CrossFit is the best fitness program David Herron has ever tried. And that’s saying something considering he is a former collegiate boxer and he spent 10 years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Herron is a trainer at CrossFit Flathead in Kalispell along with Buford Bennett, who was the longtime strength and conditioning coach at Flathead High School’s weight room. No matter your age or ability, Herron believes CrossFit is the ideal fitness regime.
“There’s not a better way to get in shape, period,” Herron said. “It works for everybody. That’s the cool part.”
CrossFit is a core strength and conditioning program used by law enforcement, fire and military academies across the nation. It is the staple fitness program of the Marines, Herron said. In fact, it was while with the Marines in 2005 that Herron discovered it. He later teamed up with Bennett at CrossFit Flathead.
In 2001, Bennett was coaching in the weight room at Flathead High School when an acquaintance told him about CrossFit. Bennett, the brother of Glacier High School head football coach Grady Bennett, researched the program and saw that it meshed perfectly with his own innovative fitness philosophy. He incorporated it into his workouts at the high school before opening up his own gym in 2007.
“I played with it and the rest is history,” Bennett said.
CrossFit is a broad-based strength and conditioning program that incorporates free weights, machines, kettlebells, plyometrics, running and much more. According to CrossFit’s Web site, “the need of Olympic athletes and our grandparents differ by degree not kind.” A person with less lifting abilities might use a PVC pipe, while a stronger athlete will use the appropriate amount of weight on a bar.
The key, Bennett said, is “teaching people to move the right way.” For example, Bennett and Herron emphasize squatting exercises because they mimic the motion of sitting. Everybody sits and Bennett said it’s important to do it properly, taking pressure of the knees.
Whether it’s a mother lifting her baby or people putting groceries in cupboards above their heads, Bennett said CrossFit training can apply to the most basic of movements.
“We train in here to make life easier out there,” he said.
Bennett said his clients at CrossFit Flathead, located on Kelly Road in south Kalispell, range from elite athletes to people just looking to get a little healthier. Students are encouraged to take classes on a rolling schedule: three days on, one day off, followed by two more days on and one day off.
The gym holds morning and evening classes Monday through Wednesday and on Friday. There is only one evening class on Thursday to allow Bennett and Herron to spread the word about CrossFit – all self-promotion is done through word of mouth – and clean the gym. There is one morning class on Saturday and none on Sunday because, as Bennett says, “we live in the Flathead and we still want to play.”
During classes, people training at CrossFit engage in a variety of Olympic lifts, power lifts, gymnastics and other exercises, along with running. The focus is as much on cardiovascular as strength. Bennett said members at CrossFit receive constant attention from professional coaches – they either are part of a class or are receiving one-on-one training.
Phil Gaynor, 50, said he worked out at a regular gym before switching to CrossFit. After three years, he still couldn’t do a pull-up. Then he began working out at CrossFit and he said after six months he could do pull-ups, push-ups and more than 100 sit-ups.
Gaynor attributes much of his rapid improvement to the exercise routine itself and the trainers there, but also to the supportive team-like environment. Fellow members encourage each other throughout the classes. Josh Kinney said the team support not only helps with focus, but also just makes the workout more fun.
“It doesn’t get boring like a lot of gyms do,” Kinney said.
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