And the other side of the coin...

CrossFit going "mainstream" is reason to rejoice

By Jen Wielgus
Phillyblurbs.com
01/17/2012 10:33 AM

When I first watched the much-ballyhooed Reebok CrossFit commercial -- 2011 Games champ Rick Froning Jr. tweeted the link last Friday; the ad aired during Packers-Giants on Sunday -- I felt like someone plunged an adrenaline needle into my heart. I wanted to run outside and flip my truck down the block. And that's really saying something, considering I'd been sitting at a desk in a stone-silent office for about seven hours straight, and usually, not even a large Starbucks revives me by that point.

It's funny I felt that way, because some people watched the clip and immediately sounded CrossFit's death knell. On Monday, Gawker declared that "CrossFit is dead," lamenting the same kind of "selling out" that indie rock fans did when the likes of Death Cab for Cutie, the Shins and Modest Mouse signed with major labels and started leasing their songs to car companies.

I still like those bands. I'm so mainstream.

And I'm really excited to see CrossFit continuing to explode. I say, bring on the major leagues (a little Pavement lyricism there...of course, I'm told hard-core fans didn't like that album). Because no matter how much "The Sport of Fitness" grows, I know the experience will not change for the little folk who really love it. It will still be a kickass workout within a competitive, but still team-oriented, atmosphere. It will still be the best way to get fit I've ever found.

Every WOD -- Workout of the Day, for those new to the movement -- is what you make of it. Who cares if some giant shoe company is sponsoring the sport? You still have to bust your butt every day to get through the movements and reps written up on the whiteboard, and you still have to earn that feeling of absolute euphoria when you finish. Who cares how many newbies are in your class? The more the merrier, and in fact, the more new people flock to CrossFit, the more good coaches will be needed to teach them how to perform all the skills correctly.

I know some good coaches. They deserve all the clients, and income, they can get.

If people who come into the box aren't "serious," or are just there because it's "cool," they probably won't last long. But even if they do, it isn't going to spoil my WOD. I've got the eye of a crazed tiger when I work out, even if I'm just going for a jog. As in any other sport or even pastime, you get out what you put in. Everyone has different goals and commitment levels. That's life.

I'm almost done. Here's how Gawker's Hamilton Nolan finishes his article:

"Next thing you know Crossfit gyms will be popping up at ever suburban strip mall from here to San Diego, and wealthy stay at home moms will start showing up after their yoga classes, and Jillian Michaels will make a Crossfit DVD, and there will be a Crossfit reality show and some MTV kid will get MADE, into someone who can do 20 pullups. And then there will be the inevitable Under Armour-Reebok- Nike Crossfit sneaker wars, until every Crossfit club is owned and branded, and there will be a pro tour and youth leagues and fashion shoots and celebrity endorsements and doping scandals and cheating.

"And Crossfit will be full of a--holes. Too bad."

And here's my retort:
1) CrossFit boxes have been popping up in strip malls for quite some time, actually. If they don't have strong, organized coaches and good, safe programming, they don't survive. Natural selection, as in any other business.
2) I know quite a few stay-at-home moms who do CrossFit, and they're just as enthusiastic and eager to improve as the fire-breathing young studs.
3) Jillian Michaels probably will do a CrossFit DVD, but she'll pretty much put her face on any product. Don't like it? Don't buy it!
4) I would actually like to get "made" into someone who can do 20 unbroken pullups, but I won't look to anything on TV for inspiration.
5) Sneaker wars and celebrity endorsements and youth leagues haven't killed basketball. People still love it; millions play it every day.
6) There are a-holes everywhere. I just steer clear.