A blog about trying to write a blog about our ethos - Wednesday, November 26th, 2025
A blog about trying to write a blog about our ethos
I’ve been sitting here watching the day time classes, trying to write a blog about something that feels both simple and complicated at the same time:
a blog about why our CrossFit ethos, ‘our culture’, matters so much.
It’s easy to write about workouts, events, PRs, or new gear.
It’s harder to write about an ethos ‘culture’, because culture is felt, not easily described.
But more and more lately, I’ve felt the need to put words to it, to explain why what we do here, and how we do it, is worth protecting.
So here’s my attempt….
CrossFit changed the fitness world, including the word “community”. You hear a ton of fitness facilities now talk about their “amazing community.” And they might be right, there are wonderful people training in many places and facilities.
But let’s be honest for a second, before CrossFit came along, no one used the word community to describe a gym. You just didn’t hear people say:
“My gym family.”
“My gym crew.”
“I can’t wait to see everyone at class.”
You didn’t see gyms have Christmas parties, etc.
Gyms were transactional.
CrossFit changed that.
CrossFit made fitness communal, supportive, accountable, and shared. And with that came something deeper, an ethos ‘culture’ built around:
Standards
Virtuosity
Integrity
Respect for movement
Respect for effort
Respect for the process
Respect for fellow athletes
This wasn’t accidental, but it was born naturally in affiliate’s all over the world. It’s baked into the methodology itself.
CrossFit teaches the progression of Mechanics → Consistency → Intensity, for a reason. It’s more than just a slogan. It’s the backbone of everything we do.
Mechanics: Move well first.
Consistency: Move well regularly.
Intensity: Only then do we push harder.
One of the dangers to our ethos comes when people skip the first two steps and go straight to the last one. That’s when standards disappear, movement gets sloppy, reps get rushed, or shaved, and the purpose of the workout gets lost.
This is why your coaches care so much about:
Hitting depth
Locking out reps
Standing tall
Counting honestly
Moving safely
Scaling properly
Listening to cues
Adjusting when needed
We’re not nitpicking.
We’re protecting the integrity of our ethos ‘culture’ , and you.
Movement standards aren’t for just competition. Though many standards have been developed from competition.
And movement standards are not just for “elite athletes”, or those who want to compete.
They’re for everyone.
Every rep is data.
Every rep is practice.
Every rep shapes what you’re capable of the next day, the next month, the next year, and 10 years from now.
When you hit the standard every time, and do every rep of the workout,
You get stronger
You get fitter
You become more resilient
You reduce risk of injury
You build real, measurable progress
When you don’t, the opposite happens, even if the score looks better on the whiteboard. Which brings me to the next point, counting your reps.
This is never about calling anyone out. It’s about calling everyone up.
Counting correctly is:
Integrity
Accountability
Respect for the workout
Respect for your fellow athletes
Respect for the ethos ‘culture’ we’ve built
Your coaches care because they know consistency and honesty are the only way to make progress real.
We don’t chase fast scores.
We chase true scores.
The whiteboard should never dictate your workout.
There are many great facilities out there. But a CrossFit affiliate is different because we uphold the ethos ‘culture’ that made CrossFit what it is:
High standards
Gold standard coaching
Safety
Accountability
Community rooted in effort, not convenience
Virtuosity, doing the common uncommonly well
Our community is incredible.
Every athlete in our space matters.
Every person contributes something unique.
And that’s exactly why our culture, our ethos, needs to be protected.
It’s taken 15 years to build what we have here.
It didn’t happen by accident.
It happened because people cared.
Because coaches held the line.
Because athletes respected the line.
Because together we created something worth showing up for, every day.
So consider this my attempt to explain something that I’m incredibly passionate about.
Why we care so deeply.
Why we coach the way we coach.
Why standards matter.
Why consistency matters.
Why our ethos ‘culture’ matters.
Because it does. It is the absolute core of what makes us who we are, and what sets us apart.
Wednesday, November 26th, 2025
Focus:
Back Squat
7 - 7 - 7
WOD:
75 Back Squats 225/155
Every Break 25 KB Swings 24/16
*Depending on the class size, we may have some Front Squat, or OHS.
Check back each night at 8pm for the next days WOD .
Contact us: Address: 200 Mountain Rd #3, Collingwood, ON L9Y 4V5 Phone: (705) 444-0006 Follow us on Instagram @crossfit_indestri