OOYL Book Club: July Selection

'The Cult of Crossfit' by Katie Rose Hejtmanek

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The July selection for the Out of Your League Book Club is a one I announced when I sent out the lineup for the rest of the year, but here it is officially official! The link to register for this event is at the bottom of this newsletter, below the paywall.

I’m thrilled to announce that we will be reading The Cult of Crossfit: Christianity and the American Exercise Phenomenon by Katie Rose Hejtmanek.

I learned about Katie’s work because she used to do CrossFit with my partner, Will, when they both lived in Nashville. I was thrilled to read this very necessary work—and Katie was just awarded a coveted Fulbright Scholarship, too! Which is very impressive!

From the book’s description:

“CrossFit in the United States has become increasingly popular, around which a fascinating culture has developed which shapes everyday life for the people devoted to it. CrossFit claims to be many things: a business, a brand, a tremendously difficult fitness regimen, a community, a way to gain salvation, and a method to survive the apocalypse. In The Cult of CrossFit, Katie Rose Hejtmanek examines how this exercise program is shaped by American Christian values and practices, connecting American religious ideologies to secular institutions in contemporary American culture.

Drawing upon years of immersing herself in CrossFit gyms in the United States and across six continents, this book illustrates how US CrossFit operates using distinctly American codes, ranging from its intensity and patriarchal militarism to its emphasis on (white) salvation and the adoration of the hero and vigilante. Despite presenting itself as a secular space, Hejtmanek argues that CrossFit is both heavily influenced by and deeply intertwined with American Christian values. She makes the case that the Christianity that shapes CrossFit is the Christianity that shapes much of America, usually in ways we do not even notice. Offering a new cross-cultural perspective for understanding a popular workout, The Cult of CrossFit provides a window into a particularly American rendition of a Christian plotline, lived out one workout at a time.”

Our Zoom event will be on Sunday, July 27th at 2 PM ET/11 AM PT. Katie will be joining us for that conversation, which is only open to paid subscribers. The conversation will be recorded and sent out to everyone who registered for the event, so you can watch it even if you can’t join us live.

A few days before our Zoom meeting, I’ll send out another email with the link to the event, along with a companion syllabus of additional reading and listening material related to the book.

Access to the Zoom event requires registration. You can register for ‘THE CULT OF CROSSFIT’ BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION at the link below: