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Thursday, September 26, 2013

Why the hate?

Why do I feel the need to stand up for Crossfit whenever I hear something negative about it? 

Mainly, I hate to see something so positive turned upside down. Especially by people with zero hands-on experience. I would feel very silly posting an article about how raising children a certain way is wrong, because I don't have kids, and I've never tried to raise a child, so how could I possibly know if what I read in some book or article is true? The same goes for body-building or soccer. I've never done it, so I really don't know the pros and cons. Granted, I don't have to try everything to know that its not for me; I don't do drugs or rob banks, although most people would agree those two choices would be bad for my health/life. The jury is apparently out when it comes to Crossfit, but people as a whole do regard exercise as a positive endeavor; it shouldn't matter to anybody, but me, the kind of working out that I choose to partake in. On the other hand, if people feel that Crossfit is bad for their health, or that the negatives outweigh the positives, or that its not an activity for them, then they luckily can choose not to participate.

But why the hate?

The most common reason I hear for disliking Crossfit is that it is annoying to always see posts and articles "glorifying" it. I do understand that pictures, articles, statuses, etc. could get annoying after awhile. Just as it can be annoying to see endless posts and pictures about peoples' children (a friend made this reference and I think its a great comparison). The difference is this: when I get annoyed by over-zealous moms, I don't post anything tearing down those children, or that mom's pride in her children. I just ignore it. Even better, I accept that I may not understand, but I am glad that the person is happy. No skin off my back if they want to post pictures of their kid eating, sleeping, playing, pooping, etc. So I do wonder why Crossfit is so offensive that it can't just be ignored when it is disliked?

I reference this article at this moment to say some of the things I'd really like to, but won't: https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/6d606a0b7d31


Yes, I know it can be annoying to see everybody write about their accomplishments, which is why I personally try to keep those kinds of things between me and my closest friends, my family members, and my Crossfit community. Those are the people who provide the support and encouragement that I care about. Although, I do encourage people not to take it personally if I happen to share one of my positive Crossfit experiences in a forum where you are exposed; I do not mean to offend anybody with my happiness. In defense of my pride at times, I have to say its pretty easy to feel proud of where you work out when you get to watch your coach on ESPN competing, and then see him workout in person, and then get advice from him daily.   Just sayin' .... :)


Another reason I feel the need to chime in when I see negative opinions on Crossfit is that it does vary from box to box and coach to coach. I can't tell you if the box in my hometown, or your hometown, or the one down the street is worth criticizing. But I can tell you that no article that lumps every box, every experience, and every coach together is valid. Most articles focus on tearing down Crossfit by using several falacies to get their point across; namely appealing to emotion, stacking the deck, and generalizing(Examples of Fallacies). Luckily, Crossfit Ansbach does not encourage the negatives that are often highlighted in articles against Crossfit. I have written about this in the past, and I could only add positives to this if I were to re-write it. When I stand up for Crossfit, I am really standing up for Crossfit Ansbach, the amazing people I work out with, and our owner (our coach), who is an outstanding person and who is not only highly experienced in and knowledgeable about what he does, but who is also skilled in teaching what he knows to others.


When it comes down to it, I think the reason some of us "Crossfitters" come off as annoying is because we have found something that betters our life, and we want to share our experience with everybody so maybe we can better somebody else's life, too!

So why do I get involved in trying to stand up for Crossfit? Maybe from now on, I won't. The bottom line is, I get positive results socially, intellectually, and physically from going to Crossfit Ansbach. My friends and family support me and my Crossfit community understands me. If somebody outside of that group of people wants to be negative without knowing what they are missing, they are free to feel that way.



Bottom line: I just want to encourage anybody who is curious about Crossfit to give it a try and not to let the naysayers scare you away!

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