We know there are lots of people who want to try Crossfit, but you may be completely nervous or unsure about what you will experience the very first time you give it a try. This article is for you.
When you step foot inside any CrossFit gym anywhere in the world, you are most likely going to see the same thing; loud music, fit, sweaty people making all sorts of noises, weights banging all over the place, and bodies sprawled out all across the floor as if a raging bull came running through the gym and took everyone out. Sounds intimidating, right?
You are NOT alone. The most common comment? “Oh wow, it looks SO intimidating. There is no way I can do that.”
Maybe it does seem way too intense, or even just a little insane. But I’d like to share with you a completely different point of view. One that is positive, nurturing, and is geared to set you up for as much success as you make of it.
I won’t lie, it is intense – and we get after it – but that’s why it is SO REWARDING. Somethings you look at a posted workout and you think you could never do that, but when you get around your coach and community; you rise to the occasion, and suddenly you find yourself crushing it (or at least surviving it ?).
What I can tell you is many of those people who said they could NEVER do this, came back to me after the class and said, “That was SO fun, and I could do it! And it was way less intimidating than I thought it would be!”
Almost every single one of them.
Here’s what else I can tell you from the moment you step into your first class:
1. You are going to create a relationship with a coach who genuinely cares about your success, wellbeing, health, and performance
2. You are going to get to know gym mates who are all striving for the same thing and will push YOU to succeed
And more important:
3. ANYTHING you do here in the gym is better than NEVER coming to the gym at all – whether you CRUSH it, SURVIVE it or even SCALE it. Just by being here and going thru the motions and conquering your fears, you are winning.
In fact, I can’t think of anything that is more rewarding, nurturing or motivational than a having a coach guide you along your fitness journey with having good friends and companions suffer with you through the workouts!
I remember all the times I did classes and would “high-five” with other members during runs, cheer them on after I finished my workout, or get cheered on when they were done and I was still going. When a group of us are pushing each other, we not only suffer together – we work together too! We may be pushing our limits, but we all knew we were in it TOGETHER. In the end, when we “high-fived” afterwards, it felt amazing to have made it through, TOGETHER.
Being a part of something like this is powerful. It gives you motivation to seek new health or fitness goals. You build relationships with coaches and friendships with gym mates that motivate you to not miss the gym, or NOT to get beat by your buddy, or to push a little harder at the end. You gain a sense of pride that you are accomplishing these grueling tasks with other people who are just like you.
I mean come on, how fun is it really to put your headphones in and go stand in a corner all by yourself and lift a weight a few times with 10 random people staring at you?
In my eyes, NONE AT ALL!
Best of all, there is NO judgement in CrossFit, nobody staring at you, and nobody sizing you up. Because we’ve ALL BEEN THERE! We’ve all started out with the PVC pipe, or with a band doing pullups, or scaling a movement. And we know how cool of a journey you are on, and how excited we are to be a part of it and watch you grow.
So, if your still feeling intimidated about trying CrossFit, ask youself these three questions:
1. Do you enjoy being a part of a community that strives to make you a better person inside the gym AND outside, motivates you to continue moving forward?
2. Do you enjoy meeting new people, and making new friends that want to see you succeed?
3. How about when you don’t feel like you can finish something, and you have a group of people cheering you on through the finish line? Doesn’t that sound amazing?
If you said yes to ANY of these, you’ll LOVE CrossFit. I urge you to TRY IT. I guarantee you will love it.