CrossFit! This word evokes such passion from people. It seems that the fitness world is buzzing about it with both accolades and negativity.  The sheer mention of CrossFit in a group of people and you would think we were discussing some major world issue-everyone seems to have a very firm opinion.  You either love it or turn your nose up at it as a fad, am I right!? I've been curious about CrossFit for about a year now and a new location(I mean "box") opened up near me.  I walked by it day after day wondering if it would kick my ass or if I would dominate-I had to know and form my own opinion.

It all started with an email I got saying, "Welcome to the Box".  Well, first of all I had to laugh a little because it just sounded ridiculous. My first thought was, why don't they just call it a gym? My skepticism was kicking in but I was committed to giving it a chance. I went to a class everyday for 5 days straight and despite the funny names they use, I'm still going and it's been 3 weeks!

I've been working out hard for about a year now and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little cocky going to my first couple of workouts.  Although my conditioning has proven to help me tremendously I'm not as strong as I thought.  After working out solo in the gym for so long I wanted feedback and someone to push me.  When you do CrossFit that's exactly what you get-a big slice of humble pie with a lot of positive reinforcement and coaching...I'm hooked! For anyone who has played organized sports you know that rush you get when you learn a new skill and just keep practicing until it starts to click? CrossFit gives me that same high and sense of accomplishment.  I have never been to another CrossFit gym but so far my experience has been great.  The coaches are knowledgeable, supportive and really love to teach.  On top of the support I've gotten from the coaches the other people in class are just as great! You become a team for an hour and help each other to accomplish things you never thought possible.   Somehow the words "up, up, up!" are all you need to crank out that last squat.

A few things I've learned as a newbie~

-Your hands will get raw! I could barely grip the bar by the end of week one and the sores on my hands were terrible.  Be ready to learn how to maintain calluses and prevent ripping(yes I said ripping).  Get ready to start sleeping in mittens with Vaseline on your hands-SO SEXY!
-You don't have to wear tiny booty shorts, tall socks and a bandanna like all the pictures show. At least at my gym that isn't the standard YET(sorry boys). So for those ladies not into letting it all hang out your regular capris will be just fine!

-Yes odd acronyms are used and you won't know what they all are(I still don't) but you will start to feel cool using them.

-You will gain confidence and feel bad ass.

-If you are competitive you will really love it.  Although it's all friendly competition I love comparing my performance to the other athletes, duh.  I'm on Wodify (a website that we all record and post our results) all day refreshing my screen to see what the other athletes did!

Despite bruises, skin being rubbed raw where I never thought possible and hands as rough as sand paper I keep going back for more! Hitting PR's and swinging from rings will do that to some people.  I find myself logging on to Facebook every night  to see what the WOD(workout of the day) for the next day will be, it's so exciting! So to all the haters-keep on hating that's fine...but you should probably come check it out.  You may just find that you love The Box.

Check out Tabata Times for great articles about CrossFit and functional training!