One of my favorite things about CrossFit is the community. There's something about sharing in suffering with other people that draws you together and creates a unique bond that is hard to find elsewhere in life.
While CrossFit is by nature competitive, that competition should never come before community.
We compete against the clock, striving to do the best we are capable of, all while cheering on the person next to us.
It is often said in CrossFit that the last person to finish is typically the person who gets the most cheering. I. love. that.
Here are five ways we strive to keep community first:
We leave our egos at the door. First thing's first. A gym full of egos is no fun. We welcome everyone no matter the stage of fitness and we value humility.
We never cheat to "win". In our daily classes, there may not be someone counting your every rep, and we all make mistakes sometimes, but cutting corners to beat someone in a workout helps no one.
We encourage you to cheer on the people around you. We all need a little push sometimes. Whether it's someone's first day of CrossFit or they've been doing it for ten years, it's amazing what some words of encouragement will do when they're deep in the pain cave.
We would love for you to talk to people. Obviously COVID has changed the way we interact with people in the gym (and in general). That doesn't mean you can't talk to people and get to know them while maintaining distance. Community is based on relationships, and that takes effort. Put in that effort to get to know people. Know their names so you can cheer them on specifically in workouts.
We address conflict. We are human and we are broken, which inevitably means that in relationships, conflict arises. If there is conflict between you and another member, we urge you to address it in a healthy way.
While these methods are not all-encompassing, they promote a healthy environment for building a deep community, which is our goal at CrossFit East Nashville.
Photo taken pre-covid :)