**Originally published March '22 - republished now on our new website.**
We made the decision to officially de-affiliate from CrossFit, Inc.
Honestly, wed been slowly working in that direction over the course of the last two years. But when our affiliate fees came due this past November, we decided to cut the cord completely.
I could list all the reasons why I made this change, but it all boils down to the fact that we've changed.
I no longer want to be confined by the reputation that CrossFit has for being mega-intense or making people prone to injury, focusing on the sport of fitness" instead of using a multi-modal methodology and functional exercises to help people live strong, healthy, full lives free from pain.
I can't say I don't get the appeal. I do. When I initially affiliated, I looked forward to filling my gym with people like myself. Current and former athletes who loved what their body was capable of accomplishing - and seeing how far it could be pushed.
But when my children were small, I injured my back.
For a long time I kept it to myself - not even telling my staff. I felt like I'd failed. How did I get into this position in the first place? I was a gym owner. I lived fitness - healthy living was LITERALLY my bread and butter.
It did not make sense that I should have been laid out on the couch between shifts at the gym. It was affecting the quality of my work and the quality of my family time. (Do you know what its like to look at your child's face and tell them piggy-back and horseback rides are a no-go? I do. It sucks.)
But I now understood what it was like to live in a body that was no longer working for me. The pain had me trapped - it was there when I woke up, it was there when I went to bed. I walked with it, ate with it and tried to sleep around it. But I failed. And I hated it.
After I had finished rehabilitating my back and I was better, I started trying to help my members get out of their own pain. But for too long I had allowed the mentality to grow that we were a CrossFit facility. And my members only wanted that (essentially telling me in no uncertain terms to STAY IN MY LANE).
I watched helplessly as they hurt themselves, refused my help, and eventually left out of frustration - frustration from injury or from lack of results or progress.
The most messed up part of it all, was that I KNEW that I could help them.
When I found Active Life on social media, they showed me that there was a place for people like me. People who understood that as a gym owner, I can provide solutions to other people's problems. I can help them gain strength and skills. I can help them get out of pain. I can train their bodies so they can have a better LIFE, not just a killer WORKOUT.
So I made the necessary changes in my gym.
I removed movements from our programming - the exercises that did not truly serve a purpose or the ones that most commonly injured my members. I started being more consistent in my coaching, not accepting no as an answer. I created a new lane for the people that truly wanted my help, to be able to receive the attention that their issues warranted, and that only we could give.
Did I lose some members? Sure.
It was hard, and in some cases, it honestly hurt my feelings. But deep down, I knew that I was doing the right thing. I was making a marked difference in the lives of people in my community.
My time as an affiliate owner helped me to realize how I fit into the world of health and fitness. For that I'm grateful. And now its time to move forward in a new direction.
