Strength and Conditioning, which is essentially what CrossFit is, is what athletes use to prepare or strengthen their bodies for their sports. That means that for athletes in the weight room the strength and conditioning isn’t the focus- their sport is.
When students come in to Synapse, I’m not focused on how to make you the best at CrossFit (at least, not yet). I want you to use CrossFit to get great at everything else in your life. Life is your sport, and CrossFit is here to make it better.
YOUR ACTIVE HOBBIES:
Here’s an easy one. Running, biking, hiking, dodgeball, tennis, rock climbing, basically any sport EVER: You MUST be mobile, and you MUST have some basic strength to stay healthy and active. For example, runners often see overuse injuries, especially if their hips and cores aren’t strong. CrossFit is an incredible supplement, and can be preventative medicine. CrossFit can help by making your playtime, your hobbies -the FUN stuff- more fun, for longer.
YOUR LONG TO-DO LISTS AND DAILY STRUGGLES:
CrossFit absolutely helps you focus and problem solve. Often I look at the whiteboard and think, “How am I going to tackle this?” in the same way I view problems at work or daunting tasks. “One rep at a time,” applies to almost everything. Sometimes I’ll even look at a to-do list and turn it into an AMRAP. How much can I get done in an hour? Let’s see.
IT MAKES THE GOOD STUFF EVEN BETTER.
Need more energy to go out on the town? Hang with your kids? More confidence to date? Just need to calm the F down? CrossFit and high intensity exercise are REALLY good for this stuff. There aren’t too many times in life that you get ALL of the feel-good neurotransmitters all at once, but doing a high intensity workout is one of those times! This is literally a way to make sure you are at your sharpest and brightest outside the gym, and there’s nothing more important than that.
We don’t ALWAYS have the most motivation to get to the gym, but it’s important to realize that the gym is more than just a place to get slimmer. Allow yourself the mindset that CrossFit exists to make your life better. It’s not always about your backsquat PR- it’s about having the energy and capacity to live life to the fullest.
What are you doing still reading this? Go to the gym or climb a mountain. Go do that thing on your to-do list you’ve been putting off. It can’t be worse than thrusters.
