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The Power of Community: Crossfit and the Force of Human Connection
The power of community is about making lives better and helping people achieve their goals. Psychologist Allison Wenglin Belger describes the importance of group affiliation--of having a network of mutual support and human connection in the midst of our hectic, technology-driven lives. With candor and grit, the author takes the reader on a journey from her childhood in suburban New York as she follows her passion for competitive sports and wilderness adventure, to her present-day connection to CrossFit, a dynamic, functional fitness and conditioning program with an emphasis on camaraderie and community. Belger shares stories of military wounded warriors and everyday heroes who have faced life-threatening crises--with the help of their community affiliation. She relates inspiring examples of individuals who have created communities and support networks for populations in need, including cancer patients and at-risk youth. Drawing on her
- GenresSelf HelpNonfiction
272 pages, Paperback
First published February 21, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 23, 2013
Having picked this up at Christmas 2012, along with TJ Murphy's Inside the Box, I'm obviously interested in seeing how others have come to CrossFit. Like me, they have experienced for themselves, and witnessed in a range of others, the sense of community CrossFit provides beyond the mere doing of the exercise.
I'm uncertain whether this book is going to appeal widely to athletes beyond CrossFit; it's very much pitched at a group who will read it to affirm the validity of their own experience.
However, in my work as a community manager, I think this and Murphy's book (and indeed CrossFit as a phenomenon), offer some powerful insight into what makes community work, and why. The anecdotes provide significant cues as to what rose working to build community need to do to make it work - reasons to belong, a welcoming style, a way to supplant existing, less fruitful and fulfilling activities, long-term viability of the community through acceptance of change, and an approach that accepts a variety of views, ages, lifestyles and levels of engagement.
It may be that while Belger set out to write about CrossFit, she's actually delivered a guide on building and sustaining communities of all sorts.
I'm uncertain whether this book is going to appeal widely to athletes beyond CrossFit; it's very much pitched at a group who will read it to affirm the validity of their own experience.
However, in my work as a community manager, I think this and Murphy's book (and indeed CrossFit as a phenomenon), offer some powerful insight into what makes community work, and why. The anecdotes provide significant cues as to what rose working to build community need to do to make it work - reasons to belong, a welcoming style, a way to supplant existing, less fruitful and fulfilling activities, long-term viability of the community through acceptance of change, and an approach that accepts a variety of views, ages, lifestyles and levels of engagement.
It may be that while Belger set out to write about CrossFit, she's actually delivered a guide on building and sustaining communities of all sorts.
April 30, 2012
Honestly, I only read the first chapter and then skimmed the rest, because it didn't really hold my interest.
I got the feeling the author was trying to capitalize on the CrossFit name by using her psychology Ph.D to write a lot of anecdotes that any CrossFitter could probably write from his or her everyday interactions at the box.
The book doesn't seem to break a lot of real ground, but it might be interesting to someone considering joining CrossFit who is afraid it seems too cult-like.
My overall reaction to the book is, "meh." Not bad, but not particularly good and not worth hours of your time to read every sentence.
I got the feeling the author was trying to capitalize on the CrossFit name by using her psychology Ph.D to write a lot of anecdotes that any CrossFitter could probably write from his or her everyday interactions at the box.
The book doesn't seem to break a lot of real ground, but it might be interesting to someone considering joining CrossFit who is afraid it seems too cult-like.
My overall reaction to the book is, "meh." Not bad, but not particularly good and not worth hours of your time to read every sentence.
July 15, 2013
The first part of this book read like a dissertation, however the second half, which included real-life, inspirational cases was more appealing to me.
I see this book as "preaching to the choir" in terms of CrossFit. The individual stories are compelling, indeed. As a CF participant, the stories encouraged me to continue on my path leading towards my personal goals. I feel that CrossFitters will appreciate and enjoy this book.
For beginners, I would highly recommend Inside the Box by T.J. Murphy. It gives a basic rundown of the sport that "forges elite fitness!" I think beginners reading the aforementioned book would be somewhat overwhelmed and confused, but still encouraged.
In retrospect, I would have simply skipped to the personal stories in this book instead of reading through the author's details about CrossFit, as I am already sold on the program!
I see this book as "preaching to the choir" in terms of CrossFit. The individual stories are compelling, indeed. As a CF participant, the stories encouraged me to continue on my path leading towards my personal goals. I feel that CrossFitters will appreciate and enjoy this book.
For beginners, I would highly recommend Inside the Box by T.J. Murphy. It gives a basic rundown of the sport that "forges elite fitness!" I think beginners reading the aforementioned book would be somewhat overwhelmed and confused, but still encouraged.
In retrospect, I would have simply skipped to the personal stories in this book instead of reading through the author's details about CrossFit, as I am already sold on the program!
August 4, 2014
This book give a good insight into crossfit history. I really like how involved with the military crossFit is, Operation Phoenix is awesome. Other than that the book was a bit boring. I did enjoy some of the stories from CrossFit members but this just wasn't what I was hoping for I guess. It delivered on its topic speaking about the CrossFit community and how competition pushes us for form better but I can't say it was very interesting.
May 1, 2014
I thought it was a great book on how CrossFit influenced millions of peoples' lives in the military or just in regular day people. CrossFit really has influenced a lot of people and its beginning to become a growing trend. I think its a really cool thing to do
September 20, 2015
The author's heart is in the right place, and you can't help but appreciate her enthusiasm for the topic. But her book is written in a style that exists at the crossroads of blog, personal journal and term paper. All the CrossFitters I know, myself included, seem to agree that the community within each CrossFit Gym, and within CrossFit as a whole, is one of the best, if not the best, feature of CrossFit. But somehow, an entire treatise on this topic is not as exciting as I had hoped. There are some powerful stories contained within the book, however, so you may find it worthwhile to wade through the rest of it to find them.
December 22, 2012
Un libro muy pobre en todas las dimensiones. Lleno de ideologías y opiniones, poco entendimiento de la metodología y del deporte como herramienta para el desarrollo humano. Repetitivo y aburrido.
No aporta nada nuevo ni en lo humano, ni en lo deportivo. Explica sentimientos y emociones que son inherentes al ser humano y sus actividades, y no, como menciona el autor al crossfit o a la comunidad "crossfit".
No aporta nada nuevo ni en lo humano, ni en lo deportivo. Explica sentimientos y emociones que son inherentes al ser humano y sus actividades, y no, como menciona el autor al crossfit o a la comunidad "crossfit".
July 23, 2012
Disappointing. Repetitive and preachy.
July 27, 2012
A good book, but it got repetitive at the end. This is definitely for CrossFitters, so it preaches to the choir. She does highlight some phenomenal people and organizations.
April 26, 2016
For some reason I feel bad rating this so low... The author seems like a great woman but this just didn't do much for me... Sorry. Go CrossFit.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews