Here is where I have opted out of writing a long explanation of functional training and its evolution.  If I do the rest of this post right (write?), that omission will not matter.  

Hockey is a winter sport despite the fact that the season extends into June.  In my hockey days, there was no dearth of activity in my life in the winter, no frantic need to find some fitness activity to replace other more summery activities.  Likewise, in Arizona, where winter consists of a few weeks of chilly weather in January and where one rainy day will definitely be followed (and was no doubt preceded) by a sunny one, there was no variation in my activity between the cold and warm seasons; there was no need to modify how much time I spent outside or inside.  

Enter Lancaster into my life.  Enter cold, wet weather and grey days.  Yikes.  That "yikes" feeling seems to extend to lots of people, not just Arizona transplants.  Activity levels decrease, we spend less time outdoors, natural happy chemicals take a nosedive, and spirits can get a little low.  Biologically, we are designed to slow down in the winter; realistically, modern lifestyles don't permit that process to take place. 

Gym memberships peak from January to March, fueled by New Year's resolutions and a desire to "get that beach body" in time for spring break.  Memberships peak but people don't actually go more often or get fitter.  Over time motivation dwindles, the drive diminishes, the spark hisses and dies out.  Nothing is there to re-ignite it.  Being in the throes of the lows of winter does not help matters at all.  Many people are stuck in a cycle of attempted exercise coupled with frustration that ends with failure.  Between the time required to "get in shape,"  the personal hurdles that must be crossed just to get to "the gym," and the knowledge that there is no support system in place to keep them keeping on, it is no wonder many people give up on getting fitter and healthier.

What if you didn't have to go to "they gym" at all?  What if there was no lat pull down machine in sight in your chosen place of exercise?  What if there were no creeps lurking around the mirrors spending more time resting and admiring themselves than actually exercising?  That might be a good place to check out.  Believe it or not, this place exists.

Crossfit "gyms" are not your typical gyms.  In fact, in the crossfit community, the folks call the place where they go to work out "the box."  Sound weird?  Sound different?  You bet.  That's the idea.

Jeremiah Williams owns and manages the Crossfit Collective here in Lancaster.  He was nice enough to take some time to chat with me and share his perspective on fitness and the crossfit method.  There are many perspectives out there as well as a lot of information (and misinformation), so I encourage anyone who's curious to explore the many options and form your own perspective from a well-rounded set of information and experiences rather than just take my word for it.  I hope this information will provide a good start to the next part of your fitness journey.

Jeremiah's passion and drive for fitness stem from a love of what he refers to as "organic activity":  hiking, climbing, running, cycling, calisthenics.  Organic activity is a great way to describe them all:  you use your body to move and it provides the resistance.  You are moving naturally within your environment in ways that humans are designed to move, much unlike ... you guessed it...when you do a lat pull down. 

He found crossfit through a personal training client and was hooked immediately by the physical demand and mental commitment required to complete the workout:  100 pullups, 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats as fast as possible.  After this baptism by fire into the crossfit method, he began working on these movements and incorporating the principles of them into his clients' workouts.  One thing led to another, and from the marriage of the crossfit method and his personal training business the Crossfit Collective, the first crossfit method gym in Lancaster county, was born. 

http://www.crossfit-collective.com

The crossfit method is defined as "constantly varied, functional movements with high intensity."  It is a method that truly works for everyone because it addresses the body and the mind as one whole unit, each dependent on the other, each person differing from the next.  It addresses each person as an individual able to push within and sometimes outside of their own limitations whatever they may be, completely independent of what anyone else's expectation or preceptions may be.  It is difficult if not impossible to find this type of holistic fitness in a typical gym setting.  "There [are] far too many isolating movements in the confines of how a machine operates. These are anything but natural and have little to no transference to real life."  

According to Jeremiah, "[The] crossfit method will train an individual in the nine recognized fitness skills.  They are endurance, strength, stamina, flexibility, power, speed, balance, agility, coordination, and accuracy."  All you need is your body and some kind of external weight...a soup can will do!  Everyone can benefit from developing these skills:  a novice exerciser and a seasoned mountain bike racer alike will experience positive results from this type of training.  It is never too late to start.  Want to be able to help your aging dog into your lifted monster truck?  Wish you had the stamina to play with your kids longer AND still have energy left to wash dishes and go on date night with your honey?  Training for your first marathon?  Crossfit can help.

If you're curious, the best thing to do is just go.  The Collective has Basics classes starting every two weeks to make sure you get started on the right foot, so to speak.  There is no need to get in shape before you go.  The trainers will get you started on your path to fitness based on your needs and your goals, and from there it's up to you!

