The Spirituality of CrossFit? One Scholar Weighs In...

[August 2, 2024]

I was surprised to awaken early one morning, thinking about my scholarly crowd’s guild-language for spirituality instigated by Coach Daryl’s invitation to me for the community podcast. On a whim, I texted him a potential topic of the spirituality of CrossFit, figuring it might build some bridges between what I do as a ‘spirituality scholar’ and my avid CrossFit passions. The stuff in my own work becomes the most interesting (for me, anyway) in convergence and whimsy, so here we are. The Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality has a definition of spirituality perfectly suited to draw out some of the best of CrossFit methodology and contributions to human fitness, well-being. Who knew?

I won’t bore you with all the jargon of it, just some. :) For the SSCS, spirituality names a conscious involvement in integrating all the disparate parts of your life, grounded in your human capacity for transcendence. Some folks will say “God-given gift” to yearn for "God" or "the Sacred." But this definition doesn’t require a specific religious or wisdom tradition, faith profession of any kind. The root of spirituality for this spirituality-scholar crowd is the conscious involvement in your own actualization of just get better, specifically “the conscious involvement” in your “life’s integration through self-transcendence,” toward the “horizon of ultimate value you perceive.” 

Put this into the CrossFit methodology then, gasping for oxygen amidst the scholarly bits. A conscious and deliberate way of living toward some 'beyond.' CrossFit excels at bringing communal wisdom, empirically grounded, to become more and more conscious about the choices we make every day in nutrition, activity, functional movement, regularity, duration, and more. Our over-culture thinks that insanely skinny human beings are fit, but can they deadlift their own body weight? Execute complicated gymnastic moves that demonstrate agility, flexibility and technique? CrossFit aims to bring each of us more and more consciousness of our actual life choices, inviting each of us closer to health, perhaps even fitness for some of us. Choosing against the foods and inactivities that lead to chronic illness.

While outsider-onlookers imagine an intense, corrosive competition amidst us in a WOD, those that stay long enough learn the steadying, grounded maxim of just get better, in the goals that you choose. CrossFit hones all who are willing to focus on their own own bodies, capacities. It urges us to learn to train our weaknesses or “growing edges,” as we call them in the pastoral business. Just get better is the invitation to self-transcendence. Getting better at something you’ve decided you want to train, challenge yourself with, learn from. Yes, the camaraderie can push us, but that's different than a competition that corrodes. (Don't get me wrong--some CF boxes are quite corrosive, just sayin'). At it's best, CF encourages integrating past challenges into future strengths.

Then horizon of ultimate value you perceive. Human beings seem to find the most happiness when grounded in something beyond themselves–meaning, God, purpose, etc. This part of the spirituality definition honors that human tendency, opening it up for a diverse global view of humanity. Christians would define this ultimate value as salvation or perhaps simply, the Triune God known in Christ in Spirit. Buddhists would define it as the four noble truths leading to nirvana or enlightenment. If I were to take a guess, I think CrossFit’s ultimate value is health, fitness, longevity of human life with capacity to be active, work, play, love, serve. Not every CrossFitter need sign on to this, but those that come are drawn to a compelling elixir of increased health, fun, community, challenge, growth, shared suffering and laughter as we encourage one another toward health. The cool thing about the SSCS sense of spirituality is that it asks you to name your own ultimate value, for now.  What drives you, and how, for what?

When asked, most folks would draw the connection between CrossFit and spirituality in the community. I don’t disagree. I wouldn’t show up but for others showing up too. There’s a great interview with Greg Glassman at Harvard Divinity School, who invited him to speak to CrossFit and its crossovers with “church.” (1:20:55 long). You can see some of that work in a pdf on “How We Gather,” which looks at all kinds of communities like CrossFit that have a strong communal core, inciting loyalty, persistence and community amidst some collection of practices or social action, service.

Today, though, I’m struck by how resonant the SSCS definition of spirituality is with CrossFit’s staying power beyond the community. Its empirical base. Its simplicity yet huge difficulty in the overculture around us. Its incitement to self-transcendence. Its demand to define one's ultimate goal, horizon. Its fun at the local level, torqued and stretched in the season of The CrossFit Games that highlights only elite athlete capabilities, striving to become The Fittest. Don’t misunderstand…I’ll be glued to the screen, watching what these elites can and will do. But none of that is what keeps me coming to the box, facing my fears of the barbell, laughing at the end of a WOD all with movements I cannot do “as prescribed” but which I love doing in my own body’s capacity to do.

Maybe there’s enough here for me to write a peer-reviewed spirituality scholarship article after all. What a hoot.