An economics professor once told me that each dollar we spend is a vote. A vote for good stewardship or the bottom line. A vote for good health or a quick fix. A vote for long term goals or short term gratification. Each dollar, each vote, says something about what we value.

What do you value?

And what is that worth?

What are you willing to lay on the line to feel comfortable in your own skin, not because it fits someone else's definition of beautiful, but because you feel and know intimately the power and strength and miracle that is your body? Because you know the hard work you've put into your gains. How invaluable to move with confidence and strength, with grace, ease, and an awareness of your muscle movement, and to look in the mirror and feel accomplishment, admiration, acceptance, and pride rather than counting off your flaws?

What would you give to finally comprehend the seemingly magical balance of metabolic conditioning and weight training, alongside the fundamentals of nutrition, that will achieve the fittest you? When those beautifully complex olympic lifts and gymnastic movements become second nature, the gains will far outweigh the cost. Those gains will not be achieved by longer and longer runs on smaller and smaller portion sizes at meals, but from the freedom of a healthy perspective on exercise and nutrition.

What is the price tag for knowledge and expertise, for talented coaches that oversee every workout, focus on your safety and form first, and help to scale movements and weights for your ability, with an eye on your goals? What is the opportunity cost of designing your own workouts when you could have coaches designing quality programming for you, along with warm-ups, skill training, progressions, and mobility?

Do you value accountability -- coaches and friends who will notice your absence and call you on it, meet you at class, hold you to your personal goals, and cheer for your new personal records while you cheer for theirs?

For that matter, do you value community, a group of friends who share your love for fitness and adventure? (And maybe wine, movies, board games, dogs, family, obstacle courses, and The Walking Dead.) Before you know it, crossfit will be a social hub for weekend trips, obstacle course enrollments, and evenings out. In the meantime, these people will be there to cheer you on, no matter what time, score, or barbell weight you put on that board each day. They will cheer you for showing up, celebrate your progress, and support you on the rough days.

What is the value of inspiration, derived from working alongside others who are all in? How does one financially measure the physical benefits and inner joy of quietly nurturing a (not-so-very) secret competitive streak, while you try to catch your "rabbit" on the leader board each day? Or the priceless pride that comes from inspiring someone else?

What can you teach your children (and yourself) about persistence, struggle, successes and failures, strength, and beauty by setting the example, being their inspiration, and committing to the long-term pursuit of a healthy, fit lifestyle? And what price tag would you give that gift?

What are you willing to pay to genuinely enjoy exercise, to experience the satisfaction of meeting and conquering challenges daily, pushing your limits, and finding out that you are stronger, faster, fitter, more than you ever thought you were?

Are you willing to invest in this place, with your money, with your personality, with your character, with your vote? This is not someone else's box, this is your box. This is not someone else's equipment, this is your equipment. This is where you go to train, grow, gain, socialize, relax, struggle, win, sweat, and fight every thought or fiber of your being that says you can't, because you can.

What are you voting for when you join the crossfit community?

You are voting for a healthier, stronger, more vivid version of you. An energetic person whose confidence is not easily shaken, who strategizes instead of panics when faced with obstacles, who embraces adventures and people with wide open arms. You are voting for a you that commits, conquers, overcomes, strides, struts, encourages, applauds, and lives life all in. A you that eschews flattery, strives for excellence, and pursues goals wholeheartedly. A you that shows up when you would rather stay home. A you that celebrates gains, rather than losses. That version of you has been begging to live out loud all along.

You have the heart of a crossfit athlete. Prove it.

You want to look like and perform like a crossfit athlete? Earn it.

We spend money on the things that we value. What do you value?

What is the Value of Crossfit?