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Ever been to a crossfit gym? Its as communal as any church. The author is referring to "boutique fitness" like CF, soul cycle, barry's etc. Not typical "glob

by maxcan 9y ago

Ever been to a crossfit gym? Its as communal as any church. The author is referring to "boutique fitness" like CF, soul cycle, barry's etc. Not typical "globo gyms" like Planet Fitness and others.

Retric 9y ago
People can easily end up on similar schedules and see someone 3-4 days a week for months or years even at Planet Fitness. It's a natural environment to slowly build a friendship.
exelius 9y ago
Can confirm; I’ve made a few good friends at Flywheel just from going to classes regularly. Tends to appeal to people with similar lifestyles (working professionals who are competitive and athletic).
raverbashing 9y ago
Ah yeah, the team building and communal aspects of CrossFit are encouraged Too much cult like for me though (Though I think CrossFit does a lot of things right, like no endless boring "cardio" exercises and having actual strength training)
- lotsofpulp 9y ago
  From all the literature I've encountered, cardiovascular exercise is the most important for those in a sedentary lifestyle. Weight training is important too, but it's not a replacement for cardio. Anecdotally, the fittest elders I meet who do office work are those who run and cycle or do other cardio activities.
  - always_good 9y ago
    Your comment suggests that you thought the comment above was saying that there is no cardio in Crossfit. I'd say Crossfit's whole liturgy is to interleave aerobics with some weights. Like a circuit of box jumps, a lap around the block, and power cleans.
- KozmoNau7 9y ago
  It depends a lot on the gym you choose. Some CF gyms are extremely RAH-RAH-MILITARY and hardcore focused on competitions, they swallow the "party line" hook, line and sinker. Others (such as the one I use) are a lot more informal and use the WODs and such as examples and suggestions for workouts, and are very good at scaling the routines for those of us with a bit more mass to heft around. The "fittest on Earth, no room for weaklings" thing may be appealing to some people, but it also raises the bar for entry needlessly high.
  - maxcan 9y ago
    This was just posted on the mainsite fb page: https://www.facebook.com/crossfit/videos/10154940743797676/ https://www.facebook.com/crossfit/videos/10154940743797676/ I think most affiliates are like mine or yours these days. Supporting competitive athletes but overall focussed on serving the broader population.
te_chris 9y ago
Yep, it's great, but they just 'invented' sports clubs. I've swum with a club my whole life, it's not 'group fitness' it's just training for a sport.
projektir 9y ago
But have you been to a church? I'm not saying you can't make friends at a gym, but churches are generally many magnitudes stronger in this department and I wouldn't say gyms replace them much at all. Churches generally cover a much wider range of experience and you can talk about all of it. Churches allow you to get philosophical. Churches often have participation in making food and provide food over which people can converse. Gyms mostly focus on the nature of the exercise. So if it's a Crossfit gym, you get really into Crossfit. You don't get into other facets of your life that much, I imagine. You might make friends with whom you talk about those other facets, but that's not the same thing, that's just usual making friends through a shared activity. I haven't been to Crossfit in particular, but I have been to a few club gyms and that was my experience. Not a place where I could talk about the meaning of life or about various problems. But surely a place I could talk lots about the $exerciseStyle. In a church, you might not even necessarily make friends, it's more that you can just talk to people about open topics and it's expected.
- maxcan 9y ago
  > But have you been to a church? No, but Synagogues and to be honest, I never bonded with that community to the extent as I've made lifelong, deep friendships in CF. > I haven't been to Crossfit in particular Then you can't really compare. CF is different from many "club gyms" and others. Maybe its the insane, shared intensity that creates a deep, primal bond (think bootcamp, going to war, etc). Maybe its the militant focus on constant improvement and mutual support. Maybe its the nature of being in a group of like-minded, type-As who all share a welcoming view towards discomfort. Not sure, but I've seen the bonds that it creates, and its nothing like the other club gyms. My source for that is members who've come from Barrys, OTF, etc.

by maxcan 9y ago

Ever been to a crossfit gym? Its as communal as any church. The author is referring to "boutique fitness" like CF, soul cycle, barry's etc. Not typical "globo gyms" like Planet Fitness and others.

