Crossfit Training: All the Kids are doing it

First appeared on October 12th, 2011
in The Lebanon Reporter

At the behest of someone who clearly wanted to see great harm (or humiliation perhaps) come to me, I recently attended a workout session at CrossFit 180. Before I continue it’s best to clarify the word ‘workout’ to me is most often defined by any work done outside the house. This could be, but is not limited to, paying the kid across the street to mow the yard, standing outside while thinking about painting the window trim and walking around with rake in hand trying to humor the neighbor who accuses me of waiting for my leaves to blow into his yard.

You guessed right, I don’t work out. That’s why attending CrossFit was so out of the ordinary. CrossFit 180 is a local gym run by Brad and April Garner and while the exterior may appear unassuming trust me when I say the interior is a beehive of activity. For those not in the know, CrossFit is a new exercise program sweeping across the nation faster than Cold-War-Era- conversion-van-sized space-junk that has survived re-entry and is now careening towards Earth on a path left overtly vague and unspecified by NASA.

To learn more I did some in depth research. This included googling “CrossFit” and clicking on the first result. It was here I discovered the CrossFit creed: “…a fit person requires proficiency in each of ten general physical skills”. The program is currently employed as a training regimen for over 2,000 gyms worldwide, several fire departments and law enforcement academies as well as various branches of military service including the Canadian Forces and the Royal Danish Life Guards (not a joke).

One testament to its popularity is the fact there are CrossFit competitions held on every continent except Antarctica. And, given the enduring spirit of man, the grand opening of that gym on the South Pole can’t be far away.

In the interest of full disclosure, I learned most of this by leaning heavily upon the CrossFit Wikipedia page. And while Wikipedia isn’t considered a 100% reliable source, even in the world of the part-time pretend media, it was still interesting to discover that Long John Silver’s is a flagship sponsor of CrossFit and the origins of the program are traced back to the Girl Scouts of America.

At CrossFit 180, Brad helped me tailor the activities to meet my individual needs. This involved scaling my workout which basically meant doing less to reduce the stress on my muscles. Brad assured this was a good idea considering I was a beginner, and I agreed because doing less is generally what my body has grown accustomed to anyway.

There were several stations with various activities- jumprope, box jumps, sit ups, jumping pull ups, lunges, wall ball; all designed with the clear intention of toning muscles while making you question your decision to attend CrossFit to begin with. It was a complete workout, in fact the only station I could possibly suggest adding would be one with a Lazy Boy, television, bowl of potato chips, 2 liter of soda pop and vat of gravy complete with ladle.

All kidding aside, CrossFit employs the strategy of variation while also playing upon the human urge to compete. However its effectiveness lies in the unique ability to create a pack mentality. For at CrossFit 180 it’s not just you versus an exercise bike in a stubborn battle of wills, rather you and a group of people push each other to reach higher. The staff was friendly, the workout rewarding and the varied activities ensure your days at CrossFit 180 will be far from mundane.
Find out more at www.crossfit180.com

© 2011 Eric Walker Williams