The New Radical

What makes you different?
 
I was first attracted to CrossFit because it was counterculture. After 12 years in the fitness industry, I was tired of the myths, quasi-science and flat-out lies. I wanted to be a coach, not a mythbuster. CrossFit was a new voice in the wilderness: the plain and untarnished truth.
 
But in 2007, CrossFit was plain and untarnished EVERYTHING. CrossFit gyms were nasty by nature: chalk on the floor, pictures of ripped hands on the internet, dogs everywhere. Clients who were with us through our early CrossFit period were pretty forgiving. We went through the “competitive” side of CrossFit, the Paleo side, the Zone side. We were quick to embrace anything that was the opposite of the status quo in fitness. After a few years, I realized that CrossFit had its OWN dogma, and we we reined it back in a bit. No more “your workout is our warmup” slogans, no more Mark Twight t-shirts with messages about drinking poison in the jungle.
 
We’ve mellowed a bit. But the fitness industry really hasn’t. CrossFit was so radical that it pulled the whole movement a few degrees to the right. The old radical has become the new normal: the globo-gym down the street still doesn’t care if you show up or not, but they have bumper plates and pull-up bars in case you ever do.
 
What’s the NEW radical? What are the trendsetters doing now? What are the early adopters adopting?
 
They’re taking control of their health.
 
Our parents’ generation relaxed into the social security safety net like it was a hammock. Good for them: they deserved it. But OUR generation can’t wait for answers to be solved for us. We can’t wait for food to fall from the trees, or for doctors to book  an appointment just to see how we’re doing. No one is taking your temperature until you’re sick. And no one will carry you until you’re in a casket.
 
Still, most of us do nothing about it. And never will. We’ll wait, instead, for the Doctor’s Orders to exercise. We’ll wait for a pill to eat.
 
I wrote yesterday that the Catalyst Mission is to enlarge the lives of 1000 people in Sault Ste. Marie. That means I want to put CONTROL in the hands of those who want it. These are the new radicals: the few folks who will actually question the standing authority, do their own research, and take action on their life. The new radicals are the folks who won’t wait for the potion, but will create their own answer. These folks will be immune to the myths, abundant with their care and wide open to challenges. They’ll all outlive their doctors, mark my words.
 
Taking control of your health might not make you popular outside our gym. It will make you a radical. It definitely won’t be easy. But it will definitely be worth it.