Why Do We Love CrossFit?

The Valentine's Day Crew...kicking a day of chocolate in the *** with a Fight Gone Bad.

CrossFit Spokane's New Shirts with Logo/Slogan!

Why do we love CrossFit? Where can I begin? Who among us still longs for the old way of spending hours in a place packed with machines and cables, elevator music mixed with televisions, and the countless reps of isolated movements? Can we even imagine the time when we didn't OHS or anxiously "fear" a wonderful 5 minute workout? Who among us now can say to our friends and family, "I need/get to go workout" rather than "I have to go workout"? It may be a hallucination, but I like to fantasize that every member of CrossFit Spokane gets up every morning and the first thing on their minds is concerned with what the WOD will be that day:) So how has CrossFit changed your life? What changes have you noticed, not only physically, but mentally (and possibly emotionally) as well? Do you recall your Deadlift technique as you pick stuff up around the house? Have you ever been out somewhere and found yourself naturally dropping into the deep squat after finding that there isn't any chairs around? I encourage you to think about that over the next 24 hours as you go about your day and realize how much you utilize what you work for in the gym. Then come back and post in comments how CrossFit has helped you:)

We are sure by now you have noticed that we are requiring our members to sign in as you attend the classes each day. The reason for this is so that we can take a look at what hours have what number of clients and adjust our trainer-client ratio to better suit you and provide you with the best service and training.

Also, we are planning on having an order sheet posted in the gym within a few days for those of you who would like to purchase clothing with our new logo/slogan. For this first bulk order, we will be limiting the style variety to choose from, but in the future we'll have more of a selection for you all to make more specific orders. Once posted, we will have it available for sign-up for about a week or so before sending the order in.


Also, congratulations to those of you who attempted a PR on your muscle-ups! Unfortunately I was out of town this past weekend (at an outstanding XF Barbell Cert) and I didn't see that many people posting what they achieved...so for the next challenge I will be making sure to have a scheduled time(s) so that we all can watch you go for a PR!!!:) And speaking of a new challenge, the next one is posted on the board so make sure to check it out! The above picture should give you a hint:)

And here's a second challenge...like always, Saturday's are a great time. So between now and then, find someone that you know might be interested in coming by to check out CrossFit. If you talk about CrossFit as much in your "non gym" time as I do, I know that there are some people in your life that are curious. So bring 'em in! They don't even have to workout, we just love having people come in and see what we're all about. That being said, we hear from time to time that a CrossFit gym itself can appear quite intimidating. We completely understand that; walking into a place with simple looking equipment, sweat soaked bodies and that feeling of intensity does make some take a step back, including myself at one time:) But what else does one see? People of all ages, fitness levels, experience, personalities, and goals. We all started with that baseline WOD long ago and wondered if we would be up for this. But think back. That baseline seems more like a warm-up now. Those simple bars, bumper plates and pull-up stations no longer make us hesitant, but instead have become a friend in our lives we couldn't imagine being without. Your confusion with why all of those black stall mats are covering the floor has passed and you now smile when you hear the phrase "Pain For Time" because you now are able to push yourself harder than you ever imagined....

...and you love it.

Below is a short piece written by Jon Gilson from Again Faster. Although this was geared more towards just the women at their gym, you can easily replace some names, words and thoughts to apply it to us fellas as well. Regardless of gender, I think we all can get the point of this article.

If I were feeling a little more lawless, I’d gather all the copies of Cosmo and Seventeen, douse them in kerosene, and strike a match. I’d throw in reams of print ads from Calvin Klein and watch with delight as [models] stick-thin image was reduced to carbon. I’d add copies of Shape and [Vogue] until the flames reached toward the heavens, and then I’d crank call the editorial desk at Muscle and Fitness until they stopped publishing pictures of women on steroids.

I’d get the master tapes of America’s Next Top Model and dub over them with “Nasty Girls”, broadcasting the results on every television station in America

I’d take every woman with mass media-induced ideals of beauty, and I’d show them what it really means to be beautiful.

Beautiful women are strong and powerful. They are athletes, capable of every feat under the sun. They have muscles, borne of hard work and sweat. They gauge their self-worth through accomplishments, not by the numbers on the bathroom scale. They understand that muscle weighs more than fat, and they love the fact that designer jeans don’t fit over their well-developed quads.

They refuse to succumb to the marketers that prey on insecurity, leaving the pre-packaged diet dinners and fat-burning pills on the shelf to pass their expiration date.

Beautiful women train with intensity. They derive self-image from the quality of their work and their ability to excel. They don’t need to wear makeup to the gym, and they wouldn’t be caught dead with a vinyl pink dumbbell. They move iron, they do pull-ups, they jump, sprint, punch, and kick, and they use the elliptical machine—as a place to hang their jump rope.

They spend their weekends in sport, climbing walls, being mothers, winning races, and running rivers. They laugh as they sprint circles around the unschooled, turning the image-obsessed into bench warmers. Beautiful women don’t care if they’re soaked in sweat and covered in dirt [and chalk], if their nails are chipped or their hair out of place. They care only about quality of life.

Beautiful women are happy, healthy, and strong, and they’re right there beside [us], tossing conventional beauty on the ever-growing flames of what used to be.

Be beautiful. Be strong.