{"id":2311,"date":"2014-11-15T19:06:53","date_gmt":"2014-11-15T19:06:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=2311"},"modified":"2014-11-15T19:06:53","modified_gmt":"2014-11-15T19:06:53","slug":"crossfit-elite-fitness-or-pointless-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/crossfit-elite-fitness-or-pointless-pain\/","title":{"rendered":"CrossFit: elite fitness or pointless pain?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sarah Hentges<\/a>, University of Maine at Augusta<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a known fact that exercise is addictive<\/a>. But CrossFitters \u2013 those who take part in CrossFit\u2019s brutal workouts and stringent diet \u2013 are infamous for their fanatical devotion to their fitness philosophy. They can be found doing pull-ups and heavily weighted squats, flipping tires or hitting them with a sledgehammer, climbing ropes, tossing medicine balls, and \u201cgoing Paleo<\/a>.\u201d The CrossFit movement has been labeled a cult<\/a> \u2013 even a religion<\/a> \u2013 and the movement\u2019s popularity has skyrocketed; by 2014 there were 7,000<\/a> CrossFit-affiliated gyms (or \u201cboxes,\u201d as CrossFitters call them), up from just 13 in 2005.<\/p>\n

But, really, the zealousness of CrossFitters is not new.<\/p>\n

Many fitness enthusiasts have been just as obsessed by their own health routines. In his book Crusaders for Fitness: The History of American Health Reformers<\/a>, James C. Wharton describes the \u201chygienic ideologists\u201d of the 1830s to 1920s as having high \u201clevels of devotion, asceticism, and zeal\u201d to their health and fitness ideals. They believed in a sound mind and body, physical education, vegetarianism, and often \u201cespoused Christianity.\u201d<\/p>\n

But in the 1960s, Kenneth Cooper<\/a> developed a new approach \u2013 the idea of \u201caerobics,\u201d a term he coined in his 1968 book of the same name<\/a>. Aerobics were a more moderate approach to fitness: simple exercises with a point system to meet the individual\u2019s fitness goals.<\/p>\n

CrossFit has taken elements of both approaches \u2013 religious-like devotion combined with goal-setting \u2013 which has resulted in a fitness movement that\u2019s bigger, harder, and meaner. Visibly. Inherently.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written about<\/a> CrossFit as a fitness fad, and I place it among \u201cextreme\u201d examples of fitness, like Shaun T\u2019s Beachbody program Insanity<\/a> or even television\u2019s The Biggest Loser<\/a>. These fitness approaches work on diet and exercise, but the expected results are unrealistic, and participants adhere to a \u201cno pain, no gain\u201d mentality.<\/p>\n

In her recent New York Times Magazine piece<\/a> Heather Havrilesky wonders why Americans are so drawn to \u201cextreme fitness.\u201d It\u2019s a question worth considering. First, extreme fitness perpetuates many myths about masculinity<\/a> \u2013 assumptions that men should be big and hard and competitive \u2013 and assumptions about why and how men should work out.<\/p>\n

Second, American fitness movements tap into our deep-seated insecurities. The pressure on women to be thinner and athletic and on men to be more muscular and toned has driven us to the gym for decades. Extreme fitness often promises better \u2013 and quicker \u2013 results.<\/p>\n

But the CrossFit movement stands apart from the others: unlike other fitness regiments, it emphasizes a combination of community \u2013 online and in-person \u2013 fierce competition, elitism, and even pain. And the CrossFit Games<\/a>, a yearly competition sponsored by Reebok, bring this fitness regime to the level of sport.<\/p>\n

Anyone is free to join CrossFit; women are encouraged to join and to train with, and like, men<\/a> (and, interestingly, workouts are named after girls<\/a>, because \u201canything that left you flat on your back, looking up at the sky asking \u2018what just happened to me?\u2019 deserved a females (sic) name\u201d). But there\u2019s a hitch: members must be willing to submit themselves to a community where improved results are the goal, and competition and pain \u2013 as much as camaraderie and health \u2013 are the means.<\/p>\n

