The Future

~2030 Future CrossFit Games Champions

This picture of Alexis Smith (daughter of fire breathers Webster and Lindsey Smith) playing with my son David Gibson II inspired my thoughts and hopes for the future of CrossFit...

At 30 years old and having only discovered CrossFit a little over a year ago, I spend a fair amount of time thinking, what if I had known about CrossFit for 5 or even 10 years?  What could I have done, what kind of athlete would I have become?  I like to believe that I would have thrived.  Now, I know CrossFit has only been around a relatively short time and that all of today's champions and fire breathers are probably thinking the same things...What if?

Well, what if you grew up in a world where CrossFit was there from day one?  What kind of athletes and CrossFitters will we see 10-20 years from now?  The thought boggles my mind.  For those of you familiar with the UFC, you know there are many parallels between mixed martial arts (MMA) and CrossFit in the sense of mainstream awareness, where it started, what people thought and where it is now.  I see another parrallel in the athletes we are seeing in the UFC today and will see in future CrossFitters.  Yesterday's champions in MMA were boxers, wrestlers, Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioners, etc that started training mixed martial arts when it became a sport.  Today's top performers in MMA were raised and trained as mixed martial artists from day one, not specializing but focusing on all aspects of the game, and they are dominating the field.  I see the same thing happening in CrossFit.

Today's top performer's at The CrossFit Games are ex-division one athletes in various sports, former football players, traditional weight lifting/cardio enthusiasts, etc that started CrossFitting when it became a sport.  I am talking about amazing athletes here, but athletes that specialized for the vast majority of their life before altering their fitness towards CrossFit.  Of course there are exceptions, but you get the idea.  What if these same people had been CrossFitting for 15 years...or since they could remember?  What kind of "Fran" and "Murph" times would we be seeing?  What kind of performances will it take to dominate?  I, for one, can't wait to find out.

My son, Davey, and many other children like him are being raised in households that CrossFit and in communities with a CrossFit box within driving distance.  Not to mention the diet and nutrition awareness that comes with it at family meal time.  At just over 13 months old, my son already picks up my warm up PVC from the floor in both hands, grunts, and yanks it over his head with a huge smile...it's normal to him, he sees it all the time.

At 30 years old, it is far from over for me, but I am reasonable in knowing that I am getting older and the sport is getting better, everyday.  The future looks awfully bright, and I can't wait to see it and be a part of it in every way I can.

Thanks for reading, I would love to hear all your thoughts.

-Shane