Jeremiah recognizes that there are some people who just need to do something to prepare, even if just for their own sake.  If you are one of those people (I am one of these people, so I understand the compulsion), he suggests that you play around with some diet modifications:  decrease sugar intake, increase fibrous carbs like veggies.  Once you have done that, head directly to the Collective.  The trainers will start you on your fitness journey with a good warmup, followed by work on range of motion of a particular joint or set of joints.  Then it's on to technique for basic lifting movements, and last, you participate in a W.O.D. (workout of the day) which will incorporate various movements and skills, usually to be performed for time.  Before you know it, you're done with your first crossfit workout and started on a long and interesting path that will nourish your mind and body as you get stronger and healthier, all without the help of that pesky lat pull down machine.

Anyway, enough about that.  Are you a Maker of New Year's Resolutions?  Are you a Keeper of New Year's Resolutions?  I am not a big believer in them myself; I think if you want to change something or start something new, any time is as good a time as...well, any.  I actually think the beginning of the year can be the absolute worst time for trying to start something new and challenging.  You're already dealing with post-holiday blahs:  you might have just gone back to work after some time off, you might have just sent unhappy kids back to school after time off, and you may or may not just be plain ol' exhausted.  Why, oh why, do we pick THIS as a great time to throw a wrench in the routine?  

A quick search on Google brought up various historical precedents for a renewal of self at the beginning of the year.  Many were religious in nature, involving promises to one god or another to pay debts, keep up good bahavior, and the like.  This is, of course, a gross oversimplification of the practice, but the point is that we humans have been using the beginning of the year as a time to refresh ourselves for a long time running.  I doubt the conviction to do so will end any time soon, so let's find some ways to help ourselves make our new, more positive, more healthy selves last past February.  What say you?

I spent quite a few years working in various capacities in the fitness industry and more in the bicycle industry.  Gyms are horribly crowded during January and for about half of February.  Then the attendance abruptly drops off.  A lot of bikes get sold to non-riders in January (well, in Arizona they do), and they get ridden a lot for a month or two before becoming wall art and garage clutter.  These people have resolved to exercise more in the new year.  The energy that drives their conviction is awesome and their ambition is one that could serve them well if they were to stick to it:  they will feel better physically, look better, and be happier and more calm.  They are entering uncharted territory though, and they are doing it by means of an unmapped route, as I see it.  Not only are they introducing a new thing (exercise) into their lives, but the are doing so by means completely and totally foreign and possibly really uncomfortable.  Why not take a walk around your familiar block?  Or go to the playground with your kids and play WITH them instead of watching?  Wouldn't that be a more gentle and enjoyable way to get used to more activity in your life?  Rather than making a big deal out of it, be kind to yourself and ease additional activity into the schedule by familiar means rather than shaking the boat so hard that you are forced to learn about capsize-recovery at the same time you're figuring out how to put the thing in the water.   

Same thing goes for that other popular resolution: "I will eat healthfully in the New Year."  Eating healthfully does not have to mean that you radically change your whole idea of eating.  In some cases, that might be where you find yourself eventually, or you might know that's what is necessary for health reasons, but in all cases, taking small steps rather than bounding leaps is more likely to actually get you to your destination.  

I am a strong proponent of cooking and eating at home because of the physical and emotional health benefits for the whole family.  I also believe that it is best if you know what you are putting in your body and the only way to guarantee that is if you make the food yourself.  However!  I also love going out to eat.  I love sitting in a cafe with a pastry, nursing a cup of coffee for three hours.  I love trying new restaurants and I have a weakness for old fashioned diners and the sinfully buttery magical breakfast potatoes they have.  

I think it is not only possible but in fact preferable to eat healthfully AND still allow yourself the pleasure that can and should be part of eating.  If we don't enjoy the way we are eating, we will alter it and go back to old ways because we enjoyed them more.  So, if you enjoy eating out once in awhile, by all means, incorporate that into your new mode of eating rather than viewing it as a deviation from the plan. Deprivation + Change = A January of Unfulfilling Eating and a Quick Return to Old Habits.

You just have to be sensible when you go out.  Food that makes you happy does not have to be bad for you.  In fact, you'll likely find that in fact the food that makes you the happiest is the food that is the best for you, and truly nourishes the body and the senses. It's all about balance and mindfulness, like so many other things.

http://riceandnoodlesrestaurant.com

Vietnamese food has it all:  a wealth of refreshing flavors, varying textures, and comforting aromas that all combine to create a cuisine that is not only delicious and comforting, but also pretty darn good for you for the most part.   The soups are amazingly satisfying yet light; the rice dishes tease your nose to guess what herbs might be playing there.  I swear that Pho has healing properties...my mind has on more than one occasion become more settled and quiet after slowly and deliberately (for there is no other way to eat Pho) downing a big bowl of the stuff.  And the body follows:  it becomes calm, satisfied, and ready for the next thing.  

