“Why it is important to PLAY outside of CrossFit”
by Dan Eakin
I had an epiphany over the Easter weekend.
Did you know -and I couldn’t believe this at the time- that there are activities that you can do, in combination with CrossFit, to stay in shape? Additionally, did you know some of those activities are really fun?!? Like participating in a game or sport or playing with your kids outside? Even more so, many of those activities can take you into different time and effort domains that we do not usually tread in CrossFit.
Autumn and I went to the hill country over Easter weekend with some friends. Two of the folks were training for the MS-150 and were planning on bringing their bikes for a few rides on the back roads and urged me to do the same. The entire week leading up all I could think was, “does Fredericksburg have a CrossFit gym?” and “I don’t know what I’ll do if I miss a full 3 days of CrossFit training!!”
I was desperate.
I woke up on Saturday morning depressed about not working out and nervous to try out this thing called ‘cycling’. We rode 35 miles in a little over 2 hours. I have never ridden a bike more than 15 miles.
It was windy.
It was hilly.
My butt hurt.
My legs burned.
I got a hell of a workout….
and I had a BLAST.
What this weekend made me realize is that by itself, CrossFit gives us an incredible foundation of fitness… that we can then apply to other stuff! Prescribed correctly, it can take our body to limits far beyond what we thought possible. But it also has an additional benefit. This sturdy foundation of fitness that is based on the fundamental doctrine of CrossFit, “constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity across broad time and modal domains” also gives us the ability to quickly adapt and excel at other tasks like cycling, soccer, running after our kids while playing tag, etc.
CrossFit is one of many tools we use to lead a healthier life. It is not the ONLY tool. If your goal is to simply get better at the skills and intricacies of CrossFit, great, that is awesome and a challenge in and of itself!
However, just once, I challenge you all to go out and PLAY. Try a new activity/game/sport, have an epic game of tag with your kids, test the foundation of your fitness in a creative way.
Who knows, you may surprise yourself and find a new hobby, a new group of people you would have otherwise not met, or better yet, a new passion.
-Coach Dan
