I remember a few years ago when I was a CrossFit watcher. I would sit in my office & look at the website every day. I would read the workouts with their silly names & wonder what these crazy people were thinking. Who does 100 pullups?

I was very scientifical (I know - it was a joke) in my approach to training. Everything had to be periodized (nerd word) & had to be from the NSCA’s (National Strength & Conditioning Association) handbook or journals. I loved to be able to find research to back up what I was doing & even more to prove that what someone else was doing was wrong. I looked at the CrossFit workouts, smirked, & thought that these guys didn’t understand anything about how to write a program.

One day I happened upon a little You Tube video that I have used on this website more than once. It was the video of Josh Everett & Greg Amundson doing “Fran” (don’t worry that’ll be the last mentioning of her name). That was a life changing moment for me - I thought I would finally stop watching & give CrossFit a try. Heck, it looked easy in the video. 9 minutes later, hands ripped open & bloody, ego crushed; I had begun to understand why people did these workouts. You don’t do 100 pullups because someone did a study & proved how much better it will make you - you do it because you’re trying to accomplish something that other people, including you at times, can’t do.

Honestly, you want to see the looks on people’s faces when you tell them what you did for your workout today. You want to scoff at their eliptical & step class. You love explaining to your co-workers why your hands look like that. Those of you who actually need this kind of fitness for your line of work, feel even more like warriors when you put on those uniforms & lace up those boots. After you’ve done 100 chin-over-the-bar pullups in less than 10 minutes, you officially breath fire.

I remember my friend Anthony talking about this when we were first beginning our CrossFit pilgrimage. We had just done a workout named “Angie” that starts with 100 pullups. He was saying how it felt so good to walk around all day knowing that he could do 100 pullups, just because.

Obviously the physical efficacy of CrossFit is indisputable, but - in my opinion - the mental effect is just as potent. To know that you can do 100 pullups, 100 pushups, 100 situps, & 100 squats in as little at 12 minutes, has to make every other little thing going on around you feel more manageable. What’s the first rule of Fight Club?

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WOD 080321

10 Box Jumps

10 Burpees

10 KB Snatches 24/16kg

10 Dumbell Cleans 35/20lb

5 rounds for time.