The circuit that changed my opinion
I’m not one to discourage people from changing their lives and getting fit. But, as a long-standing member of the fitness community, I’ve always been pretty skeptical of CrossFit.
The guiding principle of the CrossFit business model is to engage people in high-intensity, functional exercises. To me, that concept had always sounded really good on paper, but having watched people I know go through CrossFit, I had my reservations. The competition seemed quite fierce at times, to the point of being dangerous for the participant. The focus on high reps and completing the workout at whatever cost made me wary of it.
When a friend of mine approached me about attending an introductory class, I couldn’t turn it down.
My style of fitness is focused around many of the same lifts that are done in CrossFit, but I focus on high weight, low-rep work. And I work out alone, usually very early in the morning when only a few other people are at the gym. To say I was apprehensive for what I understood to be a hyper-competitive, high-rep, lots-of-screaming, volume-up-to-11 group class would have been an understatement.
CrossFit, one of the most recent fitness trends, is put to the test when a true skeptic of the circuit-build regimen takes an introductory class, and ends up surprised.
As we walk in to the workshop-turned-gym, two other people were there before us, sweating, panting and looking like aspiring body builders. They were both about three metres up off the ground, racing each other to the ceiling, climbing up two large ropes suspended from the roof.
Once Mr. and Mrs. Atlas finished their workout, it was our turn.
I could have left at this point. My perceptions of this style of fitness were already completely changed. I hadn’t been prepared for the reserved intensity of this place. There’s a calm about it that is both unsettling and exciting.
My first 15 minutes were spent stretching and warming up. I hadn’t expected it, and after we were done, I felt completely confident that I wasn’t going to injure myself doing whatever had planned for us. We were then informed that our workout would include kettlebell lunges, box jumps, Russian twists (a core exercise), and dips done on gymnast’s rings. My ego took hold and I scoffed internally. I lift things that are heavier than all of their kettlebells combined – no way this is going to be challenging.
Wrong. Eight sets, 10 reps of each exercise, in a circuit, as fast as you can. Go.
By the fourth set, I was dying.
As I shut my brain off and kept lunging, jumping, and twisting, I realized I wasn’t being yelled at. There was no screaming, no pressure to do any of this. I could just stop right now if I wanted, but I didn’t. It was the soft, quiet encouragement I was getting from both my instructor and my classmates that kept me going, and I couldn’t possibly disappoint them. I joined in too, offering with what little breath I could muster encouragement to the other two in my group – who looked to be in just as rough shape as I was.
By the end of it, we were all thoroughly spent. There was a 10-minute cool down, and by then my mind had cleared from the exertion. I was awe-struck by how different the experience had been than I had anticipated.
Though I doubt I will continue with CrossFit, I encourage any of you looking for a good way to get very, very fit – and to have fun doing it – to check it out. It would seem that the most important thing to do is to spend some time around the gyms to see which one has an atmosphere most in agreement with your personality and style. Once you’re in, you’ll end up with functional strength in spades, a portfolio of new exercises, and a sense of belonging in a fantastic and misunderstood community of people that somehow seem to be simultaneously hardcore and relaxed, all at the same time.
Me, I’ll stick to my lonely little underground gym. But I’m at the very least, however, going to go and learn how to climb a rope.