CrossFit Founder, Greg Glassman, released a video today that has been circulating around the interwebs.
In this short clip, he shares a conversation he had with the CrossFit Physician that compares the human body to a car and says that we should view our body is if there were “No Spare Parts”… when this part goes, you’re done. He explains (and this is my own summary/interpretation) that he views CrossFit trainers as useful agents to help make a difference in how people live their lives and take care of their bodies so that we can run our cars for as long and healthy a life as possible.
Then, Glassman draws a comparison that I was able to relate to on pretty much every level.
“I’ve got an analogy for you. Physicians are lifeguards. Trainers are swim coaches. When you need a lifeguard, you need a lifeguard, not a swim coach. But, if you need a lifeguard, you probably needed a swim coach and didn’t get one.” ~ Greg Glassman
In my life, I’ve held both of those positions for many many years (Lifeguard and Swim Coach), and can tell you that those two roles hold distinctly different functions in a person’s life. While I honored the responsibility and valued the impact of knowing that my actions were charged with changing someone’s life/death status (Save them, they live. Don’t save them, game over.), it was definitely not my dream job.
Instead, I’ve always enjoyed giving people the tools to improve their own lives so that hopefully they would never need that lifeguard to jump in and save them.
Good news, friends… I’ve been a lifeguard AND a swim coach for over half of my life. You’re in good hands, regardless. But if it were up to me, I’d rather be your Swim (CrossFit) Coach.
Carry on 🙂
p.s.- No running on the pool deck!
Video courtesy of CrossFitHQ YouTube Channel
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