CrossFit and Teaching... More Shared Similarities Than One Could Imagine

Julie Potts, an educator from Massachusetts and avid Crossfitter at Fort CrossFit in Hampstead, New Hampshire, highlighted several similarities between CrossFit and teaching from an instructional perspective. I too experienced this epiphany that Potts (2016) observed when she first started at her respective box (gym). As educators, we strive to provide a learning environment for our students which are challenging, but also an environment where our students can succeed and see growth.

Through various instructional strategies focused on differentiating learning activities to a multitude of learners, educators have struggled to find specific pathways to learning for each of their students. Although I use a flipped learning and workshop model within my classroom, I too struggle to properly differentiate for each of my students.

Much like Ms. Potts, CrossFit has been an eye opener, if you will, for me in terms of instruction and the way I deliver instruction in the classroom. I have been a member of CrossFit Commack in Commack, New York for approximately a year and a half, and while I am undoubtedly biased, the coaches there are some of the best teachers (especially Joey and Mikey) I have ever met. My classroom consists of a whiteboard, books, and a bunch of desks. Their classroom consists of a whiteboard, barbells, rowers and chalk... lots of chalk.

 It is interesting to observe how the coaches differentiate their instruction to meet the needs of their athletes. Similarly to what Potts (2016) pointed out in her article, the coaches at CrossFit Commack are able to take the workout as it is prescribed and scale it out (differentiate) so that it challenges and meets the needs of each individual athlete. This is very similar to the way teachers attempt to meet the needs of their students when we construct our lessons and hands-on activities. Teachers have students who excel in the classroom, while other students may need a little more work or fine-tuning. The goal of differentiated instruction is to meet the needs of every student in the classroom and provide them a pathway to success through challenging them in the learning process.

Teachers and CrossFit Coaches alike push students and athletes toward success with an individual's zone of proximal development (ZPD) in mind, as shared by Potts (2016). I cannot agree more with Potts' (2016) assertion that "Success is unlikely if a child is constantly pushed past her ZPD and into frustration and failure, just as it would be impossible for me to succeed if pushed past my physical limits or given a task my body simply cannot perform."

For each student in a classroom or athlete at a CrossFit box, the goal is to provide impeccable instruction which provides a pathway to success. The comparisons between teaching in a classroom and teaching in a box are evident... if you don't believe me, I challenge you to go check it out for yourself.

Julie Potts' article on the CrossFit Journal
21+15+9 = Better Teachers