It’s the new year and the “new you” has decided you want to address your health once and for all.  Or maybe you just woke up and decided a change was in order.  CrossFit seems intriguing because you saw it on ESPN and you have met those crazy people who do nothing but talk about CrossFit all the time.  But your interest sticks because even though you aren’t sure why they talk about it all the time, they are in better shape than pretty much anyone else you know.

We get it, CrossFit can be intimidating, nobody likes to be the new kid in school.  It can be tough to get back into it and face the fact that we have maybe neglected ourselves for longer than we realized.  We get it, it’s tough to get back on the horse.  Let me help you out with a couple things

First here is a list of things you DON’T need to start CrossFit:

• You don’t need to be in shape. CrossFit is designed to be modified for any athlete
• You don’t need to know what you are doing. A good coach will understand what you skill set is and should teach you how and what to do.
• You don’t have to be able to do all of the movements. A good coach should never assume you can do everything and shouldn’t expect you to be capable of the advanced movements.  They are just that……advanced.
• You don’t need to block out 3 hours of your day to train. A well run class should be organized with a brief, a warm up, a workout and a cool down in one hour.  That is more than enough time to give you what you need to get fitter.  We know because we’ve been doing it for people for 10 years.

Now let’s talk about the things you DO need to start CrossFit:

• Find and affiliate near you. You can use the affiliate map.
• Once you find an affiliate check out the coaches and look through the trainer directory to find the most qualified coaches
• Look through the movement library to learn the proper mechanics for anything you aren’t sure about.
• Check the affiliates programming for scaling options.
• Follow the gym on Facebook and Instagram to see what kind of content they put out and determine if they are educating their member base.
• See what their members have to say. Of course, the owner thinks their gym is amazing, just like we do!
• See what other services they offer or is it just group training?

Do your homework and dig deep into any gym you are considering joining.  Not all gyms are created equal, not all communities are the same and not all coaches are great.  If you are serious about investing in your health and well-being then you should be serious about vetting a gym and trainer.  Ask them questions and demand answers.  A good coach will meet you where you are in your journey and they will walk you through the process.

Don’t use the excuse that it’s hard to choose a gym or you need to get in shape first.  Those are excuses we use when we are struggling with the idea of tackling a difficult endeavor.  We aren’t naive to the fact that being healthy can be difficult.  Anything worth pursuing is difficult.  We just want to make it fun and teach you some things along the way.