CrossFit sucks. It’s challenging, it puts a smile on your face, it teaches you strength and form, it enables you to push the bounds of your human potential in a way you never thought before. Not to mention, you’ll look good and feel good. Did we mention you get to be a part of something bigger than yourself and that it’s one of the only sports that adults over a college-age can compete in at an elite, world-class level, without any formal education, training, or background? What a bummer. Granted, hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. But must we say, belonging to a community of like-minded individuals must really… suck.
Oh, not to mention, you don’t care how you look, you care how you feel. Aside from the occasional “I feel like I’m going to simultaneously die before this workout is over thanks to Dave Castro” feeling, for the most part, if you’re doing things correctly, you focus more on how you feel pre-, during-, and post-workout. You have the opportunity to have access to companies and products that are made just for you – the endurance athlete and active lifestyle individual – at your fingertips 24/7. You get a customized approach to training, personalized programming without the personalized fee’s, and you get confident and strong… which must be the reason why people don’t like CrossFitters. After all, we’re trained to bring down those who are on top of their game. Maybe that’s why it’s for people who desire to be the fittest in the world?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Here Are The Top 6 Reasons Why CrossFit Sucks
CrossFit Sucks - It Challenges You
You’re going to be out of your comfort zone and it’s going to get awkward. Whether it’s your shorts and spandex riding up your booty during gymnastic work or smacking yourself in the pelvic bone when learning cleans, there will be embarrassing moments and times where you’re going to have to dig deep. WODs aren’t supposed to be easy and neither should be earning your own self-respect. Good things come to those who work hard in CrossFit even when you are a Nubie. The harder you push yourself, the more dedication you have, the more determination and self-empowerment you challenge yourself to have, the more success you will have.
CrossFit is more than just lifting heavy weight and throwing it on the ground screaming. It’s more than just falling over after a workout, screaming about how bad CrossFit sucks, and rolling around on the ground like a turtle on it's back. It’s about establishing and pursuing goals that pertain to strength, endurance, flexibility/mobility, stamina, and commitment; not only to yourself but your box-mates. There is no challenge more challenging than the challenge to improve yourself, every single day. Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you. CrossFit asks you to not remain the same, but to be better. It never gets easier, but you do become better.
CrossFit Sucks - It's A Celebration of What Your Body Can Do
How often do you get to celebrate your body? How often do you also get to eat pretty much whatever you want? CrossFit has a unique way of blending the two together. CrossFit celebrates what your body can do and it’s not used as a punishment for what you ate. Often you’re going to find doughnuts and beer in the CF Box and it’s totally normal. Your body is the most amazing thing you will ever own and the idea is to maximize it’s potential. CrossFit welcomes every body and every age and it teaches you to push your limits and work hard until you’re celebrating your victories, even the little ones!
A word that is synonymous with CrossFit is Functional Fitness; the silly little thing we seem to, without fail, take for granted. Our body’s ability to run, walk, lift, carry, write, climb, and essentially function in day-to-day life. Wouldn’t it be cool if there was some sort of fitness training out there that helps us be better humans after we leave the gym? There is! It’s called CrossFit. One of the ultimate shames in life is to grow old without ever seeing the strength and beauty of which your body is capable of. Don’t fall victim to complacency. Don’t live the same life 80 years in a row and call it a life. You've always been a great human, now you’re just choosing to be healthier, fitter, faster and stronger, with a little help from your newfound pal, CrossFit.
Some people make the argument that if you have specific, sport-related goals, then CrossFit isn't for you. While this claim is true in the sense that CrossFit isn't designed to help you dribble a basketball better, it can help you live a healthier, more active lifestyle, to fuel your future. If you have a specific training goal in mind, then pursue it, but don't walk into a CrossFit gym with the wrong expectations, then brag that CrossFit sucks all over the internet (How To Beast - we're talking specifically about you). Just as you wouldn't walk onto a basketball court and expect to get better at swinging a tennis racket, this lowly argument can be made about any sport, not just CF. If you're looking to lift heavy, do HIIT workouts, learn compound barbell movements, some gymnastics, celebrate what your body can do, and be a part of a solid crew of humans in your town, then CrossFit is probably for you.
CrossFit Sucks - It Connects You with Like-Minded Individuals and Provides Community
There’s something to be said for surrounding yourself with people who have dreams, desire, and ambition – the kinds of people who value you and push you to be your best self. The power of community is huge in the CrossFit community, and all you have to do is find one that jives with you. You may be too much for some people. Those aren’t your people, and that is totally okay. There’s are a lot of different vibes out there, but I can guarantee, there is one that is perfect just for you.
Like-minded individuals in a CrossFit community provide a sense of accountability and belonging. They’ll make you want to show up to class, they’ll be the ones you think of when you are in a bad mood, exhausted from work, and all you want to do is go home and binge eat over your favorite Netflix show. They’re the ones that will motivate you to get up at 5 AM to catch a morning WOD and they’ll be the ones cheering for you, louder than ever when your WOD or lift gets excruciatingly hard. Surround yourself with people who have dreams, desire, and ambition; they’ll help you push for, and realize your own.
