Using Your Fitness: By Coach Hunter Lydon

Hey all, Coach Hunter from the Bushwick location here with a quick word. 

One of the main facets of Cross Training is the phrase “use your fitness”. This open-ended, umbrella term actually refers to one of the most important things about getting in shape, which is how it can affect the rest of your life. 

Put simply, think about the next time you’re at the grocery store, holding a few heavy bags, walking from your car or the subway to your house: that’s a Farmer’s Carry! Or, you live in a 4th-floor walk-up and you have a heavy package to carry upstairs: sounds like a deadlift, step-ups, or perhaps a box step-over!

Every day, we perform functional movements at the box that are repeated in every day life. In addition to the ways we move day in and day out, how can we use our newfound love for fitness and dedicate it to something outside of the gym?

To make things personal for a second, I recently bet my brother I could beat him in a race, SIMPLY because I believed I was fitter than him. I’m not much of a runner, and my brother runs 5-10 miles a day, but I took the challenge anyway. Fast forward 6 months, he beat me in the race, but I developed a LOVE for distance running. Now I’m signed up for a run this weekend and my first marathon in September!

Cross Training puts us face to face with so many avenues of fitness: cardiovascular, gymnastics, Olympic lifting, power lifting, etc, and it is our privilege to choose how to use these skills outside of the gym. The next time your buddies invite you on a ski trip, or for a run, or to go for a long swim this summer, know that you are more than prepared and capable to tackle anything that comes your way.

You’ve got your fitness, now USE it!