CrossFit: I Sort of Feel Like Dying

I went to my first CrossFit class this morning. Exercising in a warehouse with PVC pipes made me feel a bit underwhelmed at first. The truth is, I was probably the only person in the room who really had never done any research into CrossFit at all. I've never seen the YouTube videos that everyone was talking about. The CrossFit program or whatever it is on ESPN that the instructor alluded to? Never heard of it. I smiled and nodded and went along with whatever.

Monica and me, excited about our CrossFit  adventure.

All I really knew was what I briefly read on the company's web site:

CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

That was enough for me.

So, the instructor, Nate, started us with stretches with PVC pipes, as I said. No big deal, right? Not right. The stretches were mid-level intense and reminded me that I seriously need to visit a yoga class. Next came some squats and lunges, and a few deadlifts with the same pipe. Easy peasy mac and cheesy, as they say. Then came the WOD. For the uninitiated, that means "Workout of the Day." As he was showing these to us,  they looked pretty easy. Squats with a 14 pound medicine ball, some kind of chest exercises with rings, sit-ups, and kettle bell deadlifts. No problem. Except... there was a problem.

The problem is that when you're doing these exercises as quickly as possible in one minute rotations, your arms and legs fall off. By the last round of squats, I honestly could barely lift the medicine ball. I have been doing overhead presses with 15 pound weights, but this was a whole new ballgame for me. It was rough. I did them, but it wasn't pretty.

As we walked out, I felt shaky, but fine. Now, several hours later, I still feel fine, but my body is very tired. The instructor suggested we rest tomorrow. I think that is a pretty good idea.

In the end, my expectations of CrossFit were not well-formed, so it is hard to say if they were met or not. However, my hope of getting in an extreme workout were met and then some. I'll be returning to CrossFit. Will you?