(typed in December 2010, but placed here as I want the blog to be chronological)
So back in the spring my buddy Scott in Miami starts telling me about this insane place where our buddy Gerson runs until he drops, works out with weights, and does handstand pushups...HANDSTAND PUSHUPS!! "WTF was he thinking" I thought to myself. I mean I was happy as a clam working out sometimes twice daily back then...doing up to an hour on the elliptical machine then fumbling my way through the circuit workout at Planet Fitness (i.e. a dance club with exercise machines near my home in NJ).
The months roll on and Scott keeps telling me about this place, called "Crossfit", where his daily workouts brutalize him into a pulp of heavy-breathing sweaty madness. I have to admit it was kind of annoying...every day he calls and tells me about these freakish workouts that have him doing ridiculous routines of high-rep, high-intensity exercises. Jesus dude, you're not in the army...take it down a notch!
Then I saw Rosemary's pictures...
I used to cross paths every once in a while with Rosemary Mackintosh, back when I had time to follow one of my favorite bands around the country. Then one night in October 2010 I came across a photo album on Facebook that showed pictures of "Crossfit Tribe". It clicked that this Crossfit was no fanatical Miami thing. This was an international movement, one that obviously had great impact on Rosemary, and maybe one I should contemplate for myself. I mean these people were RIPPED. How could I hope to ever keep up? But I think I knew almost immediately I had to at least try...
The best thing I ever did for myself was take the leap of faith to start "Elements", a set of introductory Crossfit classes at the "Black Box" - also known as Crossfit NYC. My elements classes were from October 25th to November 11th. After that I was hooked.
Since Elements ended I've been going 3-4 days a week, getting up at 4:00 AM so I can hop the 5:00 train to NYC. It's the only time of day that works for my schedule, and frankly I LOVE starting out my day with a heavy workout. Classes have been great and I think I might even be more addicted to Crossfit than my buddy Scott (who I have to thank for all of this).
The best thing about Crossfit is the supportive atmosphere. Everyone from the trainers to the other Crossfitters are always there to help me through the last few rounds of my workouts (naturally most of them have long completed theirs before I even hit the home stretch). Everybody answers questions, and there's a tangible shared excitement among everybody there.
As with any successful training program, there is a huge nutritional component that goes hand in hand with the exercise. I'm excited to have added the Paleo Diet to my daily regimen, a favorite among hardcore Crossfitters, and so far an absolutely amazing experience. I'll save those details for the next post though.
It's great to be here...much, much more to come...
peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment