9 Minute AMRAP

  • 5 Clean & Jerks (60/40)
  • 35 Double Unders

......Now, time for a bit of Sunday Afternoon reflection


Why do we CrossFit?

We all reach a point in our training, it may be after failing to make a lift which you'd previously hit, or whipping yourself on the shin for the billionth time trying to string 5 Double Unders together, but you start to question what you are actually trying to achieve.  Why do you keep coming?  Everyone has a different reason, but HAVING a reason is essential.  Its a decent question to ask, and one worth trying to answer.

CrossFit is hard, really hard. There are a million different skills to learn, and even as you embark on the journey to acquire these skills, you do so in the knowledge that you will never truly perfect them.  The physical demands of CrossFit are surpassed only by the mental aspect.  

You will be cut and inevitably bleed on a periodic basis in the pursuit of your goal.

"Why do you put yourself through it?" Is a question my mother often asks me? It's a question we may all ask ourselves from time to time, especially as the weather gets worse and the barbells and rig feel like they are made of ice.

For me, its the only hour of my day where I can be truly in the moment.  Being continuously present in what I’m actually doing. Not allowing my thoughts to wander, or to perhaps reflect back on a conversation I could have handled differently during the day or thinking ahead to a difficult meeting I am about to go into.  It is also an hour (the only hour) of my day where there is a distinct absence of a glowing screen in my face or periphery.

CrossFit demands 100% of your attention, its a full on physical and mental immersion that you have no choice but to give yourself completely over to….... and there is something liberating about that. 

An hour of freedom, unburdened by whatever else you may have going on.

I think there is something more to it as well, a real social network………Many an introvert has been reluctantly forced into conversation and physical contact during a WOD, I'm one of them!  We are at heart, social creatures though and there are very few opportunities these days to truly interact with people in an authentic and honest way.  CrossFit is one of them.

This 3 minute video partially covers it.  You may have seen it already, but its worth watching again.

If the above doesn’t resonate with you then I’m sure there are many other reasons why you do it, some of these will greet you on the homepage of our website "Be better at life", "with loyal friends" and "look good naked" 

“Better at life"

More physically capable, healthier, happier, confident, motivated…….. these are all very likely side effects.  More tangibly though, exercise is the only silver bullet against ageing and illness.  Anyone who has completed their CrossFit Level 1 gets taught that whatever your chosen bio-marker is (blood pressure, heart rate, blood glucose level, body fat % etc) exposure to CrossFit will improve it.  Each measure will have a “Sick/Well/Fit” range.  The idea is that if you’re ‘Fit’ then you first have to be just ’Well’ before you become ‘Sick’.   This gives you a natural hedge against sickness.  

“Friends”

There is a part of your brain that fires during extreme stress and physical demand.  It releases a chemical called Oxytocin.  You are likely to form strong friendships with people around you when this chemical is flowing through you body.  The effect is seen in the military, in groups of survivors of natural disasters and yes, to a lesser extent, on the floor of CrossFit gyms! This explains a few things.

“Look Good Naked”

Have you even been in a CrossFit gym!  This is an unavoidable side effect. Its part of the deal sorry.