Why I took the CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Course
I started CrossFit in 2012 and I definitely drank the Koolaid as they say. While I haven’t done it consistently over the years, I have always loved and enjoyed it. This past weekend I even participated in the CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Course.I learned so much and had a great experience. While I can’t tell you what I learned I can tell you why I went and why I think you should go.In case you are new to my blog, I am a military spouse and in February we are moving to Germany for 3 years. We are finally at a spot in life that I can go back to school and focus on what I want to do career-wise.Because of my passion for Health and Fitness and my Bachelor’s already being in Biology, I decided to pursue my Masters in Nutrition. It is an online degree so I am able to do it from Germany with no issue.I also wanted to work in the CrossFit community. So I decided to first get my Level 1 trainer.
Why CrossFit Level 1?
I decided to do the CrossFit Level 1 for a couple of different reasons. The first reason is that I want to coach. I want to help people be better, be healthier. I am tired of seeing people overweight and sick. I want people to be better.The second reason is that I want to be a nutrition coach as well. I wholeheartedly believe that the majority of illness that wreaks havoc on our nation has been because of what we eat. And while I am guilty of drinking soda and eating Oreo's, I believe there isn’t enough information given to the public on what is healthy and what isn’t.Lastly, I needed something that I can do with every military move. CrossFit has a huge affiliation with the military and the ability to transfer boxes and be welcomed will be easier with CrossFit than with any other personal training job.The Level 1 Trainer class is the first step to achieve all of these goals. After talking to several coaches at my current gym and some athletes that had already taken the class I decided it was right for me.
How Level 1 Helped me
If you have ever taken or studied for another Personal training certification you know that it is very scientific. Sometimes even confusing. Most of them are done online with little to no in-person training. I started a program like this before and never finished it.I have been an athlete all my life and helped coach at camps for young kids. I know how to do a proper squat and I know when it looks like its being done wrong. The hard part is seeing it and fixing it. And in real-time.This was the biggest take away for me from this class. It taught me what to look for and how to correct it. I think that is a critical part of being a trainer. How are you supposed to talk to and coach your client if you can’t see the errors that they are making?It even helped me to correct my own errors and I overall learned a lot of helpful information. Even if you don’t want to coach others but just want to learn more for your own benefit I would highly recommend taking the class.
Are you ready for CrossFit Level 1
I know a lot of people feel like that they must be a top-level athlete who RX’s most of the workouts. This is simply not true. You just need to want to learn and want to help other people.I went while injured and had to scale almost everything I did. They also teach you how to scale workouts for others. In the class, I went to there were people ranging from more than 6 years of experience to less than 6 months' experience.As one of the coaches stated your clients don’t care if you can do a muscle-up they care if you can teach them how to do a muscle-up. The same principle applies to other movements.If you compare this to other sports like football or basketball, not all the professional coaches were professional level athletes. But they know how to coach the athletes to get to their top-level of performance.
What Happens Next
So next I am planning on trying to start coaching on at a CrossFit gym and get my Master’s in Nutrition. Eventually, I want to get my CrossFit Level 2. I will also continue to further my education in other areas.This will include other classes or online courses through CrossFit.com and other fitness websites. I want to expand my knowledge as far as I can, so I can help as many people as possible. I am constantly watching documentaries and Podcasts on nutrition and movement.I want the world to be a healthier place. In order to do that, people need to know what to do to get to that point. I want to be a way for people to obtain that knowledge. To this day it still shocks me the number of people who don’t know what healthy foods are. Or the ones that don’t realize that fast food and sodas are causing them to be overweight, obese, diabetic, etc.My goal is through this blog and my coaching to help people live a healthier life. If they want to lose weight, then I want to help them lose weight. If they want to gain muscle mass, I want to be able to help do that as well. If their goal is to just improve their overall health, I definitely want to be a part of that.The CrossFit Level 1 class was a starting point and I look forward to the future and will continue to learn and teach others.