CrossFit: Not just for young people

By Dustin Taylor 
Dec. 31, 2015 at 4 a.m.

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CrossFit in East Texas

Longview: CrossFit Citadel at 200 N. Third St.; CrossFit 259 at 100 Janet Kay Drive; and CrossFit Longview at 5971 Gilmer Road

Kilgore: CrossFit Kilgore, 300 Harris St.

Henderson: Top CrossFit, 100 Richardson Drive

Big Sandy: CrossFit 154, 10087 FM 49

Marshall: CrossFit Boogie, 307B Pope St.

Jody Clements says his body is in far better shape than it was two years ago before he started doing CrossFit.

The difference, he says, is like night and day.

Clements' passion and dedication to CrossFit landed him as one of only 20 people in his age group to compete in the international CrossFit Games last year; he's also become a coach at CrossFit Kilgore. Clements, who is in his 50s, believes a misconception about CrossFit is that it is mainly used by young people.

"I think the biggest misconception about CrossFit is that at the gym, you've got all these 25-year-olds out here. Most of our members are 35 to 60," he said.

Started by Greg Glassman more than a decade ago, CrossFit is "a better way to define fitness and what is fit and what it takes to be fit," according to Victoria Foster, the owner and head coach at CrossFit Kilgore.

"We aim to be fit all around, so we are 'masters of none' maybe, but we do a little of everything," Foster said. "We can out-lift a runner and out-run a lifter. That's kind of the way we look at it. We're well-rounded, fitness wise.

"The way CrossFit is defined is by constantly varied function of movement performed at high intensity. So that's exactly what we're going to do. We're going to run, jump, squat, (and) climb; do all the things you need to do in everyday life."

With about 50 members at CrossFit Kilgore, participants range in age from 16 to 65, and most are women, Foster said.

"We're bringing in the ladies," Foster said. "It's not scary; it's manageable. Everything is scalable to whatever level an athlete is at. The misconception that you have to be in shape to come to CrossFit really is just kind of silly. Our job is to get you into shape."

Agreeing with her statement is Anna Nimz, the head women's basketball coach at Kilgore College, who has been a part of CrossFit for more than two years. Nimz enjoys the family atmosphere, functional fitness and the relationships created at CrossFit.

"CrossFit is literally for everyone," Nimz said. "It is something that can be scaled to whatever your level is, so if you're a beginner or someone that is very advanced, you could have (both of them) in the same class, because the coaches are able to scale the workout based on your capabilities."

Originally from Kansas, Nimz said CrossFit Kilgore has become her family away from home.

"It's a big community. This isn't like going into Anytime Fitness and lifting some weights," Foster said. "This is a family. We talk each other through things. You come through this door, and it's family. You can't really understand unless you're in it."

Foster said CrossFit has evolved from meager beginnings in garage gyms to now having some fancy gyms all across the world. According to crossfit.com, there are more than 4,500 gyms worldwide. From North America to Australia to Asia, CrossFit has spread across the planet.

In East Texas, there are three CrossFit locations in Longview, one in Kilgore, one in Henderson, one in Big Sandy and one in Marshall.

"We're across the globe. It's a great sport, I think, because a regular old Joe, 50-year-old man can walk into the gym and do the same workout," Foster said. "Maybe he's not doing the same weight as my CrossFit Games athlete, but he's doing the same workout."