The Politics of CrossFit

Rest Day

The Politics of CrossFit

By Russell Berger and Dan Freedman

Both Russell Berger and Dan Freedman are impressed with the overall quality of the rest day discussions posted on CrossFit. Russell, a former Ranger, noticed both the impact a fitness website was having on his thinking and an increasing number of complaints about the political rest day links.

I started paying attention to the CrossFit website four years ago. From the very beginning, CrossFit was built on mold-breaking, counter-culture methodology. One of the cornerstones of CrossFit was its analytical and objective approach to fitness. Establishment, theory, and speculation were cast aside and replaced with workouts that produced results. Recently, I’ve noticed more and more complaints about the less-noticeable information posted alongside the Workout of the Day. Right-leaning political commentary, articles, and studies are occasionally popping up on rest-day postings. To some this is a perverse and offensive combination....If an ideological affiliation had to be applied to CrossFit, it would almost certainly be the "Libertarian method" of fitness. Individual responsibility reigns, and everyone is held to the same standards of performance. Can you blame Coach Glassman for extending ideas that work so effectively in the fitness world to a larger model? Is it CrossFit's fault for seeing the parallels between a grass-roots fitness methodology and a free and effective society?

Dan, a former TV news director, doesn’t agree that appreciating the real world benefits of CrossFit necessitates a particular political view.

My beef? Some CrossFitters have a reflexive prejudice. They are in love with simple-minded perversity. They seem to think that if most people favor something, it must be wrong. But it ain’t necessarily so. Here’s the ultimate bit of contrarianism: sometimes the conventional wisdom is right. Sometimes expert opinion is well founded....In the fitness realm, who could argue against hard work or individual responsibility? But does it really follow that lax regulation of financial markets is a good idea? Could isolation exercises have a place in rehab programs? Might it be okay to eat bananas after all? Could raising taxes on the top 1% be sound economic policy?

Their full arguments are in the article. And, as always, if you have something to say, Post thoughts to Comments.

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