“CrossFit is for everyone!”
— All CrossFit Kent Island members
If you are a CrossFit enthusiast, or even someone who has heard of CrossFit, you’ve undoubtedly heard the quote above. If you practice CrossFit with us at CrossFit Kent Island, you undoubtedly BELIEVE this quote to be true. And I think there is an important distinction there. If you’ve heard it but think there could be a “but… not really” to cap off the message, then you need to step into the doors of CFKI to see what all the fuss is about.
I’d like to propose a continuation of the quote, “CrossFit is for Everyone, because Scaling is for Everyone.”
Right off the bat, some of you reading this might ask, “but what the heck is scaling?” Good question. Scaling, as it relates to a workout, is modifying the movements or the workout itself to make it best suited for individuals of varying fitness levels or physical abilities. For example, if our workout of the day includes a 225-lb back squat, but an athlete that I am working with can squat 200-lbs one time, I am going to scale the workout for him by decreasing the barbell load. In the same workout scenario, if I have an athlete who recently had knee surgery and is advised to temporarily not squat with resistance, I might either have her do unweighted squats, or change the movement entirely to an upper-body or core strength movement.
At CrossFit Kent Island, our coaches are firm believers and practitioners of the “CrossFit is for Everyone” mantra, and we practice it every day with members from 12-years old in our CrossFit Teens class, to 75-years old in our CrossFit Light class. These specialty programs are designed to optimize fitness for younger and older athletes. But what about our regular CrossFit classes, with workouts that are designed to optimize fitness for the fittest among us? These classes are attended by CFKI members that look like they can breathe fire, as well as members who just started and are still learning the ropes. So how do they all coexist? Appropriate scaling, by world class coaches who love to work with members of all fitness levels and abilities, all shapes and sizes, all ages.
For a great example of this, come to our Saturday 9am class and workout with Coach Jess. Jess thrives with the near-impossible task of taking a Hero workout (notoriously difficult, even for CrossFit), and making it accessible by scaling for each person so that we are all getting challenged appropriately. I take the Saturday class whenever I can, because I know Jess can help me put aside my ego and scale the workout so that I stay safe and come out on the other end more fit. I might throw her an eye roll and pretend to not like her suggestions pre-workout, but during the workout it always seems like the right fit and I am grateful to have her on our amazing team.
I hope to see you all at the next Saturday class!
“CrossFit is for everyone! Just scale the damn workout.” — maybe that’s the best version.
Train hard, stay safe.
Ryan