrossFit methodology was born as a method in which to make us healthy, functionally sound, strong & FIT people. It is there to prepare us for any eventuality in life & in turn have us being “Fit” for anything. Be it you need to be fit for a job or you wanted to grow old gracefully and avoid the hip or knee surgery that many in their 50’s & 60’s seem to think is a norm.

The CrossFit program (that you all do on the RoD) is there to make you better at life and be better able to participate in your chosen sport each weekend should you have one. Or give you the tools for you to try a new sport. Or heck, even to be able to join in with playing with your kids and not be gassed out & physically unable to even pick them up.

Greg deliberately ended his 100 words speech with this so it would stay fresh in your mind. If you train 3-5 times a week (seriously this is actually a very minute part of your week overall) you will be a FIT as F***, Functionally Strong & well equipped human to handle a plethora of tasks outside of the gym environment.

Ask yourself, before you found CrossFit (or did CrossFit find you??) did you used to run or bike or play a team sport? If the answer is yes then answer this, do you still partake in any of those activities or do you now just “do the CrossFit”?. I myself have been guilty of this at times throughout my journey so far as a CrossFitter. Of course this is my actual job so being as good as i possibly can be across as many different movements in order to understand them & teach them better is an important part of my training. But still when i think back to when i first started CF i stopped doing the things outside of the gym that i really enjoyed. I wasn’t playing as much rugby anymore & i stopped entering running events too.

It wasn’t until i first entered a local CrossFit competition that i found a way to express all the Fitness i had been building up. I had found a way to apply it and it made sense. Now i’m not for one minute saying that everyone should compete. Its not as simple as that and it just doesn’t suit everybody. What i am saying though is finding a way to apply your Fitness is a key component to the “Why”. The “Why” is your reason for doing this often hard & rigorous program in the first place.

Since my son was born last year it also given more perspective as to why i do this and what do i want it to achieve for me. I am now of the belief that i want to set a great example to Kieran by being the best version of myself that i possibly can be. I may be in my mid 30’s but i won’t let that deter me from my aspirations. Working out is very important to me now for a different reason altogether. It’s not to get a better “Fran” time (because if i don’t the world will collapse right?!), No, now its important to me to be Fit as i grow older with him and yet still be an active & participatory dad. School Sports Day 2020 i’m coming at ya!

I will endeavour to express this example to him by entering the odd local CF competition each year (4 max to be exact) & also looking for ways to further show my Fitness in a non-gym kinda way. I’m talk entering more 5 & 10k runs again. That kind of stuff. If I can show him this kind of can-do, disciplined attitude i have no doubt it will rub off on him & he in turn will favour from this kind of upbringing.

Enough about my why”. What is your “why”?????

Now lets look at how YOU could use your Fitness outside of the gym......

CrossFit Competitions: You see CrossFit has in recent times become a sport in its own right thanks to the advent of the Crossfit Games. With more and more of these local competitions being organised the chance to “compete” in CrossFit has never been more accessible. Seek one out that you can focus your training towards. Look for one that is at a minimum 10 weeks away and start dialling in your training. (Beware of over-entering comps. You may get the ‘bug’ for them and as a result you may enter 6 in a row! Not only will this set you back a pretty penny it will also have the opposite effect to your training in the first place. You will actually get LESS Fit because you are always tapering and recovering form these weekends. Choose your events wisely).

Fun Runs / Bi or Triathlons: This is a great way to express your Fitness. In a environment where everyone is a likeminded person. CrossFit lends itself very nicely to these endurance style events as we will build you anaerobic base up so high it will carry over to your aerobic base without you having to slog yourself for miles on end each week. On top of that all the compound lifting we do (Squats, Deadlifts, etc) you will most likely be the strongest person there and your strong hip/leg muscles will propel you past your peers who have spent their prep time just running endlessly!

Obstacle Course Races: Again super expression of a functional persons Fitness. All that climbing, crawling, jumping, even dodging will all come naturally to you seeing as we try to get you to do this most weeks anyway. Just be prepared to A: get dirty! and B: not time yourself WoD style. Sometimes just enjoying your Fitness is reward enough.

Rowing / Bike Clubs: You are all well familiar with our machine and as a result have built a great understanding of them. You could approach an actual club and do it as a sport! You’d meet new people and get to apply that Fitness in a whole new way!

Team or Individual Sport: Maybe you want to try your hand at Rugby, touch rugby, AFL, volleyball, hockey, Football, (Not called soccer where i come from!), tennis, swimming, rock climbing, etc. Like the point above why not try a sport out and see if you like it. You’d be surprised how far your functionality you get from our program helps you. Use the hard earned strength & muscle to make these sports come a bit easier to you.

Using your weekend with the Family: Now you don’t actually need to do a sport per se. you could actually take it upon yourself to set aside time each Saturday to get the family (immediate or extended) together and do a group activity that requires you to use your bodies. You could take them tree-top climbing, hill walking/hiking up the Grampians, a family swim together. Or head to bounce inc and enjoy the happiness on your kids/partners' faces when you ALL are jumping up & down and having fun.

All these things are reaffirming & create memories at the same time. My question to you is why aren’t you already doing this?? These are just a few examples of how you could “Use Your Fitness"

Sub note: We don't expect to see you any less in the gym now btw! Keep getting your butt up to the RoD otherwise there won;t be any Fitness to use!!

To help kick things off we at CBD are starting an Instagram Pic Competition in which we challenge you to use your Fitness. For the months of August and September we want to see what you guys are getting up to outside of the Rooftop. If you decide to go skiing GREAT! Show us proof & use the hashtag #UseYourFitnessCFCBD & tag us in it too (@crossfitcbd) to be in with a chance of winning a prize!!

We also are in the midst of organising a CBD group outing sometime in August. A chance for us all to gather socially and express our Fitness then go grab a bit together after. Keep your eyes peeled for more info very soon!

If you are not sure about your “why” or don’t know what to do why not schedule in a 20 minute goal setting session with one of our Coaches? Simply send an email to karl@crossfitcbd.com and we can pencil in a time. it can be with any coach you like so long as time allows for it in their schedules.

Pace out. Coach K.