CrossFit Forth Worth challenged its members to a full-on lifestyle change for 21 days.
Fasting is not most people’s idea of a good time. And creating a standing station at the office is likely to produce a few curious looks. These are just a couple of actions members of CrossFit Fort Worth incorporated during a 21-day lifestyle challenge, beginning August 1.
In true CrossFit style, the challenge was set up as a competition. Participants gain points by fulfilling nutritional, workout and lifestyle tasks.
Fasting and taking a break from technology earned Vivian Allen some points. She saw other positive effects, as well. Before the 21-day challenge was over, the 26-year-old found a number of things better in her life, including her relationship with her husband.
The most satisfying transformation may have taken place at home. One of the lifestyle challenges involved omitting all electronic devices for a single evening. Allen and her husband Chris — also a CrossFitter and challenge participant — spent the evening together reading old books and just “chilling with each other.”
They enjoyed this aspect of the challenge so much that the electronics ban in the evening is something they have maintained.
“We both noticed how much more rested we feel the next day when we take time to turn our minds to each other instead of the constant stimulus of technology,” she says. “It has helped us find time to talk about important things, as well that had previously been swept under the rug and created bitterness and unnecessary struggles in our marriage, just due to a lack of communication.”
Allen was relatively new to CrossFit when the challenge started, and the benefits were plentiful thanks to this potent blend of lifestyle changes.
“I wanted to really use the 21-day challenge to experiment with some changes in a lot of areas,” she says. “So, first, I took out basically all my fruit and dairy except for a small amount, a few days a week, bought a new protein mix made with stevia instead of processed sugar substitutes, traded my whole milk out for organic heavy cream – I use less and it has no sugar and high fat so it's super satisfying – and stopped having my typical cheat meal that seemed to always turn into cheat weekend anyway. I instantly started seeing weight come off.”
Darin Deaton, owner and head coach at CrossFit Fort Worth created the 21-Day Lifestyle Challenge. Deaton, 45, also owns and operates a second location, CrossFit Fort Worth East. A doctor of physical therapy by day, he presented the challenge as a way to introduce his 140-member community to lifestyle choices that would benefit them, both short and long terms.
Deaton chose a 21-day format because of the make-up of his membership, which he describes as the “average athlete looking to improve their quality of life and maximize gene expression. Most of them have families and any challenge had to be practical, yet stretch the boundaries of their existing thoughts and actions.”
He went with 21 days, he says, because it was, “easier for our membership to conceptualize change for three weeks than six, nine or 12 weeks.”
The daily challenges were revealed on the gym’s website, as well as its Facebook page. Participants were given three daily opportunities to earn points. Doing a workout earns one point. Eating a paleo, primal or Zone meal earns a point, with three possible daily points available in the nutrition category.
Another point is awarded for completing the lifestyle challenge for the day. For example, participants were asked to convert their work area at their place of employment into a standing station to improve mobility and decrease sitting time. In totality, it was possible to max out at five points per day.
Deaton’s athletes didn’t attack this alone. The 46 participants were divided into groups of five to seven, with each group assigned its own coach to help answer questions and offer support. Deaton was thrilled to see the dynamic community emerge from the challenge. On the gym’s Facebook page, athletes began posting about their experiences and getting feedback and support from each other.
“Members who had not previously been active within the social network of our community have begun to blog and share their experiences,” Deaton says.
Chris Bohlin, 36, was already making paleo/primal choices, but the challenge helped him fine-tune his lifestyle. A back surgery patient in 2007, Bohlin embraced the standing desk challenge. He bought a stackable toolbox and placed his computer monitor and keyboard on top. The set-up enabled him to stand up more at the office. Within a week, his back was feeling better.
Carla Montelongo, 44, was skeptical about taking grains out of her diet, but she embraced the challenge anyway. “I have lived with morning creakiness and pain in my knees and hips for as long as I can remember,” she says. “About four days in to the challenge, I began to notice that they didn’t hurt when I got out of bed anymore. When I first started CrossFit, I had a shoulder issue, and that seems to have gone away, as well. I guess the biggest physical change would be that I have lost 13 pounds already.”
Deaton may have provided his members an abbreviated challenge, but his vision for them has always been long-term. Based on the testimonials of his members, it would seem his “fitness for life” perspective is rubbing off.
Bohlin speaks for many of the participants saying, “I think the results are hard to ignore. So many members feel better and are more fit for having done the challenge. For me, I'm definitely going to continue standing at work. I've learned a handful of new recipes that will become a part of my permanent rotation … And, I've saved some serious money by bringing paleo lunches to work instead of dining out and making the menus work. So yeah, these changes are here to stay.”