May Is BAFF!

Spring is definitely here – the doors are open, the weather has been getting nicer, and there’s a renewed sense of purpose both in and out of the gym. The changing season has a way of regenerating everyone, or so it seems. What follows in this blog is a recap, some thoughts about our purpose and our ‘why,’ as well as a new and exciting concept I’d like to try called ‘Bring-A-Friend Friday!’

The 2019 Classic

Put simply, I had an absolute blast hosting the 2019 Classic this year! It was a lot of fun coming up with those workouts and pushing the left- and right-limits of what we typically consider to be testable criteria within the sport of fitness. I hope you all enjoyed the day and the creativity of some of the workouts, but since you’re all CrossFitters, you probably weren’t too upset about having something ‘outside of the box’ thrown at you. After all, it’s kind of what we train for – the unknown and the unknowable!

What We Do

What I really enjoy about CrossFit is the fact that it’s challenging yet still appropriate and effective for a vast majority of the population given the right program, great coaching, and solid communication. The aforementioned criteria we consider to exist under the ‘umbrella’ of what we define as fitness is a lot broader in CrossFit compared to most other sports. Think about the movement selection we are subjected to alone, then consider time domain/energy system proficiency needed to be good in a series of events…it’s pretty impressive what so many of us are capable of doing who have put in the work and trusted the process. The effectiveness of our system becomes more and more evident with time, and I’ve been involved in this methodology for over a decade. It’s always rewarding to see people of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds continue to make progress, especially after many years of hard work and perseverance.

Why We Do It

Aside from being proud of getting people better at a wide range of movements and teaching them to move best through different time domains, is there any other good reason to do CrossFit? I can think of a lot of reasons, but here are a few big ones: 

• The regular practice and mastery of truly functional motor patterns that transfer to real-life application is imperative to our (mental and physical) health, especially considering the increasingly-sedentary nature of most people’s day jobs (or lives in general). 
• Related to the above point, the regular practice of said functional motor patterns at appropriate loadings, volume, and intensities are not only imperative to safety/injury prevention and overall health, but appropriate exposure and practice becomes MORE important the older you get (think: decreasing bone density and the atrophy of skeletal muscle paired with less and less flexibility as one ages).

This means saying ‘I’m too old’ is NOT a valid excuse to submit to frailty and an unhealthy lifestyle!

Put simply: exercise is obviously good for you, but exercising (ie: loading the skeleton and moving your body) with proper guidance and intent is paramount to staying healthy and continuing to make progress.

A Huge Bonus

An extension of this phenomenon getting a group of people together to train with a purpose relative to their individual fitness levels is the community-building aspect of CFD, which never ceases to amaze me. It’s also important to point out the fact that the community is not static, nor should we expect it to be. Just like each and every one of us, the group as a whole is constantly shifting, changing, adapting, and moving through different phases. Sometimes there are new faces, sometimes familiar faces move away, and sometimes the individuals within the group change as a result of career moves, relationships, additions to a family, shifting goals and/or priorities, etc. 

I view the dynamic nature of the community as a very positive attribute – it not only continually introduces us to new people whom we may have never had the pleasure of getting to know and establishing new long-term friendships with, but it drives each of us to learn from one another and adapt/grow together throughout the years. It’s a fantastic opportunity to constantly network, learn from each other, and discover new things about ourselves along the way. 

Bring-A-Friend Fridays

To help facilitate this growth and build our community, I humbly ask each of you to help by introducing others to this fantastic thing we have all collectively built together. During each Friday in May, all classes are invited to bring a friend along with them to participate. As always, we can make any movement and any workout appropriate for just about anyone. Help us grow and spread the gift of fitness and our positive atmosphere to others!

All new members who sign up during the month of May will get a $75 discount on their On-Ramp package normally priced at $350 for a 3-month membership. That’s $275 for 3 months of training!

I have created some public Facebook events here for each available date. Every like, comment, and share helps our visibility and improves our outreach to others in the Dubuque area.

May 10 – Bring-A-Friend Friday
May 17 – Bring-A-Friend Friday
May 24 – Bring-A-Friend Friday
May 31 – Bring-A-Friend Friday

Thank you all in advance for your support over the years and for helping us continue to grow. See you all soon!

Not a member? Sign up for an Intro Class today!  The next Intro class takes place on May 11th at 10:00, and Foundations starts the next week (May 14th).
RSVP to the free Intro Class here!