I Need to Get in Shape First

Sometimes when I invite a friend to give CrossFit a try, they say something like, “I’d love to try it. Sounds fun, but I’ve got to get in shape first.”

When someone says this, it tells me two things. First, they’ve misunderstood the purpose of the program. We CrossFit to get in shape and stay in shape. If only those who are already in shape did CrossFit, our gym would be empty. Second, it tells me that they’re worried about being accepted. They don’t want to be judged by people who are in better shape.

The only other time I’ve heard people say something similar is when talking about going to church.

“I want to come back to church, but I need to change some things first.”

“I’ve been thinking about being baptized, but I’m not ready yet. I’ve got a few bad habits to clean up first.”

Again, when people say things like this it tells me they don’t really understand the purpose of being a part of a church. Church is not for people who are already in good spiritual shape. It’s for people who want to get in better spiritual shape and then stay in shape. It also tells me that they’re worried about not being accepted as they are. They fear being rejected by God or church people or both. Either way, this fear of rejection keeps them away.

One of the reasons CrossFit has become a popular option for people of all fitness levels is that CrossFit gyms have found ways to overcome this initial hesitation shared by so many potential athletes.

One thing you’ll notice at a CrossFit gym is people in all different kinds of shape working out together. Imagine three people working out side by side. One looks like he’s been carved from marble and has 6% body fat. He’s cranking out pushups faster than you can count them. Next to him is a middle aged housewife who has been been doing CrossFit for only a couple of weeks. She’s doing push-ups from her knees, because that’s the only way she can do them. Next to her is a pear-shaped gentleman who has already lost 25 pounds in 2 months. Because his body shape makes it hard for him to do a traditional push-up, he’s doing them from his knees and only going about half-way down. His form isn’t great, but its the best he can do right now.

All three are experiencing the joys and pains of CrossFit even though they’re all in different shape and have different goals for their training. One hopes to compete in the CrossFit games where the winner gets a substantial cash prize. One wants to lose 15 pounds before she goes on a cruise in 8 weeks. One has been told that if he doesn’t lose 100 pounds he’s probably doing to die an early death and never get to see his kids grow up.

This kind of diversity is possible because every workout is scalable so that everyone can do it, no matter what kind of shape they’re in when they walk in the door.

And it is almost impossible to describe just how out of shape some people are when they walk into our gym. They’ve never played competitive sports, lifted weights, or run a mile for time. They lack the flexibility to squat properly, the strength to do a push-up, and the endurance to run 400 meters without stopping. They’re addicted to sugar, can’t imagine a world without white bread, and the only green thing they eat is jello.

For some reason, usually because of the testimony of a friend and because they can’t stand to take another step on their current path, they walk into a CrossFit gym for the first time. Immediately they are surrounded by people who are thinner, stronger, and faster than they are. They are put through a series of tests and asked to perform a number of seemingly impossible tasks. They leave the gym humbled by their experience. They wake up the next morning sore all over.

Then they do the most amazing thing: they come back for more.

I’m not surprised that once people get hooked on CrossFit they can’t stay away from the gym. What surprises me is that so many people come back the first few times before they’ve seen enough results to fall in love it.

One of the reasons out of shape newbies come back those first few times is because they are accepted as they are. This is one of the most important factors behind the success of CrossFit. The CrossFit community upholds rigorous standards of fitness while at the same time making it possible for anyone to participate. Every movement is scalable. Every workout can be adapted to an athlete’s fitness level. Everyone who want to, gets to participate. We meet you where you are and go from there.

But it’s more than just scalable movements and adjustable workouts. It’s also the way the more experienced CrossFitters support and encourage newcomers. Anyone who has the guts to walk into the gym is given instant support. Just the other day I saw one of the the most advanced athletes in our gym walk over and encourage a newbie after watching her struggle through a workout by saying, “Good job. Way to stick with it. It gets better. You should have seen me when I first started.”

This is not empty talk either. When someone is really struggling with a workout, we don’t stand around laughing, ridiculing, or making degrading comments because someone is weak or out of shape. We jump in and encourage, because we’ve all been there. No matter what kind of athlete you are, a good CrossFit coach can design a workout that will either eat your lunch or cause you to regurgitate it. Every CrossFitter knows what’s its like to struggle and we rally around each other when we see it happening.

Mutual acceptance is one of the big reasons we keep coming back.