Look Good Naked – RoxFire Fitness vs CrossFit

One of the biggest questions a lot of our new members ask when they walk in the door before they sign up is “What is the biggest difference between CrossFit and RoxFire Fitness?” My question back is, “Is one of your goals to look good naked?”

It’s a bold response, but hey, that’s RoxFire.

It’s a great question from potential clients because we have a ton of CrossFit affiliates in our area and RoxFire, like CrossFit, is a big proponent of functional fitness so there may be confusion between the two and their goal for their clients as a product.

I had a lot of thoughts so I decided to write a blog post to address this commonly asked question.(For a quick primer on why we switched from CrossFit in 2020, read this.)

Do you have a variation of this selfie on your phone?

You know you do, so don’t lie. 

But you probably don’t have an awkwardly placed cardboard box hiding your…unmentionables. 

There’s no shame here, we get it. You wanna look good naked. You’re not alone in this. 

But, what’s going to help you achieve that goal if you’re a busy young professional in Fort Lauderdale? 

Is it CrossFit or RoxFire Fitness?

Let’s start at the beginning.

What is CrossFit and how does it define itself?

On its official website, CrossFit.com, CrossFit says it is a “lifestyle”, characterized by a training and programming methodology that places an emphasis on “constantly varied, functional movements, performed at a high intensity” that “can be used to accomplish any goal, from improved health to weight loss to better performance.”

What is RoxFire Fitness? 

From our website: “A fun, exciting & energizing space to build yourself into the superhero you’ve always wanted to be.”

Okay, different style and implementation, but the goal is a similar projected outcome.

Look good naked….right?

Now let’s put the focus on you, the potential fitness client. When you walk into a new boutique gym you’re probably going to be asked what you want out of your fitness experience.

Speaking anecdotally from personal experience handling hundreds of prospects over the past few years at RoxFire Fitness, most potential clients say one of two things: I want to “lose fat & build muscle” and/or “improve my health & well being.”

Working in sales in the CrossFit industry before opening RoxFire for almost a decade, this correlates similarly with what I heard from those potential clients.

So we’re all tracking on a similar path.

However, during our RoxFire Consultation, we dig deeper as to ‘the why’ behind the goal.

A RoxFire Consultation

What is expressed in these consultations is the idea of “look good naked” with the result of “improving my confidence and how I look and feel.” 

And who can blame you? 

If you look strong, lean and sexy – you will feel strong, lean and sexy.

You will in fact be strong, lean and sexy.

That should be celebrated – it shows a commitment to discipline in your eating and training. You care about how you look, not only to the world, but to yourself. What commands more respect when you walk in the room? The dude in the fitted suit with the big delts and chest or the guy with a beer belly & Dadbod?

Having an aesthetically pleasing body and a well developed mind used to be considered the apex in the Greek and Roman times. And in 2021? Let’s not go there.

Does “look good naked” correlate with CrossFit’s program methodology of “constantly varied, functional movements, performed at a high intensity”?

To answer this we took a look at the websites of well-known local CrossFit affiliates.

To follow along, we suggest you google search “CrossFit Near Me.” 

We saw a focus on functional movement and community but not one of their websites mention “aesthetics” or “look good naked” or even “maximizing muscle mass.”

If you watch any of the CrossFit Games you will marvel over absolutely amazing top-tier CrossFit physiques marketed with tons of slow, sexy shots of rippling muscles.

When we checked, we didn’t see any of that same sexy marketing from any local CrossFit affiliates. Just average Joe’s and Gina’s lifting weights.

There appears to be a large disconnect between general CrossFit training with local affiliates vs. top athletes being presented at the CrossFit Games at the sport level.

So, if I go to a local CrossFit affiliate will I end up looking like this?

From what I can see advertised you won’t necessarily look good naked, but you’ll have great “general physical preparedness!” 

Wait, what?

I invite you to walk in to any local Fort Lauderdale CrossFit affiliate and observe the membership base for yourself to put this to the test. You might already be a member of one.

Do the majority of those who have trained six months or more look like the aesthetically pleasing athletes that appear in the CrossFit Games? 

Do those members uniformly look strong & powerful & fast? 

Are they those things in practice? 

In my experience, too many CrossFit gyms follow a similar pattern of programming that doesn’t produce that desired result.

Standard Local Affiliate CrossFit Programming

STRENGTH: Every 5 Minutes For 5 Sets: 3 Back Squats (Build To A Heavy Load)

CONDITIONING: 3 Rounds For Time: 20 Wall Ball Shots, 20 Box Jumps, 400 M Run

In this style, most CrossFit gyms feature a “strength bias” that will include a heavy power lift (or Olympic lift) with no accessory work for synergistic (supportive) muscles or unilateral work (single arm or leg work to shore up imbalances.)

Strength bias means “strength” comes first. Always. 

After that strength focus, you’ll find a “conditioning WOD” that seems to be tacked on to the end of class when your energy may already be depleted from the strength piece.

