XFNA

Bored with your monotonous workout routine? Feel you need something extra? Want to add something extra? Or are you just plain crazy? Try Cross Fit.

Cross Fit (XFNA) is a group of psycho masochistic people who love to sweat, burn and make their muscles scream bloody murder. BADASS, right?

Definitely!

A few weeks ago, I found a link to Cross Fit North Arlington (XFNA) on a local rock climbing gyms website. The very first picture you'll see on their site is a huge man pushing a monster truck tire. Scared yet? Oh, it gets worse. I watched a few videos and looked at more pictures of people laying on the ground, faces red, sweat pouring out of every pore and orifice on the human body. intimidated yet? No? There were men and women of all ages, pulling, pushing, tugging, stretching, bending, pressing, running, carrying, dragging, and climbing anything and everything that challenges your body. Between monster truck tires to kettle balls, dumbbells, press bars, ropes, benches, medicine balls, fire hoses and beyond. If it's movable, you're moving it. Nervous yet? No? you should be. If you think it sounds easy, I'll pay for your first visit and if you're not sweating, and your muscles aren't begging you to stop I'll pay for an entire month for you to do this.

Anyway, so here's my story.

I dropped in for a single session one night and told the instructor I wanted her to make me cry. Told her I was bored with my monotonous workout routine and I wanted something challenging. She laughed at me and said "You want to cry? I'll make sure you cry."

Oh Shit! I thought. I was not expecting that.

Let me say, the warm up on the board seemed easy, a few stretches here and there, some push ups, some lunges, some jumping jacks.. cool no biggie. Little did I know my entire life I had been doing everything wrong. All those lunges, squats, push ups and yoga poses I had learned in athletics throughout middle school and high school... needless to say the coaches were a little bit off.

I was taught to do a perfect squat but sitting your butt down as if you're sitting in a chair but only have your thighs parallel 90 degrees to the ground, knees cant go past your toes, and then stand back up. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!

At XFNA, you go into pooping squat. You get as far down as you possibly can without having your hamstrings touch your calves. That's pretty dang low for those of us who have long legs.

So after learning the proper way to do a squat we did this:

Squats, push ups, tricep dips, squats, jumps, roll overs, dead lifts, lunges, jumps, squats, push ups... you get the point. For 45 minutes straight. You think it's easy still? This would make Jackie Warner cry.

After the 45 minute session I didn't know if I was going to pass out, throw up, pass out again, or even be able to get off the ice cold cement floor to throw up.

I was dead. And very very intimidated.

But I loved it! So I signed up for a month, two class per week.

The instructor warned me about DOMS, Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. She said I probably wouldn't be sore tomorrow but the day after, it would hit me.

The next morning I woke up and could hardly move. I was terrified for the DOMS to kick in the next day.

Let me tell you, that handicapped rail in the bathroom is a Godsend.

The following day I woke up and could hardly move again! This time I did some stretching in my bed before I got up. Which helped but still needed the handicap rail for the toilet.

Finally 3 days after my first workout at Cross Fit I regained full mobility and flexibility only to get my butt kicked later that night for my second session.

Dead- again. DOMS again. Handicap rail a Godsend.


As of now, I've been attending XFNA for 3 weeks. Everyday is a new surprise workout that utilizes my body's own weight and anything I can push, pull, drag, lift or carry.

If you're curious as to what our workout consist of, here's last nights work out:

Warm up: 2 rounds

15 pass throughs (take a pvc pipe spread hands more than shoulder width apart pull it over head and down to your lower back behind you without removing hands or fingers- pull it back over to the front. It's a stretch, feels amazing!)
200 meter run
15 push ups
10 forward rolls
30 sec downward dog stretch
30 sec stork stretch

Workout: 4 rounds

100 meter medicine ball carry (25pounds)
100 meter bear crawl
100 meter lunges

Sounds simple right? WRONG! I double dog dare you to try it. My legs and butt were on FIRE! I didn't want to go to sleep last night for fear of the muscle soreness I would feel this morning. :/ Yeah it hurts. Bad. It hurts in places I didn't even know muscles existed in that part of my body.

Anyway,

I've never been happier with my workout. Of course I still try to make it to the YMCA every now and as my one hour vacation from work, school and daily life.

But if there's every any one thing I recommend to a person who wants to get fit. Join Cross Fit.

"It's better to die standing then live on your knees."

To see some real results, my instructor told me try this "nutritional readjustment" called the Paleolithic diet. I am going to blog about my experience with the Paleo-diet starting now.