We Used to be Counterculture…
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a weird sense of foreboding since I heard about the CrossFit/Reebok partnership. I found this pic on crossfit.com and it didn’t make me feel any better. This pic SCREAMS globo-gym to me. Especially the “10 General Physical Skills” mural on the wall. YIKES!
Now, before everyone freaks out, let me say this: I LOVE CrossFit, the culture and what it has done for all of us. CrossFit changed my entire life. And Glassman is an absolute genius. I’ll never forget the night I read his “What is Fitness?” and was completely blown away by it and inspired. A few months later I was attending every CrossFit Cert I could find…
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the whole story, here’s the official announcement:
The Good…
The GOOD in the partnership is – for sure – the fact that the more effective CrossFit methodology and training techniques will make it out into the mainstream. This IS a good thing. In particular, the HUGE majority of people who want effective training and have been brainwashed by globo-gyms and fitness magazines into thinking machines and treadmills are the way to get “fit” will FINALLY have access to good information and effective training. Here, CrossFit making it to the masses is a GREAT thing.
And, as I said, Glassman is a training genius and he can do whatever the hell he wants with his baby as far as I’m concerned. He created it, we owe him a lot and he deserves to have “CrossFit” spread to the masses if that’s what he wants.
The Bad…
SciFit posted a really good article about the partnership (good AND bad) recently. It’s definitely a good read and probably has a more positive spin than anything. Here’s the thing: CossFit USED TO BE a subculture. I LOVED that I was part of this wacky, extreme training community that was seen as a little “nutty” from the outside. If CrossFit goes entirely mainstream – and I have NO DOUBT that it will if Reebok is involved – we will absolutely see it take on more of a “group exercise” tone. And, I shudder at the thought, we could even see “career” group instructors “picking up” a CrossFit cert to make themselves more marketable. You know, something to go right along with their Spinning and Zumba certs.
There’s no doubt in my mind that there is going to be a dilution of the core training principles if CrossFit goes “big.” One of the major benefits of CrossFit boxes was that they were virtually always owned by an experienced trainer who took the work very seriously and considered himself a producer of elite athletes. If CrossFit Reebok gyms start opening everywhere they’re going to need to be “staffed” and that is a scary, scary thing…
Everyone’s into CrossFit, no one does it anymore…
To me, the opportunity – and the question – is: “Where are the splinter movements?” Where are the smaller communities and blogs that are carrying on the quality and intensity that CrossFit had at the start of this whole thing? There have been a number of people who have split off from CrossFit – my friend Robb Wolf being one of them and OPT Fitzgerald being another. It will be interesting to see if a bunch of displaced talent comes together to carry on the REAL work of furthering the “sport of fitness” and moving training and nutrition science ever forward.
And, if there are ALREADY some “splinter groups” or schisms forming, BY ALL MEANS drop me a message and let me know!
To sum it all up, I’ll leave you with this:
What you’re looking at above is recognition that CrossFit is now officially an ANSI Accredited Certificate Program Issuer for their Level 1 Trainer Course. Essentially, we’re talking about Level 1 trainers now having a “map” that they need to follow, with rigid standards and black and white rules. As Seth Godin says in Linchpin:
“Our society is struggling because during times of change, the very last people you need on your team are well-paid bureaucrats, note takers, literalists, manual readers, TGIF Laborers, and fearful employees…. What we want, what we need, what we must have are indispensable human beings. We need original thinkers, provocateurs, and people who care…. Indispensable linchpins are not waiting for instructions, but instead, figuring out what to do next. If you have a job where someone tells you what to do next, you’ve just given up the chance to create value.”
When I found CrossFit back in 2007 with the help of my good friend Merle Mckenzie, there was no map. There wasn’t even a written test at the end of the Level 1 Cert I took. For a guy like me, that was GREAT – give me an awesome, intense weekend of training and theory and turn me loose to create MY OWN map and find my own way with a great set of principles.
