(SitNews) Klawock, Alaska - At the same time, it is the perfect sport for someone like me who’s mind derails into tangents. I don’t particularly like to run, but rather than let my mind go on a jog while I stand on the deck and drink coffee, sometimes it’s nice to go on a run with it.

In my training leading up to the Prince of Wales International Marathon on May 24, it wasn’t the run itself, it was how I felt after my workout which motivated me. I had run five half marathons and two full marathons before last week, but I’d always looked for shortcuts. This was the first time I really invested time into training and created a daily routine which didn’t feel like a chore. It was liberating.

I don’t like running any more than I did, but I really like the path. I like being in shape. I like mixing in squats, burpees, cleans, pull-ups, push-ups and other exercises from the Workout of the Day my buddy Danny’s Crossfit gym in California (CrossFit Excel) posts daily. I like the idea that being in my prime depends on how willing I am to go get it rather than trying to remember it.

There’s nothing impressive about my gym (my garage) or schedule. I’m not an elite athlete. I can’t dunk, it took me 121 minutes to run the half marathon and almost five hours to run my full marathons. I am athletically unremarkable. I have limited resources so I’ve been reliant on lifting driftwood, concrete footings and cedar rounds but it makes me feel like I’m training to fight Ivan Drago in Moscow. For an ordinary dude like me, that’s awesome.

But there are people in the fitness world who criticize CrossFit, its methods, trainers, techniques and methodology. Anti-CrossFit articles have been shared across social media, penned by bloggers and columnists who prefer more traditional methods of training. I’m not here to defend, or promote CrossFit because for the general public, one solution is not better than another. There instead is one specific solution which is up to the individual.

We are an increasingly out of shape country looking to justify our lack of activity rather than attack athletic apathy. We are also a very paranoid country. We’re scared the Republicans are going to spray all the caribou with oil. We’re scared if we don’t go out and buy a Prius tomorrow New York City will be under water by July. We’re scared Democrats are going to further bankrupt the country by making everyone dependent on programs and demanding schools serve healthy food most kids don’t eat. (Isn’t healthy eating a parenting thing?)

And we’re scared of getting hurt.

The last thing we need is another fight, especially one within the ranks of recruiting people to live healthier lives because the fear of injury might keep them on the couch. We have advertisements trying to persuade kids to play. To play! That is the type of country we are becoming: we have to convince kids to play. I can’t fathom how absurd that is, but it is a reality.

At my high school in California there were students who didn’t play sports, but loved hitting the gym after school to do CrossFit type workouts. Some of the most unlikely kids transformed their lives because that approach to working out clicked with them.

I had a non-athlete former student who logs more miles than cross country runners. She found something, she likes it, it fits and more importantly, she’s fit.

When people decide to take charge and happen to find a fitness niche, who are we to scare them off by implying their way is wrong.

Whether it’s a daily routine of push-ups and sit-ups, CrossFit, P90X, or a Richard Simmons VHS, isn’t the point that someone wants to get in shape?

Jeff Lund ©2014

Jeff Lund is a Teacher, Freelance Writer, & River fishing guide (Tranquil Charters) living in Klawock, Alaska
Contact Jeff at Email – aklund21@gmail.com

http://www.jlundoutdoors.com

SitNews ©2014
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