What really is CrossFit?

CrossFit is many things to many people. It’s a workout; it’s a place to exercise; it’s a lifestyle; it’s the friendly competitiveness; it’s the YouTube clips. But what really is CrossFit?

By definition CrossFit is constantly varied, high intensity, functional movement…A combination of buzz words that get thrown around in almost every gimmicky exercising marketing advert, CrossFit related or not.

But consider this. Outside of perhaps a sporting club or therapy group where can you get a place to exercise where everyone around you knows who you are, and is genuinely happy to see you? A place where the people who’ve also come for a workout actually ask how you are, and take an interest in you and your fitness journey…I think you know where this is going. Yep, CrossFit can give you all this and more.

At regular gyms, people training rarely speak to each other, except maybe to ask “are you still using this?”. At CrossFit, you know people’s names, and they know yours.

Yes, CrossFit is an exercising regime, yes it is a place to go workout/get fitter/stronger/lose weight, etc., yes it is a place that promotes healthy lifestyles and offers support for your goals. But, I ask again, what really is CrossFit?

Here’s the thing. CrossFit is the community. CrossFit is community.

In our fast paced, social media obsessed world where people hide behind their keyboards and loath face-to-face interaction, what is it that brings seemingly random individuals together to exercise and actually support their fellow members through a workout? (I’m sure there’d be a study out there somewhere that would say that this occurring of and by itself in the outside world would be almost statistically impossible).

What is it that compels people to take time out of their day, after they have finished their own workout to go and clap/cheer/offer encouragement to some other seemingly random individual who is still trying to finish their workout? What is it that brings together people who would never have attempted to form friendships in the outside world, let alone social groups and organise social events together, even if they were “friends” on Facebook?

CrossFit does this…or more specifically the CrossFit community does this.

CrossFit is the community, and the community is CrossFit…and when you have this support what seemed impossible quickly becomes the achievable.

- Adam