Coaching vs. Personal Training

The majority of personal trainers relies on their clients NOT to think - and not quite reaching their goals. For them, it is just fine when their clients leave the gym, having no idea what they did, because that might make their job absolete: If the clients never reach their goals and have no idea what to do in the gym without their trainer, they will always need him.

At Cape CrossFit, when you hire us, you hire a coach: Our job is to help facilitate your learning and understanding - and help you being aware and responsible. We guide you on a journey to superior fitness and are there to support  you when things get tough. However, it is clear from the start of your training that YOU are ultimately responsible for your health and fitness, for the results of your training. Our instruction focuses on movements and technique, on improvement of skills such as strength, stamina and coordination, physical conditioning as well as promoting healthy eating habits, self-discipline and mental fortitude. We are looking to give you all the knowledge, experience and confidence so hat you can make it through your life independently, healthy and fit.

Selection of Exercises

In a "regular gym", you will mostly see a host of exercise machines and other fitness gimmicks. But did you know that gymnasts or olympic weightlifters, for instance, would never use these and do isolated leg curls, extensions, or other machine based movements? Yet they are the most powerful athletes in the world. Weight machines are unnecessary and oftentimes hindering in physical training: They were invented to simulate the isolated movement of one muscle in your body. However, this isolated movement very rarely occurs in real life or sport and is therefore doing very little to improve the functional fitness of your body.

At Cape CrossFit, you'll NEVER do an isolated movement such as a leg extension or a bicep curl. Our exercises are full-body, compound movements: We select exercises that make huge demands on your muscular and nervous systems and require many muscle groups to work in synergy. For instance, weightlifting exercises require technique and skill, and  a large number of muscles in your body to work simultaneously: These are the deadlift, squat, press, clean, jerk, snatch, to name a few. Gymnastics and bodyweight movements challenge you to be strong, coordinated and agile enough to control your body: Examples are pull ups, push ups, dips, handstand push ups, etc.

Space

Most gyms, are equipped with a huge amount of cardio and weight machines, arranged as closely together as possible to fit as many of these as possible into the space. Moving about freely in such an environment becomes very difficult. Ironically, between the machines and the large amount of people, there is very little space to actually work out. Oftentimes, you have to wait for equipment to become available and if it does, you have to watch it if you leave your spot for a few moments, because someone else might take it.  Athletic training in such an environment is next to impossible.

At Cape CrossFit, our emphasis is on space - space to move, to lift, balance, jump and climb - in other words, to work out like an athlete, unhindered by people, equipment or other obstructions in the way.

Training vs. Exercising

Exercising is something many people do to make themselves feel fit. For instance: People on the treadmill reading the newspaper, watching TV or answering their cellphone; a person moving through the machines, taking lots of breaks, talking to their trainer, looking hardly like they are “working.” These people get a good feeling from "going to gym", and doing what they call “workout.” They seem to be unphased by the fact that their time spend in the gym hardly has any effect and their physiques never seem to change.

At Cape CrossFit, you will never see anyone doing "cardio" while sitting on a stationary bike, reading a magazine. Nor will you see anybody "exercising" using an isolated weight machine. At Cape CrossFit, our workouts are intense and challenge you to do things you previously thought you will never be able to do. This requires you to be fully engaged in what you are doing and commends mental alertness, presence and focus - and will challenge you physically and mentally. This is what we call "training" - and its purpose is to make improvements regularly in all areas of fitness.

Equipment

Most gyms emphasize training on benches or with weight machines. They do this because it is easy, "safe", and requires little thought or effort outside the specific movement for which the machine or exercise was designed. But imagine how closely these movements relate to movements you use in real life? Have you ever seen someone drink out of a glass or pick up a suitcase by just bending their forearm? Single joint movements (like those done with typical weight machines) will isolate a specific muscle. However, in life we very rarely use isolated muscles without the support from others. As soon as you sit or lay down on a machine, all the balance, stabilization, coordination and accuracy that your body uses in real life and sport become inactive.

At Cape CrossFit, most of what you will see when you come to the gym is open space. Our equipment consists of free weights. Barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, medicine balls, etc. To simply pick them up requires balance, stabilization, balance and accuracy. In addition, we have pull ups bars, gymnastic rings, plyometric boxes, gymnastic mats, etc. The skills and movements we teach are all functional and multi-joint. These neuromuscular activities are commonplace in both life and in sport, and since our objective in training is to mimic both, we find that free weights and related equipment, with proper instruction and coaching, do this best.

To find out more, call us and schedule a free private introduction to Cape CrossFit's fitness program.