At CrossFit Dominion                                                                                                                 

6440 E. 50th Ave.

Commerce City, Co 80216                                                                             

fitnessforclassics.com          ph: 303-947-5040

INTRODUCTION:

There is the story of a Japanese man, Kiezo Miura, skiing down Mont Blanc at age 99. His son summited Mt. Everest at 72. So what? There have always been exceptions. What has that to do with you and me?  If you have the potential and can stand the strain, CrossFit will prepare you to compete in the Masters division at the CrossFit Games. Fittest old men and women on earth.

I was maybe six months into CrossFit's near-death work outs when I realized the system, for all its "scaleability" is not designed for people over 50, much less for a 66 year old. Sure, some people who are full time fitness freaks (I raise my hand half way) can handle it and thrive, but this truly superior system, CrossFit, is not, in my opinion, suitable for most people over 50 without adaptation and additions.

A relatively young CrossFit coach wrote in the CrossFit Journal about training "Silvers". Amidst the condescension and misapprehensions he did offer a lot of good advice, and he compared people over 50 to classic cars. Great analogy. As I worked in preparation for my CrossFit trainer's certification I thought about how appropriate the comparison is. Classic cars are not weaker, slower versions of new cars. Classic cars are valuable as what they are. Classic people are too. We are Classics. As Classics we require fundamentally different tune-ups than pre-classics. We require a different fitness program and coaches who understand that difference, coaches who are Classics themselves.

I got my CrossFit trainer's certification, then certification in mobility and movement (don't call it "stretching"), and continued my research for a comprehensive fitness program that would be most useful for most Classics. The Fitness for Classics program is the result of that research.

CrossFit didn't invent squatting and lifting and moving, and I don't re-invent them but I do adapt them. Most of what is contained in the Fitness for Classics program is adopted from various sources and adapted for Classics. If you are Classic, not as fit as you'd like to be, but not expecting to compete in the CrossFit Games, Fitness for Classics offers you the opportunity to reach your fitness potential.

Just think, those superfit masters champions will have diminishing physical capacity as they age and there's nothing they can do about it, whereas you and I can continue getting fitter for years.

Overview of the Program

I hope you will continue to practice the things you learn in Fitness for Classics for the rest of your life but the program itself is for nine months. In the first three months you will learn the "whats" the "whys" and a good deal of the "hows". The concluding six months will be practice, practice, practice. Your training sessions with the coach will be one hour each Sunday. You will also have "homework".

Probably the main reason people who don't have a fitness program don't have a fitness program is because they don't "like" exercising. There are exercises to help you learn to like exercising. Exercise is only one of five interrelated components of the Fitness for Classics program. The five are: attitude, nutrition, exercise, mobility and focus.

Attitude comes first because without sufficient motivation you will not be able to break old habits and stick around long enough to instill new habits. Breaking old habits and creating new habits is the essence of Fitness for Classics. Once good fitness practices become strong habits, if you have to forego them it will be like having to forego your shower. You could do it, but you'd feel funky.

Though all components are addressed concurrently the first bad habit you'll have to break will probably be nutritional. Good nutrition is the underlying foundation of all fitness. Nutritional "exercises" of Fitness for Classics are of the good fat, good carb, sufficient protein, anti-inflammatory, Mediterranean sort. More than any other component nutrition must be tailored to the individual.

Fitness for Classics' physical exercises follow two thirds of the CrossFit formula: constantly varied functional movements. The third third, intensity, arrives a bit later. Not that you won't exert yourself. You will. But there are no near-death work outs in Fitness for Classics. It is never a good idea for Classics to work to complete exhaustion. Pre-Classics may get away with ignoring their body when it says stop but Classics must not. When your body says "I'm tired", you may ignore it but when it says "Stop!" you stop. One of the advantages of the CrossFit regimen is it reduces the likelihood of injuries in daily life. Fitness for Classics adopts that part as well but adapts it for the realities of Classic muscle, bone and connecting tissue.

The component in the program most likely to make you say "wow" is mobility. Mobility and movement techniques are borrowed almost entirely from Dr. Kelly Starrett. Following his mobility workouts I have regained range of motion I thought was gone forever. The reduction in "normal" pain has also been phenomenal. When I asked his prescription for Classics, Kelly suggested we make progress as slowly as necessary and it will come.

Focus, meaning concentration on the task at hand, eye hand co-ordination and body awareness, is part of all good programs but usually not a separate part. Another kind of focus; paying attention, is often taken for granted in fitness programs but for Classics it's different. Those who've just turned Classic may not need special attention paid to paying attention, but they will. Those of us a little farther down the line know we have to take precautions to prevent our train of thought being sidetracked or jumping track altogether. I'm not talking about Alzheimer's or dementia,

God forbid any of us have to go through that. I'm talking about remembering what it was you came into the kitchen for in the first place. We need "exercises" to keep our memory and mental processes in good order.

How can so much information and training be processed with only one hour of coached training per week in just nine months? It can't. That's where your part becomes crucial. Most of the work will take place outside of the gym. You must make the program a high priority in your life, especially during the first three months. I realize you may have a job and a family to take care of, I'm not suggesting your fitness program take precedence over such things but when you've taken care of necessary business, getting fit should pop into a top slot.

Fitness for Classics' unconventional scheduling was adopted for several reasons. It allows the most flexibility with the least interference with your daily life. Because much of your fitness program depends entirely on you, when your nine months of training is complete you will be prepared, and habituated, to continue with it. This sort of schedule is more likely to be continued long term by Classics than programs that require two or three days a week in a gym.

Small classes are more effective than either one-to-one training or large classes. Small classes still allow the coach to spend plenty of time with each person. An even number of participants in each class allows you to train as partners. A few years back the popular buzzword was "synergy". That's what we're looking for.

Getting fit will take up quite a bit of your time. Staying fit will take a lot less. While the exercises themselves should remain constantly varied, fitting a set time to exercise into your schedule is only sensible. After the nine months of the program you should continue to challenge yourself  and should work out with a fair amount of intensity two or three days a week. Another day of cardio and you have the exercise portion of your program set. Mobility and focus work will take another ten minutes or so every day but you can fit those in almost anywhere. You will have to think before you stick things in your mouth but after a while that will just come naturally and take no time at all. Your fitness program is intended to improve your daily life, not replace it.

Being fit is fundamentally different from not being fit, but I'm not claiming Fitness for Classics will keep you out of the Dr.'s office 100% forever. Being fit gives you your best chance of minimizing health problems and minimizing recovery time when health problems come. You will get your Dr.'s Ok to begin the program, right? Might as well get a check up with blood work as well, see if anything is hinky. This program is all about YOU.