Yes, you can start again, and it does not matter how long you have been away. A lot of the people who come back to CrossFit at our gym did some in their twenties. Now they are in their late thirties or forties, with a job, kids, and a body that does not bounce back the way it used to.
In their first month back, most of them tell us the same thing: nobody really coached them the first time.
What returning members tell us
They remember the workouts. They do not remember anyone fixing their squat. They did what was on the whiteboard as heavy and as fast as they could, and they got beat up.
What they notice here is the coaching. Your coaches explain the workout, watch you move, and correct your technique before the weight goes up.
“They’re always great at explaining the workout and making sure my technique is correct. It has kept me injury-free.”
S. Ford
A few months in, they tell us they are getting stronger without feeling beat up all the time. The habits start showing up outside the gym too: how they sleep, how they eat, how much energy they have at the end of a workday.
“CrossFit Spring Hill is different. There’s no intimidation.”
J. Tanner
Your first week back: go slow, go light
We do not want you going hard in your first week. We want you going slow, going light, and leaving every class feeling like you could have done more. Leaving feeling like you did too much is how people disappear for another five years.
The goal of day one is to come back for day two. You have nothing to prove to anyone in the room, including the version of you from fifteen years ago.
Stack days, not plates
I say this to almost every returning CrossFitter. The weight on the bar comes back. The routine is the part you lost, and it is the part to rebuild first.
Come three days a week. Hold three for a month before you add anything. On the days you do not feel like it, come anyway and do the lighter version. Stacked days are what put plates back on the bar.
What comes back fast and what takes longer
Conditioning comes back faster than most people expect. Strength takes longer. Technique is worth slowing down for, because it is what keeps you training at 50 and at 60.
Brian J. has done CrossFit for a long time. At CrossFit Spring Hill he has been setting personal records all over again. At 53 he pulled a 315 pound deadlift, and he just hit new bests in his clean and jerk and his back squat too. He got there by showing up three days a week, for years, with coaches watching his technique.
“CrossFit Spring Hill is a wonderful embodiment of what a CrossFit gym should be.”
D. Sacree
How you start back
- Book a No Sweat Intro. It is 20 minutes, it is a conversation, and there is no workout. Tell us how long you were away, what you did before, and anything that hurts.
- Decide your first week together. If you have done CrossFit before, you can skip the one-on-one week. We usually decide that after a complimentary trial class, so you can see how we coach and we can see how you move. If it has been a long time, or nobody coached your technique the first time, take the one-on-one week.
- Three days a week, light, for a month. Then add.
Questions we hear from people coming back
I’m in my forties and haven’t trained in ten years. Is that too late? No. A lot of the people coming back to us are in their late thirties, forties and fifties, and some of them are setting personal records they never hit in their twenties.
Do I have to redo Foundations if I have done CrossFit before? No. Experienced CrossFitters can skip the one-on-one week. We usually decide that together after a complimentary trial class.
How long until I am back where I used to be? That depends on how long you were away and what you did in the meantime, so we will not put a number on it. The conditioning comes back faster than most people expect and the strength takes longer.
I stopped because of an injury. Can I still come back? Yes, and tell us about it at the intro. Your coaches build your training around the injury instead of hoping it holds up. If it is something that needs a doctor rather than a coach, we will say so.
Will people notice I am scaling everything? Somebody in every class is scaling something. Your coaches pick the version of the workout that fits you that day, the same way they do for everyone else in the room.
How many days a week should I start back at? Three. Hold it for a month before you add anything.
Whether you have been away for one year or fifteen, book a free No Sweat Intro. It is 20 minutes and it is the whole first step.