That, to me, is truly what eating healthily is all about.  Your food should nourish your body and mind and help you be strong to face the next thing, whether it's bed time or a twenty-four hour mountain bike race. 

Happy New Year!

~SK

I sort of did my research before I moved to Lancaster. I say “sort of” because while I did spend the requisite time here before actually packing up my stuff and lugging it across the country, I didn’t really come on that initial visit with as open a mind as I could have. I already had my mind set on moving here. I also knew I’d have to take the bad with the good, end of story. I had already fully accepted that, or so I told myself. That seemed a diplomatic way to approach things at the time…

That approach can also limit you immensely, I now see. Why? Isn’t “taking the bad with the good” a philosophy we all employ every day to various aspects of our lives? What could be wrong with it?

Well, for starters, look at the syntax. When you start with “bad,” it’s easy to get stuck there, literally and figuratively. It’s one thing to spontaneously rebalance your perspective or talk yourself through something using this philosophy. It’s quite another to utilize it as a general approach to a life change. It ends up emphasizing the negative, or at least that’s what it did in my case. It caused me to be more likely to see what wasn’t in Lancaster, and to constantly tick off things that were now missing from my life; it was a constant stream of negativity. Yuck. My eyes, via my heart and brain, were so focused on what wasn’t here that I had a hard time seeing all the opportunities that are here for the taking.

I resigned myself to living without trails nearby, no small feat given that I was accustomed to traveling no more than two miles to about six different trails, and did so on an almost daily basis. There were rocks, mountains, animals, and peace of mind all only an eight minute bike ride away in my former life. I never took those things for granted either; any time I was on the trail, I marveled at my luck at accidentally (yes, accidentally – when I moved to Phoenix, those things were not even a glint in my eye – interesting, eh?) settling myself in a place that was just perfect for all of my outdoor pursuits. I figured that once in Lancaster, I’d just deal with not having any of that. Perhaps I’d find new passions in unexpected places, as I had in Phoenix. I’d reconnect with my inner gym rat and leave the weekends for trail exploration since, from all I could tell, the closest trails were an hour’s drive away at least.

Once I got here, desperation led me to do a bit more research, as I reasoned that no civilized place could truly be without local trails. There had to be something. Various searches yielded up multiple references to some place called County Park. The somewhat conflicting directions I found, though not in agreement as to the best way to get there from my house, all seemed to indicate that the park was close, that perhaps I had even driven past a portion of it unknowingly. What?! I was cautiously optimistic. I ignored the snotty comments that said the park had nothing to offer and the trails were dumb or too short. Hey, it was better than nothing! Those fools had no idea. Or so I hoped.

The more I searched online, the less genuine information I found, and the more befuddled I became. However, I was afraid of disappointment, so for awhile, I continued to wonder about the park from the comfortably warm confines of my house rather than actually going out to see what it was all about. My New Stuff Tolerance Meter had hit the FULL! level.

Eventually, after reading yet another trail description that made absolutely no sense, I got fed up with the descriptions and my compulsive reading of them. What had happened to my sense of adventure? Had I left it in the desert? If so, I was in for problems for sure. I had to check out this park, potential for disappointment notwithstanding. My troll-like computer vigil and fruitless searching were getting old.

I got some directions, verified that they led to the park by driving there, drove back home, put on my layers (it was winter), clipped into my bike pedals, and retraced my way to the park. I rode some of the roads (delightfully twisty with some steep uphills), followed the cross-country ski trails when I saw the wooden posts for them, found a few fingers of random singletrack, then did it all again, finding more loops and more trails each time. Before I knew it, two hours had passed and I was back home, flushed, shivering from sweat, and happy.

Every time I go to the park I go there half expecting to be disappointed, and finishing up my visit there feeling rejuvenated and centered. I ride, walk, run, stand, with and without my canine companion, and every time I do, I am happy to have that park to go to whenever I want, just about two miles away. Hmm, this is starting to sound familiar.

I am not going to tell you my favorite trail in the park, though I do have one. I’m also not going to take you step by step through the figure eight loop that I do when I ride my mountain bike there. I’m not even going to tell you which parking lot to use if you drive there. Those types of information were exactly what I found online, and exactly what kept me from missing the point of going to the park: just GO to the park, don’t research going to the park!

Here is a link to the official county park site…for the purpose of getting directions, nothing more! Go, explore, and be joyful!

http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/parks/cwp/view.asp?a=676&q=518262

~Stacey