Hey guys, I just wanted to do some reposting from my blog about my experiences training Crossfit for two months and still being alive
http://apx808.blogspot.com/2013/11/two-months-into-crossfit.htmlToday I wanted to share with you my experience training Crossfit.
I did weightlifting for a long time, but it started to become a pain in the ass to go to the gym, it was so
boring I wanted to go home as soon as I crossed the door.
So I decided to take a break for a month, after that month I came back, and guess what? I just got as
bored as before, so I decided to quit.
I knew I had to do something for my body, but I didn't know what, and it was then when I found out
about Crossfit.
Being the information consuming machine I am, I started reading all I could find about it, and
discovered that there is people who absolutely love it and people who absolutely hate it.
People who hate it says its because Crossfiters forget about form just to get more repetitions, that
they push their bodies to unhealthy extremes and that because of that injury risk is bigger.
Choosing the right Box (Gym), knowing your body and training thoughtfully you can avoid all those
problems and enjoy the results of training in "Constantly varied, functional movements, performed at
high intensity in order to increase work capacity over broad time and modal domains".
Most Boxes offer a free one week trial, so I took it.
My first day I was gladly surprised by how welcoming and cohesive the group was, I found the "Box
rules" most of them were funny, but I remember one saying "If your partner faints or vomit, don't
worry, he is just resting", and then there was a big sign saying "Leave your ego at the door".
After stretching, the professor explained the WOD (Workout Of the Day) that are the exercises we
are going to do that day, the WOD changes everyday and you never know it until you get into the
box, and usually last between 15 and 30 minutes, depending on the specific WOD and your fitness
level.
Usually in a WOD you do an exercise and when the involved muscles are so tired you need to rest
you move to a different exercise, that way the muscles can recover but you cardiorespiratory system
doesn't.
Check this short video to see what a WOD is about:
In my first week of training I was feeling dizzy in the middle of the WODs, other times it felt like I
was training with a plastic bag in my head, even as I breathed through my mouth and nose it seemed
that the incoming air couldn't provide all oxygen my body needed.
Two months later it's the same LOL, well kinda...
The big difference is that I noticed my cardio improved a lot, also my strength, as I started doing the
exercises with more weight and started training 4 days a week instead of just 2 and my beer fueled
belly started to disappear even as I gained 4 lbs, probably muscle mass.
But the idea of Crossfit is to take your body to YOUR limit every WOD, so even as you get better
and stronger if you push yourself you'll find you run out of breath and go to failure in the lasts reps.
Also, besides training your body you'll train your mind, it's hard to continue when it screams you to
stop, your muscles hurt, your lungs beg for oxygen and your heart beats like a machine gun going
cyclic, only being focused in accomplishing your goals will allow you to finish.
Crossfit isn't for everyone, you need an special personality type to survive it, but the results you can
appreciate in your body and mind are well worth the price.
