[jlees]

I didn't know I would enjoy lifting until I tried Crossfit. Now, Crossfit has many good points and just as many detractors - as with anything, the quality of the gym/instruction can vary a lot. But the main thing it did for me was get me through that intimidating "I don't know what on earth I'm doing here" moment, into a regular group that met 3x/week with built-in accountability and programming to take a lot of the mental friction out of exercise. If you want to get strong, that's not the main goal of Crossfit, but if you want to get fit it works well - and for me, it got me a lot more comfortable with a world of strength training - a vocabulary I was totally unfamiliar with, and frankly intimidated by.

Per the original article, minimizing the frictions that make it less likely you'll do something was really important for me. Not every exercise works for everyone - I found that I prefer a group, or solitary, environment and that mainstream busy gyms don't work well for me. Since I can't afford 1:1 coaching, I do the group stuff, but I'm picky about my gym and coach.

When I moved, I did seek out a local weightlifting gym and met with a coach occasionally, but finding a local gym with even a proper squat rack (not a smith machine) was a challenge. I enjoyed doing the Starting Strength program, though dealing with setbacks from illness, travel etc got annoying (I felt like I was always retreading the same ground) and I missed doing more rounded cardio/plyo/flexibility work, so I've since gone back to Crossfit for a while to get my base fitness back up again.