Maps, standards and sets of instructions are confining and stifling to Linchpins but they’re exactly what you need if you’re planning to replace coaches who consider training others “doing art” with low paid employees who need a manual to tell them what to do next.
ttys
Adam
Wise words man!
Let’s see what happens next. Best wishes for CrossFit and the old wolfpack of that functional fitness system.
Thanks, Andro! Personally, I’m looking toward the NEXT evolution 🙂
Adam
Interesting take on the Crossfit HQ changes.
I see it like this. It is a good thing. As you have already mentioned getting EFFECTIVE and worth while training knowledge to the masses is a good thing. Health and fitness should not be some secret with a “counter-culture / rebel” label attached to it…… after all we are only doing what P.E. class used to be back in the 40’s and 50’s. “CrossFit” is nothing new. It is old, established, and EFFECTIVE movements re-presented to generations of people that were either brainwashed by the corporate fitness machine or where never exposed to these types of exercise in the first place. With ever increasing numbers of Americans being classified as obese or diabetic…..the more exposed to “PE” class the better.
There will ALWAYS be fringe athletes that push the limits of CrossFit. Not everyone that NEEDS or performs Crossfit wants to be classified as a “firebreather”. Some just need to learn what it feels like to effectively use their bodies again. Big boring group classes may be exactly what they need -vs- working out with the “crazies”<-(I'm one of them).
Those that want to be the best will always find a way to work towards being the best…..look at any sport anywhere. More crossfit to the masses should not stop you from pushing the limits or finding seeking the next level. It is a personal choice.
As far as the next "evolution"…..don't you mean next de-evolution?
I'm all about throwing some rocks and swinging an axe.
Finally to address the burgeoning corporate CrossFit market…..I have no fears. No one owns constantly varied training over broad time domains (or whatever the hell it is). Sure they can copy right the term but NOTHING is stopping a gym from opening and doing "crossfit" without ever mentioning the name Crossfit. The genie is out of the bottle.
I just hope the actual CrossFit games format remains grassroots open where "Joe Everyman" has a chance to work his/her way into the games. The one thing I fear is the development of CF superstars that are given special treatment into the games regardless of their performance. Sure have professionals but make everyone take the same course to the games.
KLowe
http://www.crossfithuntsville.com
GREAT POST, Kevin! Thanks for adding so much to the discussion!
I think you’re absolutely right about the genie being out of the bottle. I guess I’m just mourning the “loss” of “our” CrossFit as it goes out into the world to become God-knows-what…
You also raise a great point about the games and the superstars. I won’t get into it here, but I’ve already seen some hero-worship stuff in the community and it DOES concern me that we might see a situation where politics and favoritism make the games LESS accessible to us “mere mortals.”
Thanks again for raising the bar on this discussion!
Adam
insightful – thanks! as a nonaffiliated box owner (looking to affiliate next year), this concerns me. the whole “staffed facility” is a nightmare waiting to happen. yes, this will bring what we do, crossfit, closer and closer to a household term. but, at what cost? how watered down will the experiences be? it worries me that whole identity, subculture, cultlike persona will be lost in translation. i shudder to think of a zumba instructor teaching crossfit movements. in my past career experiences, i managed in the globo gyms that i now so loathe. and ultimately, it will make me question whether the act of affiliation will even be worthwhile. thoughts and advice are welcomed!
Thanks, Galen! I think CrossFit a year from now will be VERY different in all respects to CrossFit today. THAT is for sure!
Thanks again for them comment on your experience!
Adam
I all ready know career group fitness instructors who haven’t done crossfit pick up a level 1 trainer cert so they could do crossfit-like circuit training at the gyms they worked at. And thats in Australia.
I worry about how this will effect the little boxes, but also how it will effect places where crossfit is still in its baby stages (like Australia) and where sports stars don’t get sponsors and have to pay their own way to even the Olympics unless, seemingly, they are in athletics or swimming.
