What is CrossFit and Is It For Anyone?

By: Nuno Costa

I started doing CF when I was 29 and I am now 45 – it’s been an amazing 16 years of seeing what my body is capable of doing. But more importantly, the health benefits, quality of life, and improving my longevity that come with it in hopes that I am doing it into my 90s and living independently.

CrossFit is not for everyone, yet anyone can do it and we’d like to expand our wings here at Invictus by offering our Stronger For Life (55+) group class. It’s no secret that as we age, our bodies start to slow down and life can become a little bit more challenging. How can we combat or reverse that? By making sure our older population is moving and grooving. Everyone needs a baseline of fitness so they can take care of themselves and live independently.

Here at Invictus, we welcome everyone and anyone of all ages and we’d like to offer a specialty class for anyone over the age of 55.

Why Should We Have A Class Specifically for 55+

If I haven’t convinced you already, here are seven great reasons to start a Seniors Program:

Make a difference with this special population. We all have a relative who’s getting up there in age who can benefit from CrossFit. Most of our parents/relatives are probably sick and tired of hearing us talk about CrossFit anyway. They see us doing all kinds of crazy stuff and never think they can do anything like it. You can show them they can!

1. The chance to build mental fortitude in your athletes. CrossFit will expose new clients to movements they may never have tried before and didn’t think they could do. Especially later in life, we tend to be afraid to try things that are out of our comfort zone. CrossFit creates a safe environment where movements are introduced with scaling in mind relative to the individual’s physical tolerances. When they get their first pull-up, jump-rope skill, or snatch, that moment is priceless because you can see how great it is when they do something they didn’t think was possible.
2. Help reverse chronic disease. If an athlete isn’t exercising regularly and then starts doing CrossFit consistently and adhering to our nutrition recommendations, you have set them on the path of reversing or minimizing chronic disease.
3. Longevity. We all want to live longer, but we especially want to do so if we can thrive. What’s the point of living until you’re 90 if you can’t enjoy every moment? CrossFit gives our seniors insurance against decrepitude.
4. Community within a community. Providing people in your community with a reason to show up, a way to work out, and a way to connect with others is more powerful than you’ll ever know. People who are socially connected receive more emotional support, are more likely to pursue healthy behaviors (inside and outside the gym), experience better physical and mental health, manage stress and change better, bounce back from physical setbacks more quickly, have more opportunities to help others, and more. The community aspect alone is reason enough.
5. A chance to influence the younger generation. “If senior so-and-so can do it, so can I.” That’s the attitude we hope everyone sees and adopts. We can make CrossFit possible for anyone who walks through our doors. Without doing much marketing, our Seniors Program has grown primarily through word of mouth. If my parents can do it, I can do it!
6. Injury mitigation. Not only do functional movements serve as great injury prevention, they also serve as fantastic movements to drive rehabilitation after an injury. For the senior population, something like a fall can drive apprehension and a decrease in day-to-day movement, leading to a loss of functionality over time. Performing functional movements in a class, increasing strength through these patterns, and learning how to do them well decreases the chance of injury in their everyday lives. Additionally, injuries are rehabilitated in the class setting giving individuals the confidence to keep using their bodies as they age.

When Will Our Stronger For Life Class Be?

Our classes will start on Monday, July 1st, 2024 and we will offer 2 days a week to start with the possibility of adding more days 🙂 Join us on Mondays and Wednesdays at Invictus Fitness DT at 11 am for our hour classes. All levels are welcome, whether you’ve done CF before or if you have never done it – we will customize each day’s workout to your individual needs.

Sign Up

We will be hosting an informational session on Wednesday, June 19th 2024 at 11AM at Invictus Fitness. Come find out more about our Stronger For Life program/classes and be sure to bring a friend or two! Email nuno@crossfitinvictus.com for more information!