CrossFit Kids and The Arnold Classic
I’ve written plenty about the efficacy of CrossFit and my belief that CrossFit Kids is the program that I most closely identify as my “niche”. I recently returned from what may have been the most important event CrossFit Kids may ever attend.
Jeff and Mikki Martin and the awesome crew from Brand X and CrossFit Kids staff were gracious enough to let me tag along on their trip to the 2010 Arnold fitness expo in Columbus Ohio march 5,6 and 7. When I first learned from Jeff that he was visiting the Arnold folks and that CrossFit Kids was going to be holding demos, I knew I had to be involved. While CrossFit is changing peoples lives at a rate no fitness craze has ever seen (because it works), I truly believe CrossFit’s biggest impact will be with the stellar kids program that has developed at the little martial arts studio turned world class training center. CrossFit Brand X, simply put, IS CrossFit Kids. I say this because if you are a CrossFit Kids trainer and you’ve been to Brand X, then you know already that you are part of that family, a member of a sub-group of CrossFit trainers that I believe hold a special skill set, setting you apart from your peers. This is the group of folks that Jeff and Mikki cultivate, befriend and inspire, and subsequently invited to Columbus.
At first glance, “the Arnold” is just a huge bodybuilders’ trip to Mecca.
But once you peel back the veil and experience the people, it’s much more than that. Gathered in Columbus are the worlds elite from a varied list of specialties including martial arts, gymnastics, power-lifting, Olympic weightlifting, and now CrossFit, to name only a few.
CrossFit Kids was (luckily) placed outside the main expo area, allowing families to escape the mayhem inside the expo. We were blessed to entertain and educate over a thousand children and their parents over the 3 days, allowing the kids to negotiate our obstacle course and the teens to challenge CrossFit Kids own teens in challenges such as max pullups or pushup in a minute, rounds of “Cindy” in 3 minutes, and ring support holds for time. You can guess how the unsuspecting teens responded to the likes of Connor, Keegan and David. All in good fun. For me, this weekend was much more than just the activities.
There is a moment that occurs when working with children. It’s the “light-bulb” moment when a child’s face lights up, delighted to have surmounted a previously insurmountable task. With kids, that is the golden moment, the Holy Grail of trainer feedback that kept us going all weekend, and the reason we do what we do. While these moments occur with adult athletes and they are rewarding to be a part of, they do not compare to the joy I feel when a child smiles, proudly proclaiming to mom or dad, “I did it!”. One child with that exclamation can fuel me for days. We got to feed off that energy over and over. While our bodies were aching and our bellies were empty, the smiles and cheers kept us on our feet and fueled our enthusiasm. If you do not get this response when you train kids, I respectfully submit you should not be training kids.
I recall Gabriel, a small (even for his age, I’m guessing five years old) timid boy who came to us with mom and dad early on the first day. Gabriel did not “look” athletic. His attire of cowboy boots, jeans and a sharp embroidered western-style shirt and Hollywood haircut told me he probably didn’t get dirty too often, but never trust a book by it’s cover. His parents were at least visibly concerned with fitness, and were joyed to watch Gabriel on the course. Gabriel was slow to interact with me, but was willing to walk through the obstacle course and learn the challenges. All was fine until he started climbing the cargo net obstacle. Gabriel was hesitant and feared the dreaded “up and over”. After some delay and assurances from mom, dad and me that he would be fine, he slowly made his way up, and finally over the top. (mark light-bulb moment number one for the weekend) Gabriel became one of the most frequent visitors over the next three days, taking on the obstacle course no less than 20 times. If little Gabriel was timid and reluctant to participate in activities before this weekend, I think we got to be part of a small step he took to conquer a fear and perhaps begin a more active childhood. I realize it was only one weekend, but with kids, there are events and memories that spur interest in their lives, and I hope we accomplished a little of that with Gabriel.
Enter the gymnasts.
