Here in Texas, we are going into our second week of “Stay At Home,” and its clear most of us are going a little stir crazy. Many of us use the gym as a get-away or stress relief, even if going to the gym means twenty minutes on a cardio machine and aimless wondering for the next forty.
Most people are trying to get into running to stay fit, and I respect that, but it isn’t something that many of us would look forward to daily.
Others are searching social media for at-home workouts posted by influencers, but its week two or three of bodyweight squats, pushups, situps, and we are bored.
Most everyone has to change their style of exercise to stay fit, but not CrossFitters.
A good CrossFit gym is keeping its members fit by staying in constant contact with their members and keeping them engaged, customizing workouts, providing a variety of workouts, and even renting out equipment to those that do not have any.
CrossFitters are staying fit by merely having a base on the philosophical side of the program. CrossFit is composed of three definitive elements: constantly varied, functional movements, executed at a high intensity.
Functional movements to us are seen as ‘natural’ movements. Meaning they can be translated into the real world. An example would be a deadlift compared to picking up a heavy box. Functional movements also mean ‘compound movements,’ and those are ones that involve multiple joints and work multiple muscle groups, like the deadlift. The reason many people at Globo gyms avoid functional compound movements is that they are much more complicated than isolation movements, and require technique to execute them properly. Most of the time, these need to be taught to someone by a coach and not a youtube video.
Following the philosophical definition of CrossFit, we vary our movements daily. Most people at Globo gyms have been stuck in the same routine for years, and now that they cannot go to the gym, they are lost. CrossFitters are prepared for workouts that are not typical of routine. Using the deadlift again as an example, in our CrossFit classes, we have done deadlifts with a barbell, kettlebell or two kettlebells, dumbbells, med balls, sandbags, and plates, to name a few. We have done different styles of deadlifts like sumo, single-leg, tempo, and elevated. CrossFitters are already armed with the options and the technique on how to do these. So when limited on equipment, it’s not a problem to work in a different movement.
CrossFit gyms can run one-hour classes because our workouts are based on intensity. If you have read any of my blogs about intensity, you know that I believe it to be “relative.” Meaning that my intensity level is different than yours, but the goal of each workout is to push yourself, get sweaty, get your heart rate up and get a good workout. This is the perfect combination for when you are forced to work out at home.
CrossFitters are staying fit because they have been taught how to properly do compound movements, have an arsenal of variations they can do, and, most importantly, they still have a coach that is helping them along the way.
Do yourself a favor. Lookup a CrossFit gym near you, send them an email, and schedule a free trial with them for the first week they are back open!
Stay moving my friends,
Richard