Good point, Lani. Yeah, I guess I know of some group instructors doing CF and not calling it CF if I really think about it…
Not sure how it will affect CrossFit in the areas where it hasn’t peaked yet…
Adam
Thoughts to ponder certainly. I also am in the process of affiliating… and CF is my ONLY experience but it has been life changing for me. Now I wonder if I have already missed the boat and if continuing with affiliation is just asking for trouble. I know there is NO way I will be able to compete with globos offering ‘crossfit’ at $25/month. And let’s be honest… yes, there may be a difference in quality of training (or not), but the average consumer won’t know or care. They will simply see site A offers CF for $130/month, site B offers CF for $25/month. No contest. I’m worried and open to suggestions about where to go from here.
AJ, for sure, CrossFit IS a life changing experience. Time will tell where it goes as an organization, I guess…
Adam
CrossFit WAS a life changing experience.
To me, CrossFit is now in the garbage; Ross Enamait, here I come again.
And GG is so passionate about his “baby”, you can feel the passion emanating from his athletic belly into his fit, low fat face. *eye roll*
Checking out Ross’s blog now. LOL on the last part! But, belly or not Glassman is a genius.
Adam
Glassman is a genius but not a genius about fitness. He’s repackaged others ideas and added a few bad ideas, sold the whole thing as his own invention and made millions. That’s genius.
Jerry,
I think ol’ Greg HAS made some contributions to fitness and training. No, he probably didn’t “invent” much, but he packaged AND presented it in a way that made sense. He pulled a lot of things together from a lot of different places and made them all “click.” And, yeah, then he packaged it, sold it and made millions 🙂
Thanks for the post!
Adam
Rippetoe, Twight, Dan John, Everett, Urban, Wolf…these are just a sampling of the people more knowledgeable than Greg Glassman, who just repackaged and marketed cross training with lots of hype: someone will walk in the door with a 200 lb deadlift, do only CrossFit.com WODs and two years later pull between 500 and 750lbs, more muscle than bodybuilders, fittest on earth, etc.
Mr. Glassman, feel free to put anybody up against Brian Clay in the long-recognized event called the decathlon.
Blincon,
Those guys you listed are some of the smartest out there. The fact that they’re not associated with CrossFit anymore is one more reason I’m concerned about the direction the organization is taking.
Thanks for the comment!
Adam
I also miss the “good old days” of CrossFit and I was lucky enough to take my Level 1 when Coach was still teaching it. CF changed my life and I am thankful for that. In regards to the partnership and all the changes, so far I have found that very little of that effects my personal workout or my bodies response to it. The gym that I call my home, CrossFit 5280, has remained for me an island of hardwork and motivation.
I am excited to go to CA this summer and watch the big guns play for the title and I am thankful for the partnership with Reebox because it is going to be a crazy big event. That being said it also drives home the fact that I am personally detached from those athletes. Yes, I am “competing” in the OPEN. But just the same as when I compete in a Triathlon, I am racing on the same day but I am no competition for the pros.
I am hoping that the partnership will remain a very small part of MY CrossFit experience. Yet I am not naive enough to believe that nothing will change. Right now I am still enjoying the ride knowing that someone else is driving so they get to pick the radio station.
You’re right, Becky. The “vibe” at the individual boxes continues to be their own. Hopefully it will continue that way…
The CrossFit community still rocks! The culture at HQ has seen some changes though…
Adam
I think Adam is exactly right. Glassman didn’t invent or do much. His main contribution is in pulling together other people’s work, typically without giving credit, into a marketable product. For many of us, that marketing drive was what made us aware of functional fitness, but it’s also what destined it ultimately for mass marketed mediocrity.