The Arnold is host to boys and girls gymnastics competitions. There are few athletes on this earth more dedicated to their training than gymnasts. They start very young, train hundreds of hours a month, sacrifice many childhood activities and their families bend over backwards to accommodate the hectic schedule. However, despite what must be tremendous pressure, they are still kids. I had the distinct honor to meet about a dozen of these future Olympians this weekend, and count them as the most most inspirational for me. Not for their skill, but for the glimmer of youth that cannot be taken from their faces.
At 10 years old, one young girl (sadly her name escapes me) has 
spent more time training (7 years) than tying her own shoes probably. She came into the CrossFit Kids area with one of her teammates, her eyes firmly fixed on what the obstacle course offered. Her little face was beaming with excitement, and though she still had a competition to worry about, she was just a kid in our playground. Gymnasts respond to instruction well and with little discussion, she was off on her way, negotiating the course with surprising ease. When finished, I asked if she would like to go again, for time (it was crossfit after all) and suddenly this became a game! If I thought her smile was big when she arrived, it was huge now. She and her teammate set the early course records, and amazed us with ring work and rope climbs. And, like Gabriel, returned again later that day and the next to see how their times held up, instantly getting in line to try to set the record again if theirs had been toppled (likely by another gymnast). This scene repeated over and over, with our lines long, and parents patient.
It was also apparent that gymnasts travel in friendly (read: bubbly) groups of 2 or more and we met quite a few of them as the weekend progressed. Two young ladies came in, both in their competition uniforms and warmups, “bejeweled” proudly with their name and team. One was sporting braces and a beautiful bald head. Her baldness was the only evidence of her story. There is always a story. I didn’t ask, because it didn’t matter. I silently wondered what she was battling, how hard it must be to be a child with cancer, and how wonderful it was to see the seemingly permanent smile that showed her shiny braces. I don’t know her story, how it will end, or what she and her family are faced with, but I do know she has a mission. Many people question (angrily) how God can allow a child to suffer. Well, I believe God gives us what we can handle, and trust me, cancer has not kept this girl down, and I mean that literally. Her mission is to inspire hope. To challenge fear and demonstrate an indomitable spirit. I think we all were inspired by the very sight of her glowing face. Angels exist, you just have to be looking. (this is why I CrossFit by the way). There were two more beautifully bald gymnasts that came through our course over the weekend. I suspect they have a similar mission.
As the hours passes and the kids came and went, I started to notice the other trainers as much as the kids. Every child was met with the same enthusiasm, and every parent greeted with a handshake and a smile. It takes a special cut to do this. Jeff an Mikki are leaders by example, the kind of folks you want in charge. They know their trade and know it well. Truly a team, I can’t picture one without the other. Dan is a silent warrior. I don’t work with him often, but he’s solid as a rock and dependable. John and Kelly from CF Agoge have embraced CF Kids and are an example of how to do it right and ensure success. They are full of ideas, mostly from experience, the best kind. Like Jeff and Mikki, they’ve been there, done that. Todd and Debbie are two other workhorses, both nursing ailments that would keep many folks home for he weekend. Not these two. Debbie is perfectly skilled to work with the tiny ones when big scary guys like me are just too much stranger danger. Todd is in law enforcement so he was aptly assigned to keep control of the kids and parents as they came and went. He didn’t lose one! Nichole and Bingo ran the front table, both of them with great personality and knowledge to handle the never-ending stream of inquiries. Sven and Esther are just a joy to be around. Esther is great with he little ones as well and Sven provided a much-needed physical presence at the front door, although he is equally as skilled as the rest when it comes to kids. Jake is a really cool guy, if I can be so bold to say so, his athletic capacity deserves the “firebreather” moniker.
Do I have to mention those dang CF Brand X kids? What hasn’t been said about Connor? How about eight full workouts with the HQ folks for demo on Friday and Saturday and then three of the sectionals workouts on Sunday? Does his capacity have limits? Oh, he was sitting in 79th overall when they kept him from competing in the fourth WOD. Just saying. Keegan and Duncan are right behind him, watch out! This was my first interaction with David, and what a great kid he is as well. He has a real heart for kids. Jon, Gordo (and son) and I round out the team. We sort of did everything. Just being there to help where needed.
It was an amazing experience, I hope I earned a spot on next years team.