*An important note here* You are allowed to outgrow people and communities. If it doesn’t feel right, find a new gym and meet new people. There are PLENTY of affiliates and boxes that will offer exactly what you want. Don’t keep yourself from your own success just because you don’t hit it off with the first or second box you ever go to. Often times, it’s not CrossFit that discourages people, it’s the people that discourage people. If you find yourself thinking that CrossFit sucks because of the community, fix your issue and find a new box.
CrossFit Sucks - It Improves Your Overall Health and Wellness
Oh, you wouldn't say!? That MUST be why CrossFit sucks. Right? The biggest complaint people run into CrossFit is getting injured. News flash - you can get injured doing any type of fitness. The issue? Your coach and/or your inflated ego or you walked in with a fat head from the beginning. Take the time to go to a foundations glass. Too good for it? Here's your first reg flag. Take the time to perfect your movements over, and over, and over again. It takes hundreds, if not thousands, of reps before you get good enough to add weight. Ditch the ego, strengthen your resilience, and level up… mentally. So what if you aren’t the strongest one in the box? That doesn't mean you can’t be, it just means you have some work to do.
Aside from the obvious benefits of exercise like a lowered chance of disease, increased quality of life, overall health improvements, and the physical appearance, CrossFit works with your mental strength just as much as physical. Each day that you show up to the box is a chance to get stronger, motivation to eat better, to live healthier, and to be the very best version of you. The weight will come with time and so will the strength. Your success in CrossFit will never be random or mysterious, it will always be methodical. So we disagree, we don't think CrossFit sucks, at all.
You will succeed in CrossFit as the natural consequences of consistently applying the basic fundamentals in all that you do, both inside and outside of the box. Find a plan, ditch the ego, be patient, and grow as big and as great as you possibly can. Why do you need machines when you can become one?
CrossFit Sucks - It Fuels Your Competitive Spirit
Hypothetically speaking, anyone can go to the CrossFit games, which is the most Elite tier of functional fitness individuals in the world, if you put in the necessary framework, dedication, determination, and talent together. You don’t need to do CrossFit all your life, you don’t have to belong to any fancy organization or have a million sponsorships and endorsements, you just have to apply yourself.Julie Foucher put it like this, “CrossFit forces us to ask ourselves; who am I? What am I made of?”.
There are competitions literally everywhere around the country and near you. There are small ones, big ones, medium-sized, and everything in between. Not to mention, everyone has the ability to compete in the CrossFit Open.
Even if you aren’t into competing against others, CrossFit fuels this fire and competitive spirit within ourselves that pits us against ourselves. CrossFit provides individuals with a competitive platform in which they can ignore what everyone else is doing and achieving to focus on themselves; breaking their own limits and outgrowing yourself to live your own best life.
CrossFit Sucks - It Empowers You to Be as Strong as Possible
Ever wonder why are there so many women crossfitters? Men, women, somewhere in between, in the box… it doesn’t matter. CrossFit communities embrace all walks of life, regardless of orientation, race, and background. CrossFit empowers women to be as muscly and strong as they want to be and can possibly be – CrossFit has redefined beauty altogether. The sport empowers individuals to be proud of what their bodies can do, not just what they look like.
Box babes are popping up everywhere and Barbie isn’t the only girl on the cover of magazines these days.
You have men and women whose quads and biceps that are the same size, you have all shapes and types of bodies doing the same workout side by side, and it’s about cheering one another on to become the strongest, happiest, and healthiest versions of themselves.
So, Is it True That CrossFit Sucks?
We say, no. Aside from the occasional bad coach, poor form, a big ego, or a ripped sports bra, and all the wonderful people on the internet who take videos of themselves doing movements far out of their ability level… there’s not much fundamentally wrong with, CrossFit. There is a stigma against CrossFit. But guess what – be happy regardless of the haters, it will drive people crazy.
CrossFit is more than a sport for so many; it’s a passion, it’s an outlet, it’s a community, it’s pursuing greatness within themselves. Don’t worry about the people who aren’t happy for you. They probably aren’t very happy with themselves.
CrossFit doesn’t suck. CrossFit is empowering, above all, and is a form of health, wellness, and fitness for every level of athlete and every location in the world. It will teach you that you are capable of anything and everything, as long as you are able to outwork your mind and the stupid little voice inside that says, “I can’t now, and I never will”. CrossFit will transcend your life and your friendships, your health and your future. No longer is your beauty, your strength, nor your success defined by anyone other than each individual through their own pursuit of becoming ‘the fittest’. Lift on, friends, lift on.
Now That You Have A Better Understanding of CrossFit, Ever Find Yourself Wondering Why Are CrossFit Workouts Named After Women?
Click The Image To Learn More!
SWOLVERINE is an endurance athlete and active lifestyle brand. Made for the elite athlete, and the strong-willed our products were designed to fuel your athletic performance. We perform when you perform.
We believe that everyone can optimize not only their athletic performance but their human potential. The way we believe we can optimize performance is through transparency, clinically effective doses, and clinically proven ingredients with evidence-based outcomes. We provide the nutrients you need to power your active lifestyle.
