Ben Garves Podcast: Fitness, Nutrition, and Activism

I talk a lot about the importance of our efforts to diversify the communities we serve with our health and fitness work. Today I’m going to read you an op-ed piece from Jason Burns, the owner of Meddle Fitness (a CrossFit affiliate on the south side of Chicago), which seeks to serve a more diverse community than is usually seen in a CrossFit gym.

I thought he made some great points, so away we go. These are the words of Jason Burns. He writes:

“In Chicago, Black families lost between $3 billion and $4 billion in wealth because they were denied mortgages in the 1950s and 1960s. My journey in health and wellness begins here. I operate Mettle Fitness—home of Bronzeville CrossFit, the only 100 percent Black-owned CrossFit gym in the city. I wanted to contribute to the economic development of a community that has been plundered and bring functional fitness to it in my own way. As an entrepreneur, I’m now building a safe community for others, a place where people transcend even their wildest expectations

In a historic Black neighborhood, I’ve created jobs, enhanced quality of life, and started a fitness revolution. I saw the benefit of CrossFit as a methodology, but I also saw where the movement was lacking. I knew the power of the culture I grew up in could elevate it. For eight years, Mettle has done just that. But none of this would’ve been possible if I had spent my time looking for acceptance where it wasn’t gladly extended.

Today, CrossFit is wrestling with questions of inclusion, but that doesn’t bother me much. It was never about acceptance when I opened a CrossFit facility on the South Side of Chicago. The point wasn’t to assimilate Black people into the traditional, mostly white culture of CrossFit. I grew up with fitness all around me. My father was heavily involved in youth sports, and the camaraderie of being a part of a team has been a way of life for me for as long as I can remember. Bonds formed in college and NFL locker rooms gave me an appreciation for belonging.

Community-based fitness has the power to create those same feelings. Because of Chicago’s segregation, Black communities have lacked basic options and access. Individuals seeking these services often ended up in spaces where they didn’t feel readily accepted. These individuals simply wanted to get fit in an environment they felt comfortable in. As a proprietor, I felt obligated to provide my community with a space where they were welcome to be themselves while also providing a fitness experience that exceeded any other.

Mettle Fitness cannot restore the billions my neighborhood was robbed of in the years immediately before my birth. Still, Mettle’s existence is a powerful statement of defiance. In a city and nation that devalues Black life, it stands. In a sport that was headed by an individual who is (at best) apathetic to Black concerns, Mettle Fitness is undeterred. (Eric Roza has since purchased Cross-Fit.) The same spirit my parents instilled in me, the drive that carried me to the NFL and to master the sport of CrossFit, I’m bringing to my community. My journey never required acceptance or even fairness, although it would have been far easier with them.”

Thanks for listening this morning. Please be sure like, rate, review, and subscribe. It’s free to you and means the world to me. I’m Ben Garves, and we’ll chat tomorrow.

‘Aging’ is the topic of the day, as a research article published mid-July found an association between older participants’ physical fitness and their bone mass and structure. What does that mean? Older people who stayed physically fit had healthier, stronger bones.

https://youtu.be/ppcMmcUujWc

The study looked at 129 participants between the ages of 70 and 81 and found the correlation to be stronger in men than in women, but the vast majority of the participants were women. Just an odd observation I made when reading it.

The write up states:

“Aging results in a progressive and generalized impairment of several bodily functions, an increased vulnerability to environmental challenges, and a growing risk of disease and death [2]. The aging process entails a decrease of both muscle and bone tissue, which may increase the incidence of osteoporosis and the risk of suffering falls and fractures [3].”

It may seem logical, but the research showed active seniors were in much better health and an improved state of well-being when compared with their inactive counterparts. Researchers say these improvements do appear to be related to their physical fitness levels.

Please be sure to like, subscribe, provide a five-star rating, and write a review. It’s free to you and means the world to me. Thank you for listening, and I’ll catch you tomorrow.

Welcome to the first episode of the newly-pivoted podcast. It will no longer be known as the WODDITY Podcast for News About CrossFit. You’re now listening to the Ben Garves podcast, a daily show helping you center yourself on a fit and nutritious activist lifestyle through technology, psychology, philosophy and education.