These conditioning pieces, usually every single day and usually last on the menu, are further encouraged as a pinnacle with a gym app for your phone that prompts a client to list a “score” for the “daily leaderboard”  at completion of the workout. This shows you where you stacked against everyone else. Every day.

The psychological conditioning of that creates the feeling that every day is for “performance” and “points.”

It’s the CrossFit Games….every day!

While it’s ambitious and exciting, that’s a lot to tackle in an hour.

Where should your focus be? The strength or the conditioning? Can you serve both masters at once? Why is your score important every day? Are you even getting fitter? Are you looking good naked? What is life?!

What is it you truly want?

Let’s refocus again on you: the potential fitness client.

If you’ve used #HotGirlSummer or #HotBoySummer – we imagine your goals are to look like a snack, clothed or not. We imagine you want to walk into your next meeting or next date and feel confident in your outfit. You want to go the beach shirtless or in a bikini and feel like a million bucks. Ultimately, you want you to be proud of the work you’ve done to support your body and a healthy lifestyle and you want that reflected aesthetically.

So, for the Fort Lauderdale fitness junkie, it is important for you to consider the juxtaposition between elite CrossFit athletes, local every day CrossFit affiliate programming and RoxFire Fitness.

The cold hard truth is that Elite-level CrossFit athletes train year round, twice or more a day and work with dietitians, physical therapists and a slew of other fitness professionals to support their recovery. They are machines.

If that physique is unattainable by working out an hour a day, it makes sense why local affiliates aren’t falsely promoting the aesthetic benefits of “forging elite fitness.” Their website’s focus is on becoming strong and making friends.

But, if you’re looking to build a lean, Greek-God like physique, while also becoming strong and making friends, RoxFire is a better fit for you.

3 Things RoxFire Does Differently

1. Training Muscles Over Movements

If you to look good at the beach or in the the boardroom – strength is a great place to start. But beyond that, you have to get specific. Do you want bigger biceps? A bigger chest? A more defined butt? If you want specific muscles to grow you have to focus on specific muscles. During our BUILD days at RoxFire, we work with tempo training – this is known as “time under tension,” focused on specific muscle groups in isolation with slow and controlled movements. It’s not about going super heavy super quickly but maximizing our body for “hypertrophy” (building bigger muscles). This type of training also benefits activation of stabilizer muscles that prevent and fortify against injury and improve your positioning to produce maximum muscle recruitment & development. Ask a CrossFit Games athlete if they train muscles in isolation, their answers won’t surprise you (yes). Ask your average local affiliate if they dabble in bodybuilding, the answer won’t surprise you either (no). 

2. Sprint-Style HIIT Workouts

Sprint-style workouts have been proven to unlock many a fantastic physique, why? In laymen’s terms, the response from your body to sprinting not only burns body fat while maintaining muscle mass, it also activates our type II “fast twitch” muscle fibers – which makes you stronger on days you want to lift heavier. Sprinting has also been shown to boost testosterone, spike HGH production, and improve insulin sensitivity. Since these hormones are paramount for muscle growth, fat loss, and recovery, sprinting is arguably the best “natural steroid” in existence. This isn’t the “WOD” you’ll see tacked on in CrossFit classes. At RoxFire, we program legitimate focused sprint workouts – you can check out our sprinting workouts in our REV class and offered in intervals during FUSE.

3. Strength & Power Training with Dialed In Nutrition* 

If you want to get bigger physically, you have to get stronger. Strength and muscle mass are inexplicably tied together, just ask Mark Rippetoe of The Godfather of Starting Strength, in this interview on “Strength & Aesthetics”. Training in functional total body movements (like CrossFit does) is something we’ve borrowed and implemented. This will not only increase your bone density and muscle mass, but in our FUSE classes, we focus on lifting with power to recruit our muscles to their maximal potential. And that’s the focus. Thus, when you’re stronger and more powerful from FUSE you can lift those heavier weights under tempo longer in our BUILD classes and sprint harder in our REV classes. It all ties together. *

*However, the results of this will be largely unfulfilling, if you aren’t tracking your calories. You’ll get bigger but not necessarily leaner. When you sign up, we offer our clients a nutritional and goals setting consultation where we can work together on finding the right diet strategies to support your goals.

Take A Look At Our Members

Don’t take our word for it, take a look at our members at RoxFire Fitness. Here’s a recent video we shot showcasing some of our clients.

In our video, we feature a newer member Tyler, who’s been training with us the past 3 months. He’s consistently trained 5x a week and sat with us to discuss diet and recovery strategies to help optimize his gains.

Try A Free Week With Us

CrossFit can provide a great experience and we’re not knocking it. I spent almost a decade in the CrossFit community. It taught me how to be a great coach and build a great experience. I’m thankful for it, but at RoxFire, we’re not dogmatic about what works. We’ve evolved. We borrow from other training modalities so you can look look & feel like you truly want: a superhero.

And, also take naked selfies you can proud of.

If you’re looking to improve your physique and you’ve gotten lost in CrossFit’s confusing marketing and inconsistent programming, come check out RoxFire Fitness with a free week by going here.

You won’t be disappointed.