CrossFit NYC v. CrossFit Metropolis: First Impressions

From February to early April, I worked out a lot at CrossFit NYC.  It wasn't always easy, but I got hooked on the short, intense, varied workouts.  (Want to catch up on my CrossFit adventures thus far?  Click here.)  I wanted to keep going, but I had a real problem: logistics.  CrossFit NYC is located on 26th between 6th and Broadway, which is pretty out of the way for me.  It's also not someplace I could shower before work. (They have showers, but...)  That meant that I was going at 8:30 at night, if I could get out of work in time.  That's fine once in a while, but doesn't work for me on a regular basis.  The late dinners, late nights and rough mornings were getting to me.

Enter CrossFit Metropolis, conveniently located on 84th St. between 1st and 2nd.  When I started at CrossFit NYC, I had no idea CrossFit Metropolis even existed.  That's partly because it's new; it opened in November, 2009.  When my membership ended at CrossFit NYC, I knew I had to give Metropolis a shot.

I started on Monday and, so far, it's been awesome.  Monday through Thursday, CrossFit Metropolis offers one morning and four evening sessions.  I've been going to the 6:30 am classes.  The time is perfect for me, and the morning regulars are great and very welcoming. 

I've only been three times so far, but here are the key differences I've observed between CrossFit NYC and CrossFit Metropolis:

CrossFit NYC has several instructors, so sometimes there are a bunch of different things going on (i.e. an Elements class going on simultaneous to a workout of the day ("WOD"), or an Express WOD session that overlaps with a regular WOD).  CrossFit Metropolis is a one man show.  All WODs are run by owner Eric Love, which means there's only one class going at a time.  Naturally, the schedule at CrossFit Metropolis is more limited and, whereas NYC is bustling with activity at times, Metropolis is a little more chill.

CrossFit NYC follows the "main site", www.Crossfit.com.  This means that they do the same workout that CrossFitters around the world are doing on any given day.  It also means that they follow the "three days on, one day off" schedule, and each week the rest day(s) fall on different days.  CrossFit Metropolis doesn't follow the main site; Eric picks the WODs.  It's also closed on Fridays, and offers different kinds of workouts on the weekend including a "Kryptonite Hour" on Saturdays and a "Free Newbie Intro Session" on Sundays.  (I haven't yet been on a weekend, so I'm not really sure what the Kryptonite Hour entails.  I'll let you know.)  I'm pretty psyched about this.  Since I do more than just CrossFit, it's great that the weeks are consistant and, at least on Fridays, I won't have to feel like I'm missing something if I run or spin or hit up Physique 57.

At CrossFit NYC, most of the instructors put you through a prescribed warmup, and sometimes those feel as intense as the WODs themselves.  One of my favorite CrossFit NYC instructors, Sara, once had us do three rounds of 12 pull-ups  (I think) and 20 walking lunges.  It wasn't technically "for time," but there wasn't a lot of time to get it done before the WOD, either.  After the WODs, they would have us cash out, which usually meant working on one or two skills.  At CrossFit Metropolis, Eric has us warm up for the first 15 minutes on our own, so it's up to me to make that time count.  So far, there have been no cash outs at the end.  Overall, the workouts have felt a little less intense because of this.

Lastly, CrossFit NYC has been around for a while, so a lot of people there have been doing it for years.  You see some pretty insane athletes.  My impression is that a greater percentage of people at CrossFit Metropolis are newer to CrossFit. 

It was tough to leave CrossFit NYC.  So far, though, I'm really happy with decision to switch to CrossFit Metropolis.  I like working out in the morning, and Eric is awesome.  Incidentally, he's also quite the shutterbug.  I've made the website a few times already.  Here and here.

These are just my quick and dirty, off the cuff impressions.  I will, of course, keep you posted as time goes on.

-Gym Belle-

My First Chipper at CrossFit NYC

I did my first chipper at CrossFit NYC today.  A chipper is any series of exercises done once through for time.  This particular series was the one done at the CrossFit Games sectionals this weekend in New Jersey.  (Yep.  CrossFitting is also a competitive sport.)  The chipper went as follows:

30 Overhead Squats
30 Pull-ups (chest to bar)
30 Power Snatches
30 Feet to Bar
30 Sumo Deadlift High Pull
30 Air Squats
30 Kettlebell swings

(Videos of the moves can be found here.) 

At sectionals, competitors were cut off at 17 minutes.  In class today, we were told to aim for 25 minutes.  I came in at around 23 minutes, but I needed some serious modification to get there.  The prescribed weight for women at sectionals was 55 lbs for the squats, snatches and sumo deadlift high pulls and 16 kg for the kettlebell swings.  I used 21 lbs for the squats and the snatches, and 31 lbs for the sumo deadlift high pulls.  I went with a 12 kg kettlebell.  I also used a band (the blue one) for the pull-ups, and did knees to elbows instead of feet to bar.  Basically, the only thing I did as prescribed was the air squats! 

In retrospect, I should probably have had more weight on the lifts.  It was the first time that I'd done snatches as part of a timed workout, though, so I was nervous.  (I spent a lot of money putting my head through law school; I'd like to avoid clocking it with a bar!)  Also, my form on the overhead squats is terrible and I really want to get that better before I start adding on heavier plates. 

At the end of the workout, I was a little disappointed with myself.  Considering the light weights I used, I just didn't push hard enough in terms of speed.  I took too many breaks that were longer than necessary.  To be fair, I'm really still figuring things out.  There's a pretty steep learning curve in the beginning, both in terms of learning the skills and assessing your strength.

So how did it all play out at sectionals?  CrossFit NYC kicked some serious butt.  Sara Carr, who placed fourth overall for women, killed this workout in 12:34.  Congrats all the CrossFit NYC competitors at sectionals this weekend!  You guys are seriously inspirational.

-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-