Log your 16.2 Score!
3 rounds for time of:
Row 1,000 meters
Run 800 meters
I was texting with a good friend of mine a few weeks ago and amidst the friendly banter he referred to CrossFit as the “luxury service industry.” It caught me off guard at first because I thought to myself, that’s just not true! We help everyone. Our health isn’t a luxury! But as more time passed I realized, he was right.
We live in a culture where our health and well-being often takes a backseat to other aspects of our lives. Our jobs, our stuff, and our comforts are often placed first, even though we all understand that without our health none of these things matter.
So while people may spend every free moment they have working their butts off for their job so they can make their car, house, school-loan, and cell phone payment they consider making time to improve their health a commodity, or in my friends word, a “luxury.” It’s a luxury to spend time each day maintaining or even improving our overall health? It’s a luxury to pay for a CrossFit membership but not for our car, internet, or cellphone?
Clearly I’m preaching to the choir here but it’s a concept that I believe is important for us to acknowledge because it’s the cultural and social norm among those around us. Ok, maybe not those around us within Boulder, but those around us in general. Hopefully through our examples, and with time, it will begin to be clear that our own health is more than a back-burner-notion that we get around to when we have time, so maybe future generations won’t have to learn the same old lessons the hard way and, at the same time, we can enjoy our own lives to the fullest.
While I agree that it is generally not a luxury to be able to spend time maintaining your health, and it should be prioritized, it can be done effectively, inexpensively. Roots members receive a top notch fitness experience, but we pay a premium for it. The quality and integrity of instruction, the facility and equipment, the sense of community, etc – these are all parts of what makes our experience a luxury. Personally I feel very fortunate to be able to afford what I consider an extravagant fitness program. This comment can be considered both a thank you to everyone who makes this experience what it is, and a call for the Roots community to reflect on our privilege.