CrossFit is growing. FAST.

And with that growth, there is more variety and there are more options offered by gym owners who are hoping to break into the CrossFit market. While more competition refines the business’ towards what it is that the consumer wants, what many ask for (and eventually get) ends up hurting the affiliates and athletes alike. I believe that the concept of having “open-gym” in CrossFit affiliates does just that.

For example, when illness strikes, we first ask if we can medicate and cure it on our own. If we don’t feel like this is the case, we seek out a doctor or certified healthcare professional for help.

Wouldn’t we think it was strange if one of those professionals decided that instead of giving us the proper guidance they are trained to provide, that this person simply unlocked the medicine cabinet and told you to figure it out on your own?

I think you and I both would think this is odd. Either this person is lazy, mainly motivated by profit, incompetent, or doesn’t feel confident that their services are valuable enough to intervene in your pursuit of becoming healthy again.

This analogy isn’t perfect, but I believe the main similarities speak towards truths that need to be addressed. What’s to stop an inexperienced CrossFitter who saw a video on YouTube of Regional level athletes doing:

21-15-9

deadlift (315#/205#)

box jumps (30”/24”)

…and decided they wanted to load up the barbell and give it a try?

No guidance on mobility, technique, scaling…nothing.

Many athletes who may utilize access to a facility like this may have enough experience to function and even significantly improve their fitness.  But what do Michael Jordan, Muhammed Ali and Tiger Woods all have in common? They have all had coaches.  While most of us aren’t in contention for that sort of success, I believe we all want to see improvement in the areas of life that we are giving a significant amount of time, energy, and finances to pursue.

At CrossFit Abilene, we believe the coaching we provide is so beneficial, there isn’t a time in our gym where you are allowed to go without it. Not only that, our coaches love it so much that we hate to pass up an opportunity to be involved in and contribute to your fitness journey! We aren’t motivated by doing things that will make us a quick buck, we’re motivated by making sure YOUR best interests are on the forefront of every decision we make.

All that to say, we love you guys! Bring on 2015!

-AW