All throughout my youth, I was an athlete. Even though the sport of focus changed, I maintained a high overall fitness level and always took pride in my strength and fitness. Eventually, adulthood set in and my fitness level slowly but surely declined. My problem was that I lacked the motivation to push myself through a high intensity workout after a long day at the office. On the weekends, a slow walk around the block seemed much more preferable to speed training on the local track.
Reclaim Your Peak Fitness
with Crossfit Training
I got to the point where I wanted to reclaim peak fitness, but I was only giving an average effort and becoming more and more trapped in the one-dimensional world of weight machines and
treadmills that didn’t satisfy my need for balance, flexibility and full-body exercises.
In order to kick myself into gear, I made my way to a local CrossFit gym. I wanted an intense workout, but I worried that maybe CrossFit was a little too extreme for me.
CrossFit is a strength and conditioning program that relies on intense workouts comprised of all-body exercises, many of them explosive. Many CrossFit classes will include kettle bell swings, pull ups, push ups, squats, dead weight lifts, plyo-jumps, jump roping and weight lifting. According to CrossFit.com, the program is used by military special operations units, champion martial artists and elite and professional athletes worldwide.
I am not in a military special operations unit; I am not a champion martial artist; and – sadly – my varsity women’s tennis in high school never launched me into the ranks of Wimbledon. As I went in for my first CrossFit class, I wondered if this gym was really made for people like me.
By the end of my first CrossFit workout, I was sweating, slightly dizzy and more than a little tempted to stagger outside and let go of my breakfast. In other words – I loved it.
It turned out that my class had more women than men and that every exercise in the routine could be modified so that each individual was working up to their capacity. That doesn’t mean the workout was easy. The entire point of the class was to shock the body by putting it through a variety of simple exercises that incorporated multiple muscle groups and challenged form, flexibility and balance.
The speed, repetitions and weight used in each exercise were all brutal, but by the time we completed the cool down, I was buzzing with natural energy and strength. By body was awake and ready to tackle the rest of the day. First order of business? Buy a CrossFit gym membership.
CrossFit Concerns
CrossFit is not for everyone. The workouts are punishing on purpose. If you don’t feel a little queasy by the end, then you’re not doing it right. The CrossFit program tries to play up the fact that the workouts are scalable, but I think, realistically, exercisers should have a healthy body that can handle loads on ankles, knees and back, and they should also have at least a basic foundation of fitness.
The program has a few other drawbacks. Equipment in most gyms is minimal, and workouts take place primarily in a class format. This is not the place to drop by for fifteen minutes on the elliptical machine. If you sign up for CrossFit, you are committing to go all out on a consistent basis. Weekend warriors need not apply. The class-based workout format means that you are getting a workout overseen by a certified CrossFit trainer, which can do wonders for motivation and form. It also means gym fees tend to be significantly higher than t big box gyms like LA Fitness, Golds or 24 Hour Fitness.
Another large concern about the CrossFit workout is that the nature and intensity of the program increases the risk of injury. There is a lot of heavy weights being lifted and pushed, and if a person slips or loses form, injuries can be switch and serious.
Despite these drawbacks, CrossFit is an attractive fitness program for those who want to get seriously in shape. If you have some weight to lose, a spare tire to kick, or, like me, want to recapture the glory days of youth, CrossFit will help you get yourself there.
Belly fat does not go away on its own. In order to change the way you look, you must make real changes in your life. CrossFit just might be the answer you are looking for.
