GSX Crossfit: Why?

Why?

I overheard a conversation the other night, and it got me thinking.

The question going around was "why do we do it?". The "it" being CrossFit with all of the stressors, demands, heavy weights, high reps, etc. Is it competition? The ego or the Id? The social side of a good class? Suffering or competing with friends? Maybe you're going in to the police academy or getting ready for BUD/S. Perhaps trying out for CAG?

Maybe it's part or all of these things. Or none of the above.

What else out there gets folks counting almonds and dudes shaving their chests?

Post thoughts to comments.

13 comments:

Candice said...: Crossfit makes me a better person. Crossfit motivates me to pursue excellence and to push myself past my comfort zone, making me a stronger person physically, as well as mentally and spiritually. I look forward to the WOD all day long and if I do it early, I want to go back and do another later in the day. It is a love/hate relationship and I am sure most of you can relate... Crossfit is my sport of choice and it has, in more than one way, changed my life for the better...; September 22, 2009 at 8:45 PM
ava said...: Crossfit is more than just an exercise program, it is a lifestyle of fitness. Since I've been doing crossfit, I am healthier and feel much better overall. A huge part of my job is wellness promotion, health maintainence and disease prevention. I counsel my patients on diet and exercise on a daily basis. Crossfit and Paleo/Zone diet have changed the way I do that. Call me a fanatic, but I'm a believer! The great thing is, this works for everyone if they will do it. I think my patients are much more likely to take my advice when they can see I actually practice what I preach!

P.S. I started Crossfit because of a boy, but I stay in Crossfit because of me! Life is Good!; September 22, 2009 at 10:42 PM
Unknown said...: Because cutting corners and training "soft" will not pay any dividends when you have to perform for real, whether it is in a military or civilian setting. CrossFit demands your utmost each time, making you more disciplined and confident, both physically and mentally.; September 23, 2009 at 1:20 AM
E.S.T. said...: I do crossfit to look good naked.; September 23, 2009 at 1:40 AM
jared said...: Chris, you a hole! you totally stole mine!!!

Its all about the LGN... (looking good naked); September 23, 2009 at 8:19 AM
Jason said...: Why we do it – After years of working out in a gym, doing Body for Life, cycling and running, I found out that the ups and downs time became consistent. The challenge came and went along with the soreness of day to day activities that weren’t suppose to happen because I was working out to prevent it. If we bust our ass 5 days a week in the pretty gym, shouldn’t we be able to dig a hole and plant a tree in the yard without feeling like crap for 2 days?
Now it is a new found love that I discovered in a Muscle and Fitness magazine in while sitting in a CVS waiting for drugs to get the mucus out of my lungs. The exercises were push-ups, burpees, sit-ups, pull-ups, air squats, all which reminded me of the P.E. class in grade school. Worse part was that I couldn’t do them.
The pretty gym machines are gone with the exception of the rower (which ain’t so pretty after you used it) and it is ok to drop your weights 6 feet off the floor. The equipment sometimes looks like a Saturday trip to the Hardware store, floors and mats smell like ass half the time, not much different from the P.E. class.
This is work. Gone are the days of a fan in my face, seeing make up and teased hair, big arms and skinny legs, watching people circle the parking lot for a parking space close to the door to cut down the walking distance. Now its sweat, heat, chalk, outdoors, high heart rates, concrete and grass. All of which are non-existent in the boutique gym.
The payoff was the ease of the other things I do around the house, at our lake property or when hiking the Grand Canyon. After working to replace a timing belt on my truck for almost 2 days being on top of and underneath the entire time, I wasn’t sore (thank you burpees). Examples of this progress are seen every day and it only took a different challenge daily. From the PR of 1 pull up in April to where I am in September of the same year, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Crossfit works.; September 23, 2009 at 8:42 AM
Jason C. said...: I almost fell out of my chair laughing after I read the entry form Chris. Serious reading until I got to that one.

My reasons are somewhat simliar. I do it to look good and feel good. Since my diet is quite the opposite of "strict" I need an intense program like crossfit to make up for it.; September 23, 2009 at 9:27 AM
ken c said...: i do it for the money!! i'm also broke and live in a box...at the bottom of a lake.; September 23, 2009 at 2:07 PM
Steven Willis said...: I do CrossFit because IT WORKS! I knew about it for about a year before I tried it. First workout crushed me and I pretty much decided that anything that hurts that bad has got to work... But it is a different lifestyle. It changes the way you think. Normal stressors in life become menial. If I can make it through Murph, Eva, or Mr. Joshua, I have no doubt that I can make it through other junk.

Plus, you can just do stuff! CrossFitters are freaking capable! ...and they look good :); September 23, 2009 at 3:36 PM
ava said...: Ken-
at least you don't live in a van...down by the river!; September 23, 2009 at 4:50 PM
raif said...: For me it's 1. Comradery-like minded folks cheering each other on (not to mention CWM and softball/snookies) 2. Variation-not knowing what the next day or week will bring is constantly stimulating. 3. Competition-used to be the number one reason but now I don't mind losing as much to people who work soo hard.; September 23, 2009 at 9:01 PM
Unknown said...: Wow! Such great (and funny) answers. I agree I do it for all the above mentioned reasons. But, Crossfit really has been a life changing thing. For nearly 15 years, working out for me was part of a tangled mess of disordered eating, distorted body image, and a self-imposed mental and physical torture of sorts. But after being introduced to CrossFit (thank you Raif), I discovered that working out is about more than just getting down to a certain body fat percentage. PR-ing my deadlift, finally getting my kip, and adding a round or two to Cindy has replaced...no it has far exceeded any "high" I ever got from starving myself into a pair of size 2 jeans. So, the reason I do Crossfit is to continue to become stronger physically and mentally and to put more and more distance between me and that skinny, weak girl who used to pine for a flat butt and toothpick arms.; September 23, 2009 at 9:54 PM
stefanie said...: I started doing it b/c the wear 'n tear of 20 years of running on my body has made getting out of bed painful. I keep doing it b/c it works without the excruiating pain. It forces me to eat better b/c I need the protein to survive the work outs. I'm still running in moderation but I do it for fun not b/c I have to. And then there's Chris's reason... I want to LGN.; September 24, 2009 at 8:37 AM