For many people, when they think of CrossFit, they think of the CrossFit Games, the world championships of CrossFit. This is where the fittest people on Earth compete in multiple workouts a day for multiple days, covering the gamut of fitness tests from how heavy you can lift, to how fast you can run long distance. It’s no wonder that so many of these people become intimidated by the thought of starting CrossFit.
However, what happens at the CrossFit Games is not what happens at your local CrossFit gym, especially with AIO’s beginner friendly atmosphere. At AIO, you’ll see people of all ages, shapes, abilities and levels participating in the same workout, albeit to their own modified version of it. While some people might be doing pull ups, others will be using a band to assist them and the rest may be doing ring rows, with their feet never leaving the ground.
In CrossFit, we have a saying “The needs of Olympic athletes and our grandparents differ by degree, not kind.” This simply means that no matter who you are, you need to be able to lift objects from the ground, get up from a chair (squat), perform a certain amount of work without getting out of breath, etc. We just all do these activities at different levels.
When you walk into AIO, you’ll see this as we often have people in their 70’s as well as in their 30’s in the same class, performing the same workout, just at different levels. At the end of the class, everyone will be equally tired, giving each other fist bumps, and talking about when they’ll be coming in again for their next workout.
At AIO, we are especially geared towards beginners, as we all remember how it was the first time we walked into a CrossFit class. When you arrive for your first class, you’ll be greeted by friendly faces and told to keep your first workout easy, at least until you learn proper technique and how much work your body can safely handle. The coaches will give you extra attention and members will be happy to offer a helping hand in order to make your experience a smooth one. You’ll see that our board has the day’s workout in 3 sections – for the competitive athlete, the intermediate athlete and the person who is completely new to the world of fitness. We have different versions of the workout available for each level and with the help of the coach, you’ll be able to create your own version of the workout that’s most appropriate for you.
From this point, you continue to learn proper technique and explore how your body handles various workloads. Through this process, you’ll begin to see improvements in your fitness, sleep, mood etc. and that you’ll be able to handle more work, lift more weight and feel overall better in your body. You’ll find that you will eventually move on from being a beginner to someone who is helping the next first time member feel comfortable. You’ll reach your initial goals and move on to bigger goals to achieve. You’ll find that you’re telling your family and friends that they should join you in a class. That it’ll change their lives, just like it changed yours.
If you’d like to experience this, book a free intro session, where we’ll sit with you in our Family Room and learn all about your goals, what your current fitness level is and what your fitness preferences are, by clicking here.
We’ll see you in our Family Room!