It was inevitable that as the movement grew, greed would prevail and dedication to excellence would go into the gutter. Greg Everett commented recently that “Crossfit” would eventually be similar to “yoga” or “Pilates”, a general description of methodology with no implication of quality control. I think that’s exactly right. It was lazy of us to think that we would always be able to discern the excellence of someone’s training by seeing the buzzword “Crossfit” above their door. Crossfit is a tool. It’s up to individual trainers to pursue excellence in their field, and as a trainee, caveat emptor, is most definitely still in effect. There are outstanding yoga teachers in the world and there are outstanding crossfit trainers, but you can’t assume everyone who advertises a yoga class knows what they’re doing. Dave Werner changed my life. He used crossfit style training to do it. If he’s got a different buzzword on his front door tomorrow, that won’t concern me at all.
Excellent post, Jules! I completely agree about the individual trainers being what it’s all about at this point.
Adam
I agree with Kevin in that we all need to help solve the overweight and obesity issue(and the health problems that come with it) not only in the U.S. but increasingly across the globe. To me, any form of fitness is better than NO fitness. If this partnership is “a” solution then fine. Yes, I am concerned that CrossFit going “mainstream” may dilute some of its more attractive (to me at least) “wackiness” aspects. But it did started going mainstream even before Reebok when Coach Glassman posted the first WOD online,when certs started being offered to the general public, and when we started the Games. There are some assumptions being made about the Reebok partnership that might turn out false so speculating at this point might be a bit presumptous. As a trainee, trainer, and affiliate, what I have learned from Coach Glassman and trainers like Jon Gilson, Jeff Tucker, Aimee Lyons, and the host of others who have influenced me positively is that the reason why we are “different” is we CARE individually and as a community. One of the ways that caring manifests itself is through the upholding of standards. It is sad that there might be other people who call themselves crossfitters who are only in it for the money or for aesthetics reasons. But, there is no perfect solution to everything except (and I am very biased) CrossFit. I drank the kool-aid about 4 years ago and wanted to spread the gospel to anyone and everyone that would listen. In retrospect, I was going mainstream. Along the way, I learned more about health, nutrition, and fitness than I ever did before. I am sure there are other similar stories out there. If that is not a good thing, then we are going to fail in our mission/mandate (yep, there I said it) as a movement and community. I’ll end with a quote I first saw from CF West Santa Cruz that I still carry to this day: “The person who takes the banal and ordinary and illuminates it in a new way can terrify. We do not want our ideas changed. We feel threatened by such demands. ‘I already know the important things’ we say. Then [the] Changer comes and throws away our old ideas away. – Frank Hebert
Great comment, George! Thanks!
Adam
Adam, will you even see this? It’s been a while since you made this post.
My husband and I are fighting this right now. We just opened a small grass roots affiliate here in our home town. Immediately the established gym, got themselves a level 1 trainer and started offering “CrossFit” classes. They are getting their affiliate as we speak. The classes are run in a corner of their gym, never any instructing, all the WODS are from the Home page or stolen from other boxes. They offer this with Zumba, Spinning etc. in their class schedule, all for $25/month. We’re feeling a bit doomed right now. How we do we expect people to understand the difference between what we offer for $100/month vs what they offer for $25 (plus spa package)! It’s so infuriating. Our members are loyal and they know the difference, but growth has been VERY small since we opened. I’m worried we won’t make it through the winter. We have worked for years to get to the point we felt ready to open our own box. We still go train with top trainers in our state to keep ourselves growing. We focus on the clients and the community, but yet most of my calls start out with “How come you guys are so much more than XYZ down the street?” I just wish CrossFit did more to protect the name, these watered down crossfit classes at the Globo GYm will lead to the downfall of the community we all love so much.
That totally sucks, Natalie! I do think you can combat this though. Blogging and being active in the community is obviously key. And, I’m not so sure you WANT people ignorant enough to think they’re getting CrossFit at a Globo-Gym for $25!
Get a copy of “Book Yourself Solid” by Michael Port and study it and work it 100%. I studied with Michael before he got as well known as his now. His stuff is awesome and EXACTLY what you need for the position you’re in. You’ll love it.
The video is me at my girlfriend Michelle’s box – she’s a coach – and we talk about the same issues:
http://www.myfivefingers.com/crossfit3/
Good luck and keep in touch!