Why I'm Already Obsessed with CrossFit and You Should Be Too
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Two weeks ago I started CrossFit with Fer and some friends. I've been hearing about CrossFit forever and I'm sure you have too. Generally people who do it are slightly obsessed and like to vocally advocate this type of working out. Well now I know why and I'm proud to say I am in the CrossFit cult!
We're lucky we live in walking distance to Mobius CrossFit where we started with fundamentals classes and have now graduated to regular CrossFit classes. My body is feeling the burn everyday! It's definitely one of the best workouts I've had. To show you why I love it I've detailed a list of why you can't help but become obsessed with CrossFit:
1. A different workout every day
Each day you get a warm up, the WOD (workout of the day), and a warm down. Sometimes the warm up is harder than the WOD, sometimes the WOD kills the warm up, you just never know what it's going to be like! The funnest part is looking up what the WOD is each day and trying to figure out all the exercises. I like that there is no leg day, bicep day, back day, etc. It's a full body workout everyday with different exercises that keep you on your toes.
2. A solid workout in one hour
When I was going to the gym, I used to be there for about 1.5 to 2 hours minimum each day. You have to get in your cardio, lifting, and ab exercises, plus all the waiting between sets and for people to get off the machines you want to use. CrossFit classes start at the top of the hour and finish exactly one hour later, and let me tell one hour is enough! There's no planning your workout either, the workouts are already planned for you - easy peasy. You show up, you get a hard workout, and you go home. It makes it harder to procrastinate or skip a workout. All you have to do is make yourself go, and trust me after the first few times, you will want to go!
3. Coaches who root for you
Being beginners I must say our CrossFit coaches are very understanding and supportive. They don't mind if they have to explain something several times (or in two languages). They go out of their way to make sure each person in the class understands the exercise before we move on. They are always encouraging us to do our best and they get us excited about class each day. The first day I went, I told them about my bad soccer knees (5 surgeries) and they have helped me modify exercises when I need to and recognize when I can and can't do something. The coaches are helpful and encouraging and I really like how they want you to do your best!
4. Energy goes up, stress levels go down
Obviously there are tons of benefits to working out and especially doing CrossFit. After just two weeks my boyfriend and I have noticed that we feel more energized during the day and also after CrossFit classes. It's easier to go to sleep at night and not as hard to wake up in the morning. Best of all, I've noticed that my stress and anxiety levels about everyday life are down. CrossFit gives us something fun and rewarding to look forward to everyday.
5. You're part of a team
During the CrossFit classes you're part of a larger group and it's fun to cheer each other on and even compete against one another. It's exciting to see which group leaders will finish first, who does the most rounds, or uses the most weight. After each class the coaches write these stats down which gives the class an interesting atmosphere of competition. Additionally, I feel a sense of camaraderie with my fellow classmates and we jointly feel a sense of relief and pride after successfully finishing a class. We clap and high five afterwards, happy that we made it through another class.
I still consider myself only a beginner CrossFitter and I'm excited to learn more as I become an expert. I know that I still have a long way to go before learning all the movements and lingo. For now I'll look forward to seeing my WOD and experience my body getting stronger. I'm excited that I finally tried CrossFit and that it was just as much fun as all the CrossFit obsessed people say it is!
Lesson here: CrossFit is a healthy obsession and one of the only cults I approve of! Go try it. You won't regret it.