Its starting to heat up again here in M-town. That means that everyone needs to be drinking lots of water and all those comfortable clothes we wear to work out in are going to get less and less comfortable as the summer drags on. Throughout the classes we have noticed several things. One of these things is what people are chasing. I?ve had conversations with several people about thinning out and looking good for summer. Wanting to get leaner and less flabby is certainly a worthy goal, but it is not the whole picture. When you were introduced to Crossfit Bartlett some of you may or may not have noticed that we do not have many mirrors here. That?s right, the only mirrors we have are in the bathrooms. The same astute Crossfitters may have noticed an abundance of white boards. We have more white boards than the average elementary school classroom. There?s a reason for the ratio of white boards to mirrors. We believe that a lean muscular physique is only a facet to the total goal of elite fitness. This is because you can be lean and have a six-pack without being able to pull yourself up over a bar or lift even a fraction of your body weight off the ground. Those are skills that everyone should have. If you take a look around at the people who have been in the gym a while you will notice a peculiar pattern. They do not spend much time staring at themselves in the mirrors in our bathrooms. Instead they are staring at the white boards and the numbers on them. They are seeing if they did better on Fran or squatted more than last time. In a comparison between how you look and how you perform in the metcons we do here, how you perform is a much better and a much clearer indicator of how healthy you are. I?ve noticed this with myself. When I showed up at Crossfit Bartlett I wanted a sweet six pack and to drop every ounce of fat I had. I wanted to look like Chris Spealler, Mikko Sallo, and Rich Froning. Now after a year of Crossfit training and being beaten down regularly by the 10th fittest woman in the world, I want a sub 3 minute Fran more than I want a six pack. Now I want to perform like Chris Spealler, Mikko Salo, and Rich Froning. That change happened with no conscious effort. If you chase performance, aka elite fitness, the body composition will follow. Are you more concerned with how you look or how you perform? Do you crossfit for sweet abs or a sweet time? Post Comments Below!
Daniel Deadlifting! Click here to check out more photos on Flickr!
