Hesitant to take the plunge? You are not being irrational. Starting a new fitness program can be daunting, and if you haven’t been active for a while, it can feel like our group fitness classes weren’t built for you. Let’s walk through the reasons why you may be feeling out of your depth – and what the reality is of what we do.
Why CrossFit has a reputation for being intimidating
The three worries we hear most often from newbies are pretty consistent. People think they need to already be in shape before they start. They think CrossFit skips over proper technique and that injuries are rampant. And they think they won’t be able to keep up with the other people in their class.
None of those things are accurate, but we understand why you might assume they are true. CrossFit gets a lot of attention for its competitive side, which makes it look like everyone in the room is training for the CrossFit Games (which is like the Olympics of CrossFit). Our members are not CrossFit Olympics-bound! They are regular people, just trying to get healthier and feel better.
You don’t need to be fit before joining our classes
People don’t come to our classes because they are ALREADY in shape – they come because they want to GET in shape. We work with some people who have never set foot in a gym in their lives. We work with people who used to be active but got out of shape while raising young kids. We work with people who have had knee or hip replacements. We work with people who are in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. It matters more that you have a desire to invest the time, effort, and yes, money to get where you want to be.
Your starting point doesn’t matter as much as you think it does. We work with you where you’re at, and our coaches make sure you get a workout that is appropriate for your current fitness, experience, and strength levels.
What will your first few classes feel like?
New members are often surprised by how out of shape they feel in the first class or two. We make sure your first workouts are manageable though, and it rapidly gets better from there. Your body adapts, and you start to realize that you can actually do this.
You’ll see that coaches modify movements and workouts to fit many different fitness levels and experience backgrounds. You will notice that other members remember what it felt like to be a beginner, and they may even share what their first few classes felt like. “Yeah, I remember my legs were super sore after my first Baseline workout!” The shift from dreading the first class to feeling like you belong here, that tends to happen faster than most new members anticipate.
The injury worry: What’s realistic and what’s overstated
The concern about getting hurt is legitimate with any new physical activity, and it’s worth taking seriously. Here’s what we actually do about it.
We work with people where they are. We use gradual movement progressions so that tissues, tendons, and joints have time to adapt before the load or complexity increases. All classes are coached, which means someone is watching how you move and they are making sure you’re working at an appropriate level of difficulty. We take the long perspective here with training, and build strength and skills before progressing further.
On the broader question of injury rates: CrossFit’s injury rate is comparable to many other common sports, including Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, and basketball. It’s lower than the injury rates for running and soccer. That doesn’t mean injuries never happen, but the idea that CrossFit is uniquely dangerous doesn’t hold up when you look at the numbers. Coaching, progression, and appropriate scaling are what keep the risk reasonable, and those are things we take seriously.
Scaling: How we adjust every workout to where you are
Scaling (modifying) is the practical answer to most of the intimidation people feel before starting. Every movement and workout can be adjusted, and that adjustment is built into how we coach.
Let’s talk about a concrete example here. If the workout includes pull-ups, more experienced members might be doing strict, unassisted pull-ups. Others might be doing a version where they use their legs to take some of the load. Newer athletes are often doing something called a ring row, which is an angled pulling movement using gymnastics rings. Every member in the class, including someone who is out of shape or in their 70s or 80s, can do some version of a ring row. The ring row develops basic pulling strength, and we can easily adjust the difficulty according to your strength level.
This is how CrossFit is supposed to work. The workout is the same for everyone in the sense that everyone is working hard relative to their own capacity. The specific weights, movements, and rep schemes get adjusted to make that possible.
Feeling out of place in a new gym
We get it… not knowing what to expect is uncomfortable, and we do our best to make sure you know what’s involved with our program and what to expect, BEFORE you start.
We chat with new members ahead of time so they have a sense of what our program entails, what a typical class looks like, and what to expect from our community. Before joining group classes, new members go through some one-on-one personal training sessions. Those sessions let us get to know them better, learn about any injuries or issues they’re dealing with, and introduce them to some of the fundamental movements we use regularly. We share that information with the rest of our coaching team so that every coach who works with that member knows their starting point.
When you do enter your first few group classes, we do introductions at the start of the class so you’re not just a stranger standing in the corner. It’s a small thing, but it makes a difference. And again… we all remember our own first day with this too.
What your first few classes look like
The first session is a tester workout called Baseline, done one-on-one with a coach. If you want an initial body composition measurement to give yourself a starting point, we do that as well. From there, we talk through your previous exercise and sports experience, any health issues or injuries that are relevant, and then get warmed up.
We go through the individual movements in the Baseline workout, make any modifications that are needed, and then complete the workout. After that, we do a cooldown and some stretching, and then we’ll walk you through how to record your workouts in our smartphone app. The whole thing takes about an hour.
It’s a low-pressure way to get started. You’re not dropped into a group class on day one without any context. You get a coach’s full attention, a realistic sense of where you’re starting from, and a clear picture of what comes next.
If you’ve been thinking about trying CrossFit but haven’t been sure it’s for you, reaching out to ask questions costs nothing. We’re happy to talk through any concerns before you commit to anything.
Talk to you soon!
