CrossFit can be a great way for people from all backgrounds and ages to get in shape. It offers structured group workouts where you track measurements such as time, rounds, and weight lifted so that you really know when you are making progress. Many people get hooked on it and you’ll know who they are since they will constantly tell you about it and seem to be speaking another language when they do!
CrossFit workouts can intimidate newcomers and make them wonder how to start CrossFit. There’s so much to learn and everyone seems to know what they are doing. You might even think that you have to get in shape before doing CrossFit just to be able to do it! But yet CrossFit is a great way to get into shape – anyone can do it! How to start CrossFit is the big question this post answers.
(You might think I am going to say you just have to just jump in. I’m not; that’s not the answer to how to start CrossFit. It is the WORST way to get started into CrossFit classes! You will most likely feel isolated from the others who are somewhere else on the learning curve for the movements. You will most likely be keenly aware that you the source of the pace of the whole class slowing down so that you can learn how to correctly perform a movement. After that, you will most likely leave and forget about the whole idea of starting CrossFit.)
The BEST way to get started is to define your goals, get a good idea of where you are now, and start building your Foundation. When you schedule your FREE Introduction with us at Southern Strength and Conditioning, we talk to you about your goals and expectations. After we get a good idea of your individual background, experiences, goals and preferences, we assess your mobility and basic foundational movements such as the squat, push-up, pull-up, and sit-up.
Not all athletes starting with us can perform these movements correctly. Immediately we start instruction on how to do these movements correctly and how to scale or adjust each movement so that you can perform the movement in a way that is safe and effective for you as an individual. We have had many athletes who could not do a single push-up or pull-up when they started who now can perform them for many repetitions.
After your free introduction we take the same method to teach you all the movements you commonly see in the Workout of the Day, or WOD. We schedule one-on-one training time to teach you the movements and their progressions. Only after you are cleared by a coach to safely enter classes, should you enter a class. Building a solid foundation is how to start CrossFit!
Each of our classes have a Health, Athletic, and Performance option. These options are used to help you select the scale that is right for you based on your current goal. It does not need to be the requirement of all athletes to aspire to a Performance option and certainly should not be the short-term goal of any new athlete. Only after you have learned the technique required for each movement and have been able to demonstrate that technique consistently, should you aspire to work more intensely.
Working on your level of physical fitness should be something that you do daily by working on several aspects of your life: proper nutrition, exercise, rest and recovery, hydration, connection with community, etc. Much like brushing your teeth exercise should become a natural part of you taking care of you! If you start out too fast without taking the time to build a solid foundation, you may miss the point of making this a habit that should last you a lifetime!
