Why I love Crossfit

Remember that picture....read below and you will find out how Crossfit works :)

I've said it before and I will say it again- life and economy to me are the two sides of the same thing. Life is the world of every individual, and economy is the world of all individuals brought together. Today as I was reading something about my Mediaplanning class I came upon the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I've considered it before correlating it with Crossfit. If you are a crossfitter or even if you aren't, I bet that you've noticed the impact that Crossfit has on the lives of everybody that has tried it!

Many consider Crossfit a religion and say that we are some kind of a sect and probably we "wash away" the brains of "normal" people, and thus persuade them to come on our side. I'd say this is an interesting theory, which gives me the opportunity to argue on it and show my personal view!

So...Maslow's hierarchy of needs is portrayed in the shape of a pyramid, with the largest and most fundamental levels of needs at the bottom, and the need for self-actualization at the top.

The most fundamental and basic four layers of the pyramid contain what Maslow called "deficiency needs" or "d-needs": esteem , friendship and love, security, and physical needs. With the exception of the most fundamental (physiological) needs, if these "deficiency needs" are not met, the body gives no physical indication but the individual feels anxious and tense. Maslow's theory suggests that the most basic level of needs must be met before the individual will strongly desire the secondary or higher level needs.

It comes out that Maslow's pyramid should be build. You can't skip a level or your "pyramid" will fall apart,i.e. if some of "d-needs" are not met you won't feel complete as an individual and that will force your body and mind to suffer. Turns out that in order to have a fullfiling life, everybody should strive to start from the bottom of the pyramid and build it to the top throughout their lives!...only then you will feel accomplished and in harmony with yourself.

Maybe you are eager to understand what Crossfit has to do with everything mentioned above?... In my opinion Crossfit provides all five "d-needs" explained above. On the side of physiological needs,i.e. air water and food, Crossfit gives you the opportunity of getting to know your body better and teaches you to provide it with the nutrition it needs to function. By knowing those things you are most likely to aply them in your diet and you are directing straight to the second level- The safety needs!

Safety needs have to do with people's yearning for a predictable orderly world in which perceived unfairness and inconsistency are under control, the familiar frequent and the unfamiliar rare! Crossfit coaches are some of the best professionals I've seen. They all commit themselves to the purpose of serving others as their mentors,as their help in difficult moments,as their teachers and so on. Crossfit coaches help you learn the moves so yoo won't injure yourself doing a hard WOD and thus they keep you save. They are the connecting link between you at the beginning and your HEALTHY YOU!

A picture from a Diablo Crossfit workout

...we are getting higher on the pyramid, and we are now on the third level- Love and belonging! As crossfitters you belong to a community. A community where everybody wants you to succeed. Everybody helps you-with advice, knowledge, support or just the opportunity to be your friend, the thought that you are not alone out there. Somebody else is doing the same WOD. SOmebody else is going through the same tough times. Somebody shares your pain. Somebody knows how you are feeling right now! And that is what most of us lack-understanding! By being a crossfitter you are surrounded by people just like you! People that share your interests and your fears. People that strive for the same. People that started the same journey with you...and that will be there if you trip on your way!

The picture shows the community that Crossfit gives you the opportunity to be part of...

Hey! We are almost there on the forth level-Self esteem! All humans have a need to be respected and to have self-esteem and self-respect. Also known as the belonging need, esteem presents the normal human desire to be accepted and valued by others. People need to engage themselves in something that gives them the sense of contribution, to feel accepted and self-valued. Lack of self-esteem can result in inferiority complex, which brings you nowhere!!! How does Crossfit helps on this level? Well, Crossfit gives you exactly the opportunity to persue the need of being respected for what you do. Every crossfit fellow out there respects what you do. We all respect the efforts others do, whether it is trying to lose weight, trying to gain muscle, make a HSPU or a MU, or whatever you are trying to accomplish. Whenever you feel low, you can always go to the gym and hit a WOD, show some motivation and hard work, and you know you will be respected for it!

Lauren Plumey fighting her way up during the Crossfit games 2009

Here we are! Finally on the top of the pyramid! That was a long way up, wasn't it? But it was worth it! So here we came to the fifth level- The self-actualization! There is one proverb that I love and it goes that way : “What a man can be, he must be.” I find that to be the mere truth! That last level is the hardest to persue and not many of us succeed of reaching that high. But here comes Crossfit again! Everybody has an ability, a talent that nobody else has. Something that he can do better than everybody else. Either you are a good sprinter, weightlifter or gymnast. You can do DU better than anybody, jump higher than anybody, lift the heaviest or run the fastes. You have a broad field to show what you can do. There is something that you like doing more than others-so go ahead and do it! Maybe you like chippers better than other WODS-so go ahead and feel the pleasure of doing what you want.

But as Maslow said "In order to reach a clear understanding of this level of need one must first not only achieve the previous needs, physiological, safety, love, and esteem, but master these needs." So master the first levels, then bring them together and you are on the top. You are a complete individual now. You can be proud of yourself and feel accomplished. And you see...Crossfit has it all. That is why I TOTALLY LOVE IT! Call it a sect...but I will argue again! It is just Crossfit! It gives you everything you need to feel accomplished!