CrossFit

The first rule about CrossFit is: Talk about CrossFit !

The second rule is: Don't talk about anything else !

The third rule is: When it's too heavy, drop the bar !!!! 

Since my life philosophy is dualism, I'm as good at breaking the rules as I am at following them. 

I'm therefore going to break the second rule and talk about the past for a very brief moment.

At my peak performance in my youth I could do 50 push-ups and 100 sit-ups in one rep. One of the many feats during those body formative years.

Years down the line, after two very heavy pregnancies, I was like a teddy bear with the stuffing hanging out. 

"We could do an anatomy lesson on you!" Had stated the nurses around me in a rather grim tone at the time. 

My core muscles had torn open like a zipper. This exacerbated the preexisting scoliosis and other back-related issues that had once disqualified me from joining the army.

It's difficult to really explain the tragedy of this outcome to someone who'd always treated her body like she'd treated her mind: Sparta ! 

It's equally difficult to explain the surgical interventions that followed one after the other. Suffice to say that I have been torn apart and put back together a few times. 

Alone, in the evenings, over a period of three years, I consistently followed my own fitness routine in an attempt to interlace the surgically repaired muscular tissue. Then one evening it felt too easy.

And it was from that moment that the CrossFit journey began.

Of course the push to start came from the one person whom I myself had pushed to reach his own potential.

It all comes around.

And this is CrossFit. 

It is a circle of advancement. Once you reach your own potential, you take the next person along with you so they can reach theirs and you head towards your next goal. And so the circle gets bigger.

The coach is at the center of all these concentric circles of advancement, keeping them all turning.

During a "WOD" (aka Workout of the Day) you're in a shared space of effort. There's music and you can hear it for a while. There are others and you can feel them around you for a while. However, once you get into that zone of visceral intensity, you are at war with yourself, and everything else fades into the background.

In CrossFit you push beyond your limits often, and when you don't, there's almost always someone there to remind you.

You follow their prompt like brothers in arms. 

But what is CrossFit ?

It's an hour of cardio, strength and gymnastics all rolled into one. Never the same combination. You train different parts of your body each time. There's usually a warm-up phase, which is often a lighter, slower version of the WOD, followed by an interval of strength training (weight bars, dumbbells...) usually increasing in weight at each rep. The last part is the WOD itself which is difficult to generalize because it's a custom workout based on all the above stated, but also not exactly. The WOD is fast-paced, harsh and targeted. You need to get a certain number of  reps and rounds done within the time limit. By the time you reach the final 30 seconds, you often feel like your chest is about to explode and you're drenched in sweat (you, the box, the floor !). You don't feel the pain until later ! To avoid it, don't stop (for too long)!

Why did I personally choose CrossFit ? 

Because I wanted to get rid of my back pain. That was my main motivation anyway. When I saw the muscles grow over the subsequent months, my motivation changed. What if my body had memory ? What if I could get back what I'd lost ? And so I pushed further...

Why should you do CrossFit ? 

Because it will challenge you to be better: mentally and physically !

I obviously recommend the CrossFit club I belong to: CrossFit AM 1420 (Av. de l'Industrie 26/9, 1420 Braine-l'Alleud)  

Here you will find a couple of excellent coaches: Adrien, Jonathan, Darren, Archie, Manon... 

You can bring your kids and teens along: There's Kids & Teens CrossFit offered as well !

You can have fun ! We're all in it together ! We talk, we laugh, we have other entertaining stuff on the side if you'd like to join !

There's an aspect of community: If you're on a trip somewhere and you don't want to wait for your Welcome Home WOD...you are often welcomed to drop in and work out at the CrossFit club in the country or city of your choice.

If you're in Bucharest, I recommend UZINA (Splaiul Unirii nr. 160, București 040041, Roumanie)

Next week, we're off to Geneva. We hope to squeeze in a WOD in-between all the family and other fun stuff.

Oh...and...yes...if it's too heavy: Drop the bar !

Don't swing it like I did...funny...not so funny :)))))