No. You do not need to be “fit” to join a gym.
Too many people say they want to get healthy or get fit before going to a gym. Too few people understand the purpose of the gym in the first place.
The Fitness Myth
This pitfall leads into the same line of reasoning of someone saying they want to eat a snack before going out to eat a restaurant. Anyone would think this is ridiculous when the point of going out to eat at a restaurant is to… eat. Much like eating before going out defeats the purpose of the restaurant, getting fit before joining a gym defeats the purpose of going to the gym.
The Definition
Getting “fit” or “fitness” can be defined as your work capacity across broad time and modal domains. In simpler words, your ability do a whole bunch of different things in different amounts of times. With that definition, everyone already has “fitness” it is simply a matter of where you are on the spectrum of fitness.
The Breakdown
Let’s break this down a little bit. If I asked you to travel 1 mile, using only your feet, as fast as possible, there will be a variety of outcomes depending on where you are at right now. Some of you might be able to push the pace and finish that mile in 6:00. Others, you might have to walk at a brisk pace the entire time and finish in 16:00. Both are fine, reasonable, and indicators of fitness.
Both are also great places to join a gym. The faster person can join the gym, build strength to accompany that mile speed and continue to improve on an already impressive pace. The slower person can absolutely join the gym and build strength, technique, and capacity to move their own personal needle in the faster direction.
The Purpose
The purpose of the gym, in its most simple function, is to improve your life To improve your ability to lift things. To improve your ability to run farther, faster. To improve your ability to control your body through time and space. To improve your ability to play with your kids.
Investing in yourself is scary, and there are a million reasons why you might think you can’t do it. Fortunately, history is riddled with people who were less capable when they started, less motivated, and less invested in their well-being than you when they started the gym. If they can do it, so can you.
What This Means for You
The gym should take you from where you are at right in this moment to a place you only thought possible in your dreams. If you are in the camp that thinks you could never be able to run a mile, do a push up, do a pull up, or a deadlift, then there is good news. There are countless gyms out there who would love the chance to get to know YOU and what is important to YOU. Then, they will build a plan to help YOU get to that desired level of fitness as fast as possible, so you can live the most fulfilling life possible.
No, you do not have to be “fit” before you start a gym. You DO have to be willing to start and willing to grow.
What We Do at CrossFit Winnebago
What we do at CrossFit Winnebago is help people like you who are lost, worried, and wanting more outline the activities that are most important to them (sports, playing with their kids, shoveling snow). We do this through a proven process where we meet with and get to know you, come up with a plan, and help you stick to that plan every step of the way.
Book a No Sweat Intro today to get started.