My name is Ben Garves, and I am your host. I have a boring day job in the tech industry while working on the side for my YouTube channel, a number of progressive causes, and I am a former CrossFit trainer.

Things you will hear on this show every day include anything promoting a lifestyle that gets you happier, healthier, and more centered - whether physically, emotionally, or financially. We’ll do this while promoting the latest fascinating findings, tricks, and tips in health and exercise science. We will be an ally and active voice for Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+, and many more causes involving basic human rights to equality. You’ll also hear me providing advice for navigating life experiences like relationships, mental health, and even surviving quarantine.

Thanks for returning to the podcast. I’m excited to be bringing it back, but obviously wish it was under better circumstances than having to pivot away from CrossFit. This show is now truly a labor of love, with no advertisements. Everything you hear me talk about and endorse comes entirely from my love for it and the good it does. Please be sure to like, subscribe, provide a five-star rating, and write a review. It’s free to you and means the world to me.

For full show notes, see WODDITY.com: https://woddity.com/black-crossfits-new-lives-twitter-account-matter/
It is a new day. Full of fresh opportunities, endless possibilities, and unfulfilled potential for all of us to make the world a better place. I just wanted to remind you of that before we dive in.

Reykjavik CrossFit Championship Officially Cancelled

Frederick Aegidius wrote on the Reykjavik CrossFit Championship website yesterday an announcement that the postponed event has now been formally cancelled. Aegidius wrote:

“We have been following the development of Covid19 and its effects on travel restrictions and the limitations put on larger events since the shut-down of most of the world in March.

We were hoping that our postponed dates would still be possible but as we are now moving into June, we are sorry to inform you that we will not be able to host the 2020 RCC...”

He continues, “All registration fees and tickets will be fully refunded through Eventbrite and TIX.is respectively, but the processing time might be slow due to a high number of refunds that need to be finalized so please bear with us.”

CrossFit Science Education Twitter

CrossFit has launched a new CrossFit Science Education Twitter account, @CrossFitSciEdu. It’s the latest step in a longstanding war the organization has been waging about corruption in scientific studies, peer review, and review boards. In the announcement they state CrossFit Science Education was created to meet a clear need for this type of rudimentary education by providing the terminology and tools necessary for thoughtful, skeptical engagement with science (both as it is and as it is frequently misconstrued).

While we’re at it, CrossFit also shared a book by Doctor William Davis. TItled Undoctored: Why Health Care Has Failed You and How You Can Become Smarter Than Your Doctor, it takes you on a journey into how corruption has led to the current state of our health and fitness industries.

Black Lives Matter

This podcast celebrates its first birthday in August, and I’ve talked a lot about progressive causes over the last year. For many in my audience, I understand that’s not your cup of tea and I appreciate that you’ve stuck with me for the core substance of the shows. But saying that black lives matter isn’t a progressive cause. It’s an acknowledgement of a basic human right.

I want to read you from an email I sent to a member of the community this morning, someone I hope to continue having this conversation with and possibly invite on the show. I wrote:

Someone made a really poignant comment on one of my videos yesterday. He wrote, "it's not really helpful to put the burden on marginalized communities to speak out right now, their voices are constant, it's those who are regularly silent that need to speak up and shoulder the burden." I wonder if that was the mistake I made when trying to talk about diversity in February, that I put the onus on a marginalized community to speak up instead of trying to have those with racial privilege acknowledge not just their voices, but their performances and achievements.

In the email, this community member wrote about Elizabeth Akinwale’s frustrations and retirement from the sport. I responded: Akinwale was such an incredible athlete to watch. I can't imagine the burden felt by a black athlete to be the single or one of very few voices for their community. Or the pain she had to have felt to be held by some as a counterpoint to an argument. Like when somebody says "Golf isn't a white sport. Look at Tiger Woods" or "Gymnastics isn't a white sport, look at Simone Biles," and now "CrossFit isn't a white sport, look at EZ Muhammad, Elizabeth Akinwale, and Chandler Smith."

Today I’ve decided I’m done being nice and kindly asking people to wear masks. We’re way past the point where society should tolerate endangering behavior from the few. The mutations, the deaths, the economic crisis, this could all have been avoided had the freedom of the few to be ignorant not been treated like it outweighed the safety of the vast many and especially of the vulnerable.

If you don’t want to hear a rant, skip on to another podcast.