Greg Glassman’s definition of world-class fitness in 100 words reads as follows: “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.”
One part of that definition that people who regularly do CrossFit forget about (other than pirouettes) is “Regularly learn and play new sports.” Many people start doing CrossFit to improve their quality of life, to be able to play with their kids or grandkids, to play better on a recreation sports league, or be able to enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, swimming or biking. Unfortunately, after we start doing training with CrossFit with consistency and frequency, it is easy to forget to spend time outside of the gym being active and enjoying the application of functional fitness. On top of this, regularly learning and playing new sports will make you fitter: it introduces you to new movement (especially in areas like balance, accuracy, and agility) and it can be great for recovery.
We are lucky to live in a town like Kingston where there are endless opportunities to participate in recreational sports and outdoor activities. Here are some links to organized sports activities and facilities in Kingston:
Kingston Sport and Social Club
If you want to start smaller, try going for a long walk on a rest day, or use some of Kingston’s public parks (there is basketball court at Skeleton Park and tennis court at Riverview Park. Lululemon also has a series called “Sweat with us,” with Yoga and other activities, which is free:
If you are looking for someone to do some active stuff outside of the gym with you, we recommend posting in the QSF member group on facebook!