A taste of CrossFit

I have been intrigued by CrossFit for a while now, I wasn't 100% sure of what it would involve, but the curiosity in me only grew when I saw an advert on Facebook for a local CrossFit gym who were looking for 10 people to take part in a series of taster challenges over the course of January. Before I knew what I was doing, I had filled in the application form and was sat with my fingers crossed hoping to get the opportunity. 

CrossFit is high intensity workouts that are constantly varied to ensure that the body cannot and will not get used to the routine. After all tossing up the routine is essential when it comes to fitness, the last thing you want is for your body to get used to what you do. You don't want your body expecting what's to come day in and out, and routines can get a little bit exhausting if they aren't switched up from time to time.

I first heard about CrossFit through the Reebok CrossFit Championships that were organised by RPM Ltd. It looked fantastic and saw 500 elite athletes competing at nigh high impact events across Europe, with the Berlin final being broadcast live on Eurosport! 

In all honesty I wasn't sure what to expect when I pulled up at the new gym, I sat there in my car for a little while pondering how I felt about what I was about to do. Would I be able to keep up with everybody else? Should I just turn around and go home?  Thankfully the group was entirely made up of newbies so the reality was not as daunting as I had worried it might be.

That first session was incredible. To say it was hard work didn't do the work out justice but they had me doing things that I had longed to do, but had never had the guts to try in my usual gym through fear of having no clue what I was doing. I did my first ever box jumps on a 16" box, it might sound like nothing, but I was so proud of myself. As I looked around the room I noticed that no one else was jumping, they were standing up and standing down. I did bar bell squats and very quickly worked the weight up to 32.2kg (over 5 stone!) which beat my personal best.

The following weeks got harder, and unfortunately I managed to injure myself through a set of deadlifts. It felt like something tore in my abdomen, and for the next few weeks I had to take a break from training. The injury resulted in muscle spasms, something that I have never experienced before and I couldn't help thinking that it was worse than labour. I ended up at the doctors just to rule out any serious injuries and she confirmed that it was a strained muscle, and that I absolutely had to rest it to ensure that it healed up properly. 

That meant I couldn't return to finish the CrossFit sessions which I was pretty disappointed about. I love that I at least got to experience the nature of this sport and can completely see why it is so popular. Although I won't be carrying this training on long term, I will most certainly be taking aspects of this sport and applying it into my ongoing training routine.