Written by Nikole Gessler
We are all afraid of something. Probably many things. And some fear is a good thing, but don’t let it cripple you.
The most common things I hear when I tell people they should try CrossFit are:
I need to lose some weight first.
Let me get in a little bit better shape first.
It’s too expensive.
I don’t have time.
I have kids with me all day.
I don’t know enough about CrossFit.
And I’ll even let you in on a little secret. I have said all of those myself. But I am going to call bullshit on all those excuses right now. Change is hard. Trust me, I know. At one point in my life I weighed 215 pounds. I am 6’ tall, so as everyone used to like to tell me, “I carried the weight well.” I said all those things because it was easier to stay the same than it was to change.
I did lose 40 pounds and gain muscle mass, and a big part of that was eating clean, working out and eventually CrossFit. So when it came time for me to face some of my fears and go forward with starting my own CrossFit box, I have been very conscientious about those initial excuses I had myself. We at CrossFit Recursive are trying very hard to make sure there are no barriers to entry. No excuses.
You need to lose some weight? Fantastic – CrossFit is a fabulous way to do that. Losing weight, getting toned/fit, and gaining muscles mass are the 3 main reasons people start working out. We all want to look in the mirror and be proud of what we see. CrossFit can help you get there. We can provide nutritional advice, help with supplements, direction for the best recovery, plus moral support through the fantastic community that CrossFit creates. You won’t ever be on your journey alone.
You need to get in shape? So that you can get in shape? CrossFit is HOW you get in shape. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never stepped into a gym before or never laid hands on a barbell, we will guide you safely every step of the way. We even offer two options for you when starting out to make sure you are comfortable.
The first is a boot camp or lite style class offering called CrossFit Base. There you will still be doing CrossFit workouts, but the barbell work will be light and only in the skill portion of the class. None of the actual workouts will involve the barbell, but you will use your body weight and some other small ancillary tools. Trust me, you will still sweat.
The second thing we do is offer a Foundations Class for everyone new to CrossFit. There you will learn everything you need to know to safely do all the CrossFit movements. Classes are kept very small to get you a lot of individualized attention. We want to make sure you are comfortable and get the most of your time with us.
It’s too expensive? Yes, CrossFit costs more than the 24 hour gym down the street. But, at CrossFit, you will never be stuck on a treadmill reading a magazine while listening to music and watching re-runs of How I Met Your Mother. Each hour long class is instructor lead from start to finish. Classes are kept smaller so you get the attention you need. You develop a sense of community as you work out with people, you bond over the struggles you’ve gone through together. You can’t get that anywhere else. Consider the cost of personal training, which runs anywhere from $20 – $80+ an hour, while the cost of CrossFit typically works out to be less than $7.50/class. And, it is also worth noting that many Flexible Spending Accounts will cover gym/fitness memberships.
You don’t have time? I get it that we are all very busy in life with families, and jobs, and other obligations. Working out, doing something to better yourself, usually takes a back burner to life’s other obligations. We have tried to make our schedule fit your needs. We offer classes before work, over the lunch hour, and after work/evenings, plus classes on both Saturday and Sunday. We even have shower facilities so you can get ready for work at the gym. We also have a kitchen area and recovery beverages available to grab on your way out. And let’s think a little bit bigger here. We all need some time for ourselves, we need to take care of ourselves so that we can take care of others for years to come. You are worth an hour a day.
You have kids? So do we! Three of them ranging in ages from 4-12. So we know that time is scarce and money is tight and we need to work out because sometimes fast meals are what we get. We want to set good examples for our kids and that is hard. We do offer two different spaces for kids in our facility, a play room for younger kids and a study room for older ones. We know what it is like to have kids and struggle with getting to the gym. We also offer couples/family discounts so both parents can work out together while the kids play at the gym.
You don’t know enough about CrossFit? There is a lot on the internet about CrossFit, you can certainly google it to find a huge range of articles and thoughts on it. You should also visit the CrossFit main site – www.crossfit.com. there is a wealth of information there. We also offer a Free Trial Class for you to come meet us, see the facilities and try a workout with us.
If you have any other legitimate excuses to not try us out, please let us know. We’d love to hear them so we can try and help you work them out. Let go of your fear, put your excuses to rest, and come give us a try.