Crossfit and Gossip

I recently read an article by The New York Times entitled "A Class for Every Yoga Mood".  The article provides insight into the evolving practice of yoga, which is no longer the stretching, breathing, meditative discipline we recognize, but rather a new "fusion yoga" that is more hardcore and breathless in nature.  Fusion Yoga has led to an unending list of possibilities: Hangover Yoga, Yoga Butt Bootcamps, Shred Yoga with Weights, Yoga Crossfit...and whatever you can dream up.  Seriously anything. 

The fitness industry has become a radio with too many stations and a weak antenna.   

Across the country there is an epidemic in the fitness industry of following trends of what's new.  People's lack of success has driven them to jump boat too often and too soon.  Our attitudes of we want it quick and we want it now! continue to misguide us on our quest for health.  We follow the gossip and flux of trends and we never learn to commit long enough to promote true lifestyle change.

Nowadays, the average fitness consumer is looking for everything hardcore.  Type A personalities, adrenaline addicts, and fitness newbies crowd group classes aching for that aching.  The new quest for health is not guided by sweat alone but by lactic acid build up, an elevated heart rate, and a sore body.  So how did we get here?

Competition in the fitness industry has pushed a desire in developers to create a niche, so as to stand out amid all the noise. 

With so many "certified yogis and trainers" businesses and fitness professionals are pushing the limits of catchy marketing to fill their classes.  Thus Trend Blending was born.  As the ink bleeds across the lines, disciplines continue to adopt the principles of others, and classes such as Yoga Shred with Weights multiply and inundate the market.  

Aside from needing to stand out with consumers the fitness industry saw an opportunity as a little underground, hardcore community grew to be mainstream and ubiquitous.

Crossfit set the stage as becoming the most successful portal to fitness.  Crossfit became the Google search for experts in olympic lifting, physical therapy, gymnastics, endurance sports, and many other disciplines.  Essentially Crossfit sold itself as the mother umbrella to fitness, aligning subcategories of all applied athletics under it's nurturing wing.  And now the competitive athlete can be found in their garage across the street.

Crossfit exposed a few uncovered desires: we enjoy being competitive, we thrive in a community, and PRs (personal records) motivate us to be our best.  We need to be supported and held accountable, we need an environment that promotes enthusiasm and educational sharing, and we need quantitative data to mark where we are and how that relates to others.  But as great as Crossfit is we should not let this trend oversaturate our perspective.

Hardcore is ok.  As long as you understand that harder, faster, stronger isn't always better.  

And it won't initially gain you quicker access to that 6-pack or skinnier waist.  Most athletes and fitness personalities that inspire us do train hard but we have to take into account that their level of fitness has progressed over a lifetime.  And their hardcore is not your hardcore.  You should never imitate levels of fitness that you can not safely and correctly perform.

The Danger of Complacency with Success

I've been training for many years now, going through many changes in my philosophic approaches to physical fitness and health; I've had many firm stands on what is best for the body and what works best for me.  And I've always used my personal experience to leverage the best plan of attack for the success of my clients.  But as they have often times succeeded I have noticed a following lull as they reach the top of their mountain.  People lose track of the path they followed and become too content with their new vista.  What they don't realize is that this mountain they are climbing continues to sink.  And there is a danger of complacency with success.

So you've lost the weight.  You have the arms or legs you wanted.  And you've never felt better.  This motivates you even more to continue to train.  But in your success you can also lose the drive you once had.  You can forget about the struggle and your passion can atrophy.

I confess that I am a sinner of my own success.  I am confident to a fault at times.  I am happy with how I look and feel with my body and when given the choice to train or lie on the couch, well, the couch wins.  My complacency is making my decisions for me.  I could train but...I'm fine.  This is a major error.

My back and hips have been giving me problems for the past 6 months.

My Response: 

"Take it easy, give my body a break.  My clothes still fit.  And I look relatively the same."  

My Body's Response: 

"I need more activity!  I will give you new aches and pains.  And confuse you with a multiplicity of physical problems." 

Recently, I've shaken off my hesitations and recommitted to training.  Outside of the new aches and pains slowing me down I had lost the drive to lift weights; I had convinced myself that I didn't want to look too muscular--I know this must sound absurd, but you don't always want people saying that you MUST be a trainer when they first meet you.

After measuring my body composition I had a wake up call.  Not because it was extraordinarily high but because it was the highest ever for me.  My new body composition directly reflected the victory of my complacency for sitting on the couch instead of training.  And I finally realized that I was sinking with the mountain.

We all need a little forced reflection every once in a while.  And my body fat test was it for me.
"So what, I look the same."  This convincing phrase lost it's validity because the numbers told me otherwise.  The numbers told the truth.

Not that we must always be better than we were but that we must always move forward.  We must know that we have been making the best decisions for ourselves at all times.  Decisions that propel us forward and up.  Decisions that challenge us so we must adapt and progress.

I challenge YOU to join me in the following:

• Be aware of the danger of complacency with success.  
• Know when you succeed.  
• Enjoy the success.  
• But don't ever stop moving.