Tired of your treadmill? Try Crossfit!

A21

Ashleigh VanHouten

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Ever wonder how fit you would be if you put half as much effort into working out as you did into making excuses? Enough already!

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You never know what type of workout you’ll get on any given day in the Crossfit program.

There's a program out there that can silence your excuses forever - and get you fit and strong in the process.

The program is called Crossfit, and while not yet mainstream, the trend has exploded, growing from a couple gyms in California in 2001 to over 1,000 gyms worldwide, including five in New Brunswick alone.

Crossfit incorporates gymnastics and Olympic lifting, with an aim towards functional fitness (movements that you need in everyday life; lifting, pushing, pulling).

This fitness trend has gradually evolved from a way to get fit into an end in itself, now boasting an annual Crossfit Games competition in California every summer and countless smaller competitions around the world. Better yet, while the workouts are incredibly intense and test every aspect of your fitness (strength, cardio, flexibility), they are easily scaled and therefore accessible to all fitness levels.

The constant variation and rep/time-based workouts allow you to constantly improve without getting bored. With a workout schedule of three days on, one day off, and no obvious pattern to the workouts, you are always surprised by what comes next.

For example, the first day of a cycle might be 4 x 400 meter sprints; the next day might be 5 x 3 reps dead lift; and the final day in the cycle might be "Angie," a workout which consists of 100 pull ups, 100 pushups, 100 sit ups, and 100 squats. Take it from someone who crossfits: you will really appreciate your rest days!

Crossfit operates a bit like a global corporation, with an online headquarters (www.crossfit.com) that posts the "workout of the day." Most Crossfit gyms around the world follow this main site. The website posts videos of the different movements and workouts, hosts message boards, provides links to different affiliate gyms and upcoming certifications and seminars, and publishes a journal designed to support the Crossfit community detailing the theory, techniques, and practice.

Kevin, owner of Crossfit Moncton, explains the program this way: "We take natural movements that people do everyday (dead lift, squat, running) combine them in a lot of different ways, and do it at a high intensity. There's no routine, so you never become bored or reach a plateau."

Crossfit has been incorporated as a strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations teams and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide (including the Canadian military which was one of the first to adopt Crossfit as a training program). Crossfit is perfect for those who have always been athletic and competitive - people who played sports in high school and university, and no longer have an outlet for their competitive spirit.

The nature of the program allows you to constantly compete against yourself, beating your last workout by completing it faster or with more weight.

However, the Crossfit community is incredibly welcoming and supportive (what other gyms have group dinner parties, chat rooms, and t-shirts?) and is also perfect for a reformed couch potato who requires a bit more excitement than jogging on a treadmill for 30 minutes a day.

Kevin Wood started CrossFit Moncton on July 5, 2008 at a school playground. In October of that same year, he moved inside to his current location at 94 Rideout St. in the Moncton Industrial Park. Kevin is Crossfit Level 1 certified, enabling him to train others. He has attended a number of other certifications and is flying to Toronto in October for yet another "" this time with his 60-year-old mother, who started Crossfit last November. Kevin says Crossfit can't be compared to a regular gym.

"We don't have a bunch of machines or TV's hanging from the ceiling. Crossfit Moncton is good old-fashioned hard work. There's no magic pill or quick fix to getting fit."

As someone who has tried both conventional gyms and Crossfit, I think that in today's world of gimmicks and flashy distractions, a room full of barbells and pull-up bars might be just what we need. When I asked how he deals with people being intimidated by Crossfit, Kevin said, "The biggest obstacle for people is getting over their fear and getting through the door. Once they do, they see that they've made the right choice. People see huge gains in their health and fitness, and it doesn't have to take two hours a day. I have a client who was unable to do a pull-up two months ago. Now he's doing 25...in a row!"

For more information on Crossfit Moncton or to book a free class, email Kevin crossfitmoncton@hotmail.com or visit www.crossfitmoncton.com.