The CrossFit NYC Kool-Aid

After my two-week trial at CrossFit NYC ended, I decided I wanted to give it more of a shot, so I signed up for a one month membership.  It's amazing how time flies.  Now I'm two weeks in, and I'm really starting to drink the CrossFit kool-aid.

There's a lot about CrossFit that rocks.  It's a cost-effective way to lift heavy weights with knowlegable supervision.  I'm not going to deadlift 143 lbs on my own at Equinox.  At $200 a month, it's not cheap, but that gets you training seven days a week.  At Equinox, and most other NYC gyms, $200 covers two sessions.  Also, you can't do olympic lifting at most gyms because their insurance doesn't cover it.  I suppose I don't need to be doing olympic lifts, but it's kind of badass.

CrossFit takes the brainwork out of deciding what to do at the gym.  Each day there's a workout of the day ("WOD") and that's what everybody does.  At the same time, though, you have tremendous ownership over your workout in a way that you don't in most group classes.   You need to decide if you're going to do the WOD at the prescribed weights and reps, or if you need to scale it down.  You rack your own weights or set up whatever needs to be set up, and you figure out any modifications you might need.  The trainers will help you figure things out if you ask, of course, but ultimately, you're responsible for your workout. 

At the end of each and every CrossFit WOD, you have a score.  It's a time, a certain number of reps, or a maximum weight.  It's something that you can measure and strive to beat the next time a similar WOD rolls around in the schedule.  For type A types like me, this is awesome.  The intensity of the WODs is addictive as well.  Lately, if I'm not drenched in sweat, or gasping till the point where my throat hurts after a workout, it seems kinda lame.

The environment at CrossFitNYC is really supportive.  People cheer each other on; they become friends.  And, while I tend to struggle with the heavy lifting workouts, I'm not half bad at other things.  Tonight for example, we finished with tabata sit-ups.  The same guys who had been doing thrusters with bars twice as heavy as mine during the WOD barely made it through.  After a year of Physique 57 and, well, 31 years of being a chick, I can do sit-ups till the cows come home.  My push-ups also rock.   

In short, I'm really enjoying CrossFit NYC, and I'm considering sticking with it after this month ends.  I do have reservations, though.  First, CrossFit NYC is on 26th between Broadway and 6th.  I live on the upper east side and I work in midtown, so this is not convenient.  There are showers, but not ones I'd really use, so I end up going at night.  After the 8:30 class, I'm totally wired.  I don't like eating dinner at 10, and I hate having to choose between working out and socializing.  It's just messing with my routine.  I've recently learned that there's actually a CrossFit affiliate on the UES, CrossFit Metropolis.  That gym offers 6:30 am classes so that might be the answer.

My other reservation is that CrossFit tends to take over your life, or at least your workout life.  The CrossFit main site advocates a three days on, one day off, three days on, one day off schedule.  Most CrossFitters that I've spoken to believe that not only is this regimen sufficient, but also that anything more is over-training that will ultimately cannibalize you efforts.  I really like CrossFit, but I also like running, spinning, Physique 57 and doing whatever fun new workout I feel like doing.  (I drink a lot of kool-aid.)  Since the WODs are different each day, though, I feel like I'm missing something if I don't do CrossFit.  CrossFit Metropolis doesn't follow the main site schedule exactly, so this really may be the answer.  I'm going to need to investigate.

I'll keep you posted.

-Gym Belle-

How Fitness Bloggers Get Their Move On

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending Fitbloggin', a conference for fitness bloggers organized by the fabulous Roni of RonisWeigh.  We kicked off Saturday morning with a 5K run or 1 mile walk.  Compared to the Disney Princess Half Marathon I ran earlier this month, the 5K was cake.  And thanks to the bread factory we ran past, it smelled a bit like cake, too.  Observe:

Sunday morning, there were three back-to-back classes to choose from.  Nut that I am, I took all three.  We started the day with a little yoga led by Heather Ashare from DietsInReview.  I need to get my butt back to yoga pronto.  I was so, so stiff.  Considering all the CrossFit and running I've been doing, I guess that's not a surprise, but I felt pretty silly.

Next up, Jessica Smith took us through 30 minutes worth of 10 Minute Solutions.  10 Minute Solutions is a line of video workouts and the name pretty much says it all.  I almost skipped this one because it sounded kind of gimmicky and because women from workout videos tend to be ever so slightly annoying.  I'm glad I went.  10 Minute Solutions was a legit workout.  We did squats, push ups, lunges, tricep push ups, mud crawls - all the basics that really work.  The workouts were fast-paced and seemed really efficient.  After 30 minutes worth, we were pretty tired.  I have no idea how she comes across on DVD, but in person, Jessica was lovely and great instructor.  10 Minute Solutions gave me two DVDs, Ultimate Boot Camp and KockOut Body, which comes with adorable pink weighted gloves (yay, swag!), so I'll let you know how those are soon.

I'm glad I stuck it out all morning, because they saved the best for last: Sensei Guillermo Gomez's Martial Fusion class.  Martial Fusion is a combination of cardio kickboxing and latin dance.  Jab, cross, cha cha cha.  Sure, it's silly, but it's really, really fun and Guillermo has a lot of personality.  He teaches in Florida and has a series of Martial Fusion DVDs as well.  Sadly, he ran out of swag.  I don't know if this one would be as much fun at home in my living room, but I may need to find out.

I'll keep you posted.

-Gym Belle-

Bosu Breakout Breakdown

All I knew about Bosu Breakout was that it was a conditioning class involving the Bosu ball.  But really, what more did I need to know?  The Bosu makes everything fun. 

If you're not familiar with the Bosu, it's basically a big rubber ball that's been sliced in half.  Some exercises are done with the curved part up, some with the flat part up; hence the name, Bosu, which is a truncation of "both sides up."  There are lots of different ways to work with a Bosu, but most commonly it's used to provide an unstable surface.  If you stand on either side, you need to engage your core to balance and keep from falling off.

I had been wanting to try Bosu Breakout for a while, but 8:30 am on Sundays is rarely ideal, even though Equinox is just down the block.  I have no idea why I was awake in time this weekend, but I was, so I went.

The class was solid.  We didn't do as many fun Bosu tricks as I would have liked, but I got a good workout.  We did a lot of weighted squats, lunges, bicep curls etc., all using the Bosu to test our balance.  I worked with a 12 lb bar, and 5 and 8 lb free weights.  The music was somewhat lacking, but the instructor, Terrell Pruitt, had incredible energy, so I barely noticed. 

Bosu Breakout was fun, and I'd totally go back.  While I'll was there, though, my thoughts kept drifting to CrossFit.  More on that soon.

-Gym Belle-