Retric 9y ago

People can easily end up on similar schedules and see someone 3-4 days a week for months or years even at Planet Fitness. It's a natural environment to slowly build a friendship.

exelius 9y ago

Can confirm; I’ve made a few good friends at Flywheel just from going to classes regularly. Tends to appeal to people with similar lifestyles (working professionals who are competitive and athletic).

raverbashing 9y ago

Ah yeah, the team building and communal aspects of CrossFit are encouraged Too much cult like for me though (Though I think CrossFit does a lot of things right, like no endless boring "cardio" exercises and having actual strength training)

lotsofpulp 9y ago
From all the literature I've encountered, cardiovascular exercise is the most important for those in a sedentary lifestyle. Weight training is important too, but it's not a replacement for cardio. Anecdotally, the fittest elders I meet who do office work are those who run and cycle or do other cardio activities.
- always_good 9y ago
  Your comment suggests that you thought the comment above was saying that there is no cardio in Crossfit. I'd say Crossfit's whole liturgy is to interleave aerobics with some weights. Like a circuit of box jumps, a lap around the block, and power cleans.
KozmoNau7 9y ago
It depends a lot on the gym you choose. Some CF gyms are extremely RAH-RAH-MILITARY and hardcore focused on competitions, they swallow the "party line" hook, line and sinker. Others (such as the one I use) are a lot more informal and use the WODs and such as examples and suggestions for workouts, and are very good at scaling the routines for those of us with a bit more mass to heft around. The "fittest on Earth, no room for weaklings" thing may be appealing to some people, but it also raises the bar for entry needlessly high.
- maxcan 9y ago
  This was just posted on the mainsite fb page: https://www.facebook.com/crossfit/videos/10154940743797676/ https://www.facebook.com/crossfit/videos/10154940743797676/ I think most affiliates are like mine or yours these days. Supporting competitive athletes but overall focussed on serving the broader population.

te_chris 9y ago

Yep, it's great, but they just 'invented' sports clubs. I've swum with a club my whole life, it's not 'group fitness' it's just training for a sport.

projektir 9y ago

But have you been to a church? I'm not saying you can't make friends at a gym, but churches are generally many magnitudes stronger in this department and I wouldn't say gyms replace them much at all. Churches generally cover a much wider range of experience and you can talk about all of it. Churches allow you to get philosophical. Churches often have participation in making food and provide food over which people can converse. Gyms mostly focus on the nature of the exercise. So if it's a Crossfit gym, you get really into Crossfit. You don't get into other facets of your life that much, I imagine. You might make friends with whom you talk about those other facets, but that's not the same thing, that's just usual making friends through a shared activity. I haven't been to Crossfit in particular, but I have been to a few club gyms and that was my experience. Not a place where I could talk about the meaning of life or about various problems. But surely a place I could talk lots about the $exerciseStyle. In a church, you might not even necessarily make friends, it's more that you can just talk to people about open topics and it's expected.

maxcan 9y ago
> But have you been to a church? No, but Synagogues and to be honest, I never bonded with that community to the extent as I've made lifelong, deep friendships in CF. > I haven't been to Crossfit in particular Then you can't really compare. CF is different from many "club gyms" and others. Maybe its the insane, shared intensity that creates a deep, primal bond (think bootcamp, going to war, etc). Maybe its the militant focus on constant improvement and mutual support. Maybe its the nature of being in a group of like-minded, type-As who all share a welcoming view towards discomfort. Not sure, but I've seen the bonds that it creates, and its nothing like the other club gyms. My source for that is members who've come from Barrys, OTF, etc.