Connections:
Aging, Crossfit, Community, and Quality of Life
Copyright @ 2020 Todd Weber
All Rights Reserved
June 2020
Crossfit plays a big part in this book and it is important to note that I am talking about Crossfit at the affiliate level, not the corporate level. Recently Crossfit at the corporate level had quite a shake-up.
Greg Glassman, the former owner and CEO of Crossfit, made comments about Black Lives Matter and the recent killings of black males by police that were considered racist and very inappropriate. As a result, many affiliates and Crossfit athletes protested and withdrew from being a part of Crossfit. Crossfit Oregon City was one box that chose to drop affiliation.
Greg Glassman stepped down as CEO but remained as owner of Crossfit. That did not satisfy many people and the pressure was on Crossfit to make sweeping changes.
An affiliate owner from Colorado stepped forward and bought Crossfit from Glassman. He made all the right moves in taking ownership and promises many changes. Only time will tell if that happens.
CFOC, like many affiliates, remains on hold to see how it plays out. CFOC stands firmly in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. If that had not been the case, many of us would have changed boxes to one that did.
Contents
Introduction
In this book I hope to show connections between many disparate areas of our lives that impact our health and fitness as older or aging athletes. By athletes, I mean anyone who is or wants to be active, healthy and fit starting at any point in the fitness spectrum. You may not have worked out for decades. You may be chronically ill. You may be so overweight that it is hard to get off the couch. Or you may be in good shape and ready for new challenges. It doesnt matter what your age or gender is although this book is aimed more for the older athlete.
And by health, I mean not just our bodies, but our minds, spirit, and capacity to contribute to issues larger than ourselves.
We live in times that are full of differences. There are extreme political views. Our environment is under full attack from climate change and pollution. Our social structures are changing rapidly. There are so many versions of the truth that it is hard to pick solid ground.
My generation, the Boomers, were going to change the world. We were going to stop wars. We were going to create the Age of Aquarius. We challenged the Establishment on every front. Human rights, equal rights for women, civil rights, and more were all targets for change.
We managed to force a President out of office and make strides in many areas. Then we got co-opted by mortgages, 2-car garages, both spouses working, and prosperity. We became semi-dormant for decades. And for many of us, we became complacent. And we got old.
But old isnt what it used to be! 70 is the new Black and longevity is much different now. We are at a place in our lives where we have time and resources. The world needs our passion, knowledge, and strength to address the issues that are at the tipping point. We need to re-join the fight and we need to be strong and fit to do it.
Please join me in getting fitter, stronger, and healthier. We need to be able to step forward to create healthier communities, a healthier environment, and healthier mindsets. Our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren need our help if we are going make changes big enough to avoid the tipping points.
Connections
Crossfit, Aging, and Wholeness
I am turning 70 years old this week. I am a typical American male who spent 40 years behind a desk. I had all the signs of wear and tear to show for itslumped, rounded shoulders, head thrust forward, shuffling walk. I had aches and pains from imbalances and old injuries and poor nutrition. I was fairly sure I was over the hill and things would only get worse. Then an amazing thing happened 20 months ago. I started aging backwards.
No, really! At seventy years old, my resting heart rate is 42. My sleeping respiration is 15. My body scan done last week shows that in the last six weeks I gained 4.2 pounds of lean muscle mass, lost 4.4% body fat, and gained just over half an inch in height. The height difference happened over the course of a year and one-half. This is all a continuation of positive changes that started 20 months ago when I found Crossfit.
According to the healthcare industry and the fitness industry and big Pharma and the internet weight-loss/fitness gurus and the other vested interests who want to perpetuate the current myths on aging, this should not be possible. Or, if it does happen, it is because of hormone treatments and steroids. I assure you that this is not about hormones or steroids.
I am writing this book to share the insights and information that Ive gained over 40 plus years of interdisciplinary study. That, and being an on-again off-again athlete since I was a child. Joining crossfit 20 months ago started the process of making connections linking all my studies and readings with the amazing changes happening to my body.
I am not doing this because I want to sell you a new fitness plan or weight-loss system. I dont want to sell you anything. In fact, I want you to question and doubt everything I have to say in this book and not take it as true until you have tested it against your own experience and value systems. As the Buddha said, Question everything.
This book is written after 40 years of exploring and learning and questioning many different things. It is about the connections Ive made (or others made) between many disparate areas: science, spirituality, fitness, health, psychology, intention, community, social construction, and many more topics.
I invite you to enjoy the ride. Be skeptical. Be a student. Be a beginner. I hope to pull it all together by the end of the book. Then you can let me know what you think.
I will provide references at the end of the book. A lot of what is presented does not have a direct or clear path to previous authors works or I read it and digested it so many years ago that I cant remember where it came from. Just assume none of this material is new, that I gleaned it from others, and they deserve the credit for the ideas. I simply am the messenger trying to pull it together.
Thanks.
These are the major topics and connections we will explore in this book. The topics will be interspersed throughout and connected by stories of the members of CrossFit Oregon City. It may seem a little disjointed at first, but if I do my job it will come together by the end.
We will look at fitness in the context (mainly) of the aging athlete. We will look at fitness as a component of wholeness that state of being that includes our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual selves. Well explore nutrition as a piece of aging well and building a quality life. Well look at community and how it bolsters and supports and holds us accountable for moving toward our goals and living our beliefs. And, well discuss awareness as a key part of moving into wholeness.
Chapter One
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times
Charles Dickens
We live in challenging times. Bad news is instantly available through the internet and TV. The slant on the news is to give bad news priority disasters, accidents, wars, clashes, shootings, bombings, catastrophizes and to paint as bleak a picture as possible.
