Paths that lead to the box: socioanthropological study on the motivations to practice CrossFit®

Abstract

The aim of the study is to understand and analyze the motivations that led middle class individuals to join the practice of CrossFit in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Data triangulation was adopted, based on participant observation at a CrossFit box in Rio de Janeiro, the documental analysis of the Level 1 Training Guide: CrossFit Training and interviews with CrossFit practitioners in the same city. The main results indicated that the motivations were related to the pursuit of bodily capital and health, mediated by performance capacity and the speed to achieve these goals, related to social interactions, through the dynamics of the classes. It is concluded that the motivations for starting the practice of CrossFit focus on a body education aligned with the logic of contemporary speed and self-challenge as a necessary investment in identity construction.