CrossFit strengthens staff bonds

It’s 6 a.m. on a Thursday morning, and special education instructional aide Jeanne Watson is in the weight room with a soundtrack of popular musicals playing in the background.

She holds a 50-pound bar above her head and is lifting it up and down as sweat beads on her forehead. Watson is one of about 20 staff members who participate in the CrossFit exercise program on campus which is the same kind of regimen that students do three times a week in their physical education classes.

CrossFit is an internationally known fitness program that has been around for about a decade. Physical Education teacher Peter Jordan became a certified level one CrossFit trainer two and half years ago. Over the past two years, he has worked with a number of teachers as a CrossFit trainer.

Sessions are typically an hour long and consist of doing a warm-up, lifting heavier weights to build strength, working on specific skills such as gymnastic movements or Olympic lifts and participating in intense 10 to 25 minute “workout of the day.”

“Doing CrossFit has helped me to develop strong friendships with a number of other teachers on campus. I do it to stay fit, but it is also fun,” Jordan said. “Facing difficult physical challenges together helps to create strong and meaningful bonds.”

Watson said she first started the program almost a year ago and feels that CrossFit not only has great physical benefits, but also brings her closer to fellow staff members.

“Sharing an experience with other SHS teachers which involves mutual encouragement, high-fives and shouts ‘you can do it’ as your arms shake and you press the last repetition of 55 pounds above your head has given me a lot more to talk about,” Watson said.

The opportunity to exercise and interact with other teachers motivates science teacher Jenny Garcia to work the CrossFit program into her schedule as much as possible. Garcia feels that “true bonding really occurs outside of an academic environment” where teachers talk about subjects other than teaching and their students.

Garcia’s participation in the program has given her a chance to have conversations with other staff members whom she would not have gotten to know if she did not attend the morning exercise sessions.

“I didn’t really know [Watson] very well, but now I know a lot more about her and what her life is like outside of school,” said Garcia.

Health teacher Amy Obenour agrees that CrossFit helps her connect with other staff members.

“I was really successful in the workouts and saw some great strength gains,” Obenour said. “It is great to encourage one another in an arena besides the classroom.”