(Context: A member's comments about how training at CrossFit Benedictus is different than other places & programs.)
'1. Accountability: There's no 'penalty' for missing a workout in other (programs’) classes. If I was busy or not feeling quite great, then I didn't think twice about not going to class. With cross fit, if I don't go then I'm missing something (instruction, progress, ...). And during a workout, not giving my best effort makes no real difference in the other classes, while in cross fit it probably means not finishing (and maybe not even starting)!
2. Trackability: In other classes I've been to, there is no definite way to chart progress. The warm-up/work-outs vary slightly from class to class, but it is impossible to know whether your performance is improving, other than the way you 'feel' when you are there working out. No matter where you are on the spectrum in cross fit, you can see your progress with each WOD (Thrusters at 35# during boot camp felt like the hardest think I'd ever done!). There are so many benchmarks that are made available to you on the website.
3. Camaraderie: The energy and encouragement that happens in the Cross fit box can't be found in classes elsewhere, or with videos at home. The cross fit athletes really push each other to go further than they would think possible. (It took me two minutes longer to do the furnace WOD at home two days before doing it at the box with the other ladies.) It is a great group of people, and when you accomplish something as difficult as some of the WOD's at the box together, you really form a bond with the other women. It's like nothing I've experienced before, like you've climbed a mountain with them.
4. Cross fit equation (CV,FM @HI + Communal Environment= Health: The other (programs’) classes might have one part of the equation, but having all of them really seems to be necessary. Most classes (and many videos) are not high intensity or functional workouts (most we used was 2-3 lb hand weight) and were not varied enough to keep you interested. While some classes were sometimes high intensity and varied, they never included functional movements. And without the challenge the communal aspect never really materializes.'
----KH, 020316 |
