Day 263
A friend recently emailed to ask where I would recommend buying pre-owned CrossFit equipment. CrossFit is one of those ultra-intense workout programs designed to make you “strong like bull” or look better naked, whichever your goal, as long as you don’t blow out your ACL or tear your rotator cuff first. I suppose my area of expertise these days by default is used items, so I gave her the names of a couple of local resale sporting goods shops and mentioned she should probably troll Craigslist.
Then I realized I wasn’t actually sure what constituted CrossFit equipment. This is a little embarrassing, since I had a 6-month tryst with the regimen. My main memories include jumping on a box, flailing around on a pull up bar and exercise induced nausea. Maybe my recall was impaired because of the routine lack of oxygen to my brain during that time. I don’t know. So to make sure I was directing her appropriately, I researched.
I found something interesting from this two-minute exhaustive search, CrossFit touts itself as a “minimalist program” that doesn’t need much equipment
Here is an excerpt nicked from the CrossFit website:
We are a “minimalist program “and this is reflected by the functionality and limited number of our exercises and the simplicity of the equipment we use compared to most commercial gyms. An Olympic weight set and a place to do pull-ups and dips is essential to doing CrossFit. Gymnastics rings and parallettes, plyometrics boxes, a Dynamax medicine ball, dumbbells, kettlebells, climbing rope, Concept II Rower, and a glute-ham developer will equip your garage with more than enough to follow the WOD very closely
Aren’t I helpful? Now you have a complete, if not somewhat confusing, roadmap to the equipment needed for this “bare bones” athletic pursuit. (imagine me waving the universal two handed, index and middle finger quotes in the air there) I suppose we all have varying definitions of what’s necessary to complete a task and I don’t want to argue with them. They could all beat me at arm wrestling.
Let me just run out and pick up some parallettes…
Dear CrossFit: A truly minimalist fitness program involves human body weight and muscles, all of which I already have. Good day.
Seriously – you can do yoga on your floor, take a walk or jog, do pushups and situps, etc. all without athletic equipment. If you REALLY NEED hand weights and you don’t want to buy the gear, use canned vegetables as weights. Yeah, you should probably have some dedicated pants for working out, but even that’s not necessary at the heart of it all. If you don’t have yoga pants you can do yoga in your PJs or, god forbid, naked. We’ve got everything we need 🙂
Someone doesn’t understand the concept of minimalism