When bad things happen to good CrossFitters

Any time there is a winner and a loser, controversy and political jostling are sure to follow. The bigger the stakes, the bigger the chances are for any of the above.

I ride my bike. I don’t know if I’d call myself a cyclist, but I think I’m on the road a fair amount. It’s a great thing to do in our area, where there is good cycling weather year-round. I rode 2,006 miles last year, the most I have ever ridden since I rode 4 miles round trip to school every day in 8th grade. Now over 30 years old with a cholesterol number that looks more like a batting average, I have to watch what I eat and maintain good exercise habits. Cycling has been my consistent exercise for over a year.

A sports and competition junkie too, I also have an eye and ear out for new popular things. I was introduced to CrossFit by a coworker who wouldn’t ever shut up about it.

Those kettle bells get hard to swing up at a certain point. By English: Staff Sgt. Clinton Firstbrook, via Wikimedia Commons

“Want to know what my workout of the day is?”

No.

“I have to swing a kettle ball 20 times, do burpees, and then run a quarter mile. Three rounds, for time.”

Good for you.

“I drink a gallon of water a day. Special water.”

Ummmmmm… .

I wasn’t that unsupportive or negative about it. Actually, my interest was piqued. To see someone you know become that excited about something that is probably healthy and good for them is actually kind of inspiring. I admire people who can set a goal and do something consistently over a long period of time to better themselves.

Perhaps I’m too easily inspired for some people, though. In the early part of the last decade, I read Lance Armstrong’s book and watched him come back from his near-death brush with cancer. I was inspired. My father got on his bike before and during the Armstrong run and I think it’s safe to say that without Armstrong making cycling mainstream, it would not have been a viable mode of exercise for me. Probably not for him either.

Armstrong being exposed now as a cheater doesn’t change the fact that I got on my bike. Am I, as a fan and participant, supposed to take back the miles and hours I’ve spent in the saddle? Should I feel horrible about what I’ve done for myself? Is my bike now an outmoded form of transportation? Of course not.

I had never gone to a CrossFit “box” in my life, but after having so many coworkers and friends tell me all about it, the place seemed familiar as soon as I got there. You can go to just about any CrossFit and try it out after a tutorial. The people at the one I went to were great. There were kids, teenagers, adults. I met a few guys who were the trainers. My buddy told me that the one ripped dude named Josh competed at the CrossFit Games. I had never thought that much of the “competitive exercise” part of CrossFit. Actually, as much as I was attracted to the good, community-based values that CrossFitters I’d spoken with espoused, the idea of then putting it into a competition didn’t really make a lot of sense to me at first. But I guess you have to have a way to showcase your thing. People are competitive by nature. I get that.

Nobody needed to tell me Josh was probably better at all the CrossFit exercises than everyone else who was there that day. The guy was clearly in incredible shape and wasn’t that the point of this whole thing?

In the end, I was in the middle of trying to find enough time to barely eclipse my yearly cycling mileage goal, while traveling for work for 125 days throughout 2012. CrossFit was appealing, but for someone who had already established other goals, there just wasn’t time to make it worth my while. (Insert other excuses for not working out here…  It was a long year. Give me a break!)

This is a CrossFit certification class. That guy looks like he’s having fun. By Cylon at en.wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons

Recently there was a huge uproar about Josh, the guy I met during the one and only visit I ever had to CrossFit. Apparently he didn’t stand up all the way on his “box jumps” and some other “movement.”  I only found out about it because my friends go to the same Box and had facebook posts about the incident, linking to this interview with Golden. I read what they posted and pondered what they said.

I won’t go on about how the CrossFit organization sounds suspiciously like the NCAA in the above release. They seem like an entity that benefits from having standards that essentially include conflicts of interest for competitors trying to qualify. If Joe Shmoe comes to your gym and qualifies for the CrossFit games, that’s something a gym can market. I’m not saying that’s what’s behind Josh’s controversy. I am the farthest thing from a CrossFit expert and I don’t claim to know any of the parties involved on a personal level. I’ve only met the folks at that particular gym once. But I am saying that it seems that it’s a flaw in the system. Also, like the NCAA, they think they are doing the right thing when they enforce their rules and bylaws.

This is the part where I make one thing clear. I’m not comparing Josh Golden apparently failing to “complete the movement standards” with the systematized cheating that Lance Armstrong was guilty of. I am saying that if you let either affect you negatively as a participant in cycling or CrossFit, you should get your head checked.

People who are inspired by the CrossFitters who dominate in CrossFit should continue to be inspired. If Josh is someone who inspired you, don’t stop being inspired because he didn’t stand up all the way (or whatever he did or didn’t do…). I guess my point is that there is a difference between the essence and backbone of CrossFit — the everyday people who scrape their time and money to go to a Box three or four times per week and see the personal benefit — and the CrossFit Games, or competitions.

Here’s a good perspective on the Golden thing.

It’s the same with cycling for me. I’m not any less inspired to ride over the past few years — because it’s something that’s healthy. The feeling of the wind in my face is something I enjoy. Conquering a long hill and enjoying the speedy descent is exhilarating. It’s something I like to do. That should be what matters. When you turn something into competition, though, there is always a loser.