3 REASONS WHY YOU THINK YOU CAN'T START CROSSFIT AND WHY YOU ARE MISTAKEN

As a CrossFit trainer who is particularly focused on training newcomers, I consider it my duty to promote CrossFit Closer and the Beginner’s Program to as many people as I can. The myriad of reasons why people cannot do CrossFit never ceases to surprise me, and believe me, I have heard some far fetched ones. However; from the hundreds of people that I have spoken to, three reasons in particular stand out:

1) I am too old to do CrossFit

I am often regaled with tales of how you used to be in shape, in your younger days you played hockey, volleyball, baseball, did track and field etc…. and then after you graduated college, life got in the way. You didn’t know what to do in the gym, children, mortgages, and bills came along, and one day you woke up and realized that you didn’t like how you look or how you felt, but you resigned to a fate of feeling this way, because surely you are too old to do anything about it now. 

A twenty dollar bill that was printed in 1993 is probably a little tattered and worn by 2015, but it is still worth $20. As for you, your mental, physical, and emotional health is worth a heck of a lot more than $20, regardless of what state it might be in. The members of our adult classes range in age from 16-65. They workout together side by side, pushing and motivating each other just the same… and have a great time doing it. At CrossFit Closer we work out for longevity and preservation of quality of life. It’s never to late to start on that. 

2) I am too out of shape to do CrossFit

Being told by someone that they are too “out of shape” to come to the gym is both titillating and aggravating to me, as I feel this perception is born of the myth that the gym is for people that are “in shape” (the people you see in fitness magazines) and no one else. My question for these people is “how do you plan to get in shape without going to the gym?” The responses are usually quite similar: Well, I plan to start walking, maybe running, maybe some videos at home, I’ll watch what I eat, and maybe in a few months I will be ready for CrossFit. 

So in other words, you plan to suffer in silence at home, alone by yourself and probably end up giving up, when you could be in a safe and nurturing environment with coaches to hold you accountable and like minded individuals with goals that are similar to yours. Every workout performed at CrossFit Closer can be scaled to a level that you can safely complete, regardless of your fitness. You will work at your own pace, competing only with yourself and the clock. And you know what? You just might surprise yourself!

3) I am overweight, CrossFit is only for really healthy, lean people…

Ok. When you google CrossFit, the first 100 images that pop on screen, are these incredibly lean, incredibly fit people, who seem to have developed some sort of allergy to shirts. Well, maybe an allergy to clothing, period…. but that does not mean that every single individual who performs CrossFit looks like that. Step into any CrossFit box and the amount of body types that reside there will astound you! 

Yes there are some incredibly lean, incredibly fit people at any gym… but the majority of members are everyday people who are there for a good workout, to better their lives, and to have fun. And not a single one of them is judging you, or how you look. There is a very good possibility that some of them were once overweight and scared to go to the gym, and they will be more than happy to welcome you and share their stories. Your merit at the gym is based on showing up and working hard. And that is something anybody can do. We are all in this together.

At CrossFit Closer we offer in-depth Beginner’s Program and Beginners Bootcamp that is available for everyone, which allows you to start your fitness journey with other people who may share that same goals, hopes, fears, and dreams as you. So regardless of what your reasoning is, don’t you owe it to yourself to at least try?

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Limitations, just like fears, are often just an illusion- Michael Jordan