Members have access to CrossFit\u2019s extensive online resources, and its open-source charter<\/a> means that CrossFit\u2019s community extends beyond the gym. For example, the Internet provides CrossFitters with a wealth of resources, including a \u201cworkout of the day\u201d (a \u201cWOD\u201d<\/a>). Meanwhile, the CrossFit Journal<\/a> is packed with articles about CrossFit\u2019s vision. These \u201ctools\u201d not only fuel devotion, but also preach ideas of fitness that are narrow, if not dangerous. Increasing numbers<\/a> of CrossFitters have been diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis<\/a>, a rare kidney disorder caused by too much muscle exertion.<\/p>\n

CrossFit has also adopted a technical language and jargon that seems intended to perplex outsiders, allowing the movement to portray itself as unique and superior. CrossFit defines<\/a> fitness as \u201cincreased work capacity across broad time and modal domains.\u201d Its methods are \u201crevolutionary\u201d and a means to \u201cforge elite fitness,\u201d which refers to the movement\u2019s adoption<\/a> of the training methods used by top athletes and the military\u2019s special forces.<\/p>\n

CrossFit even has its own theoretical \u201cformula\u201d: \u201cCVFM (constantly varied functional movements) @ HI (high intensity) + Communal Environment = Health.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a workout routine that often induces vomiting<\/a> \u2013 and even has a mascot<\/a> named \u201cPukie the Clown\u201d<\/a>) \u2013 we might wonder why CrossFit is so popular. Some argue that it taps into something inherently primal. According to CrossFit<\/a>, its \u201cfunctional\u201d workouts are designed to align with \u201cthe core movements of life\u2026\u201d But what has been \u201cbuilt naturally\u201d and what we, as a culture, have created are often blurred. Using biology as an excuse for punishing our bodies is counter-intuitive.<\/p>\n

Certainly we can imagine different versions of community fitness<\/a>, places where we may build sustainable, mind\/body fitness practices<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Movement + Joy + Community = Health?<\/p>\n

CrossFit claims<\/a> that the needs of anyone \u2013 from elite athletes, to housewives, to grandparents \u2013 are the same and differ only in degree. The movement speaks to a particular argument about American fitness, one that is explored in Women and Fitness in American Culture<\/a>: the less control we feel we have over our lives, the more we feel the need to control our bodies. The hyper-masculine, super-hard body \u2013 the goal of CrossFit \u2013 is the ultimate symbol of power, control, and dominance.<\/p>\n

This is reflected in \u201cHero Workouts<\/a>,\u201d a Crossfit web page lists American soldiers who died overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, complete with pictures, bios, and surviving family members. CrossFitters are encouraged to attempt these workouts with extra intensity as a way to pay tribute to each of the fallen soldiers \u201cwho fight for us to WOD free.\u201d One site encourages followers to<\/a> \u201cthink about the Hero that has given his all for our freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bit odd (and macabre). Sure, CrossFit has adopted military training techniques, but why are fallen soldiers being used as inspiration? When snipers, suicide bombers and drones are the tools of death, and survival in combat often has nothing to do with one\u2019s physical fitness?<\/p>\n

Because CrossFit is a chosen way of life as much as a workout program, its members can close ranks, like a cult. Perhaps this how the movement can skirt the simple question: for what \u2013 and for whom \u2013 are CrossFitters training?<\/p>\n

\"\"
What, exactly, are CrossFitters training for?<\/span>
\n blindthistle\/deviantart<\/a>, CC BY-NC-ND<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Sarah Hentges does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.<\/em><\/p>\n

This article was originally published on The Conversation<\/a>.
\n Read the original article<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sarah Hentges, University of Maine at Augusta It\u2019s a known fact that exercise is addictive. But CrossFitters \u2013 those who take part in CrossFit\u2019s brutal workouts and stringent diet \u2013 are infamous for their fanatical devotion to their fitness philosophy. They can be found doing pull-ups and heavily weighted squats, flipping tires or hitting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":2308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[42,36],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2311"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2311"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2312,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2311\/revisions\/2312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}