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CrossFit spreads fitness opportunities in Ogden

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(Photo by Kaitlyn Johnson)
CrossFit regular Will Haymond prepares to dead lift at CrossFit Ogden. Blood, sweat and tears can happen to the most intense CrossFit participants.

CrossFit is a nationwide fitness company that licenses its name to affiliated gyms across the country and certifies trainers to work in these gyms. There are currently more than 7,500 affiliated gyms nationwide. Individuals complete intense daily workouts that promote strength, conditioning, cardiovascular health and flexibility.

According to the official CrossFit website, CrossFit programs are “regimens of constantly varied, functional movements that are performed at a high intensity in a communal environment (that) lead to health and fitness.”

It is this communal environment that makes many who participate in CrossFit such big fans of it.

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(Photo by Kaitlyn Johnson)
CrossFit participant Gabriel Stockton squats in his workout at CrossFit Ogden.

“I love the community aspect,” said CrossFit competitor Jackie Decker. “It’s awesome to go to the gym and know every single person you’re working out with. I think the tight-knit community also holds you accountable to show up and work hard. The community aspect feels like a team mentality. You’re there to make yourself better while surrounded by those who are there for the same reason.”

Certified trainers are a huge part of CrossFit’s success. They seek to properly motivate and push the members to new levels of health and fitness. The South Ogden CrossFit Gym, CrossFit the Club, is where Level 1 CrossFit trainer Tyson Povey imparts his fitness experience.

“CrossFit is beneficial to everyone,” Povey said. “It promotes lean muscle as well as a good base of metabolic conditioning, both of which are good for everyday physical needs and a healthy heart.”

It is because of this that participants young and old, male or female, can get involved and benefit from the workouts. CrossFit can be done regardless of a participant’s current fitness level. Beginners may feel intimidated by the intensity mantra the program conveys, but Povey said it should not scare them away from trying it.

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(Photo by Kaitlyn Johnson)
CrossFit faithful Matt Malan prepares to switch weights during his workout. CrossFit is a workout that can be performed by all ages.

“We scale all the workouts according to what the individual can do,” he said. “We don’t believe in training everyone the same, because not everyone is capable of the same physical demands.”

Another part of what makes CrossFit unique is the competiveness members exhibit, so much so that there are nationwide CrossFit games. The finals of these games air on ESPN, with the winners being heralded as the “Fittest on Earth.”

Participants don’t have to go to the CrossFit games to partake in the competition. Within each gym, members compete with one another. This pushes them to push past the goals they have set and to set new ones, to continue to raise the level of fitness as well as fulfill their competitiveness.

“Everyone pushes you to be better every day,” said CrossFit competitor Blake Bastian. “It helps you to push harder on a workout when you see the person next to you hitting a new personal record on a lift. It’s an uplifting community.”

The Ogden area has several locations to begin CrossFit, including CrossFit Ogden, CrossFit the Club in South Ogden and Mt. Ogden CrossFit.

 

Follow: @nicholassbailey

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