Monday, June 8, 2009
I arrived at Guerrilla Fitness right on time. 4:55 PM, ready for the 5:00 ass kicking. I thought I'd be able to shoot the breeze with Gregg and another Crossfit trainer, Bill, but I was rushed along right into the gym where an excess of 20 Crossfitters were warmed up and ready to start the WOD (Workout of the Day).
I gave the white board a cursory rundown.
"Strength Training:
Handstand Push-ups 3x Max
WOD
4 Rounds of the following complex:
Power-clean 135/95 lbs
Thruster
Back squat
Rack Jerk (from the shoulders, behind the neck)"
After noticing a few cute girls in the Monday 5:00 crowd, I thought I'd get my station set up and act like I knew what I was doing. "Easy now, bud." There was no sneaking by Gregg. "I know you're hustling through foundations, but you've got to learn these lifts first." Safety really is emphasized in Crossfit training, progress can only be made with proper form.
But come on, I know I had never done a wallball before last class, but I had done all the prescribed lifts of this WOD and was not going to be babied with a walk through in front of the ladies; "Nah, Greg, I got it."
He laughed, "Ok, then, start out on the handstand push-ups." Yea... I forgot about those. There was a brief demonstration at the beginning of class by Jason, one of Crossfit Montclair's best. Like an Olympic gymnast, he walked up to the wall, and did a front handspring so he was perfectly vertical: parallel with the wall. He then proceeded to do 15 handstand push-ups. It couldn't be that hard. I tried my best to emulate him. I got up just fine, and was able to do the first three like they were nothing. After that, what seemed like all the blood in my body rushed to my head. I felt like an engorged tick with the blood pressure accumulation that ensued in the reps that followed. But I desperately wanted to impress, so I managed eight reps and bopped back down. When I stood up after my reps, my face looked like boxer Joe Frazier's after the Thrilla in Manila. My eyes were swollen almost shut and my cheeks were bright red. "Dude, what is the deal with my face?"
Gregg laughed, "The handstand push-ups knocked you out, huh?" Funny, Gregg. "All the blood vessels around your eyes burst... want to learn the proper form now?" He then demonstrated. "See? You've got to keep your back straight and your core strong, otherwise you'll look like... well, you," he said while doing 15 perfect handstand push-ups. For the first 20 minutes after my first set, my head felt like the zit some 15 year old is trying to pop in his bathroom mirror. No more charming the ladies for me. I pledged to let Gregg demonstrate workouts from then on.
After the push-ups, we moved onto the WOD. We had to perform the listed exercises in an uninterrupted sequence: a power clean right into a thruster, followed by a back squat and a rack jerk. That was one rep. Seven reps made a set, and we had to perform four sets with two minutes rest in between each. It seemed difficult, and the thruster is relatively new to me, so I went with 95 pounds. Despite 95 being the low weight option, the vast majority of the class did 95 pounds or less. Still, there were a few Crossfit warriors who went heavier.
Unfortunately, I did not feel the same level of exhaustion or struggle as I had during day 1. My guess is that the weight I chose was way too light. I finished first in the class with relative ease. While I did feel the burn, the two minute rest in between sets made the workout easy. It seemed very anti-Crossfit to allow/mandate rests in between sets. I left Crossfit Montclair, easily able to walk, talk, think, and breathe: a huge disappointment as I was able to do none of the above comfortably following my first workout. Now that I understand my limits a little better, I'll be throwing up some more weight next time.
Later that night I was able to play a competitive squash match and win without feeling any excess fatigue: another disappointment.
(Note to newbies: when you take the foundations classes, you will learn the appropriate weights for yourself. That way, your workout will never be ineffectual.)
However, I woke up this (the next) morning to two black eyes, no doubt a result of handstand push ups. And they aren't the tough looking kind. Nope, they just look like I tried to put on makeup and failed miserably. I'm trying to look at this positively... Johnny Depp was the man in Pirates of the Caribbean and he wore make up... right?
My only hope is that the Shape Magazine chicks across the hall don't notice...
Next workout: Tuesday, June 9th
Note to newbies: As my experience continues, it becomes increasingly apparent that Crossfit Montclair is far more than your typical gym. It's vastly different from the Montclair YMCA, my regular scene. And not just because of the fact that whenever you so much as pause in between reps (much less get a drink in between sets) at the YMCA someone will have inevitably jumped on your equipment, but Crossfit has a tightly knit and very strong community. I've only been here a handful of times and the entire Crossfit crowd has embraced me as one of their own. So much so, in fact, that they invited me to a Crossfit get-together. It's tonight! For just this one event, we'll be clearing the punching bags and barbells so that a live band can come and play in the back-alley warehouse setting in front of 100+ Crossfitters and their families. Can you imagine a scenario where YMCA meat-head "A" who is grunting away on the bench press would socialize with spoiled teenage girl "B" who's rolling her eyes at him because his barbell is blocking her view into the mirror? Didn't think so.
Tonight, Crossfitters of all races, ages, and sexes will convene for a night of live music and fun. Come and you'll see marines, teenagers, college kids, moms, and hell even warrior princesses in attendance. Unfortunately, my blog is delayed a couple of days, so I will not have posted about it until a few days after it happens... but I wanted to get this out to anyone who might be interested in what Guerrilla Fitness Montclair is really about.
Thursday June 11, 8:00, 13 Elm Street. Be there!
I arrived at Guerrilla Fitness right on time. 4:55 PM, ready for the 5:00 ass kicking. I thought I'd be able to shoot the breeze with Gregg and another Crossfit trainer, Bill, but I was rushed along right into the gym where an excess of 20 Crossfitters were warmed up and ready to start the WOD (Workout of the Day).
I gave the white board a cursory rundown.
"Strength Training:
Handstand Push-ups 3x Max
WOD
4 Rounds of the following complex:
Power-clean 135/95 lbs
Thruster
Back squat
Rack Jerk (from the shoulders, behind the neck)"
After noticing a few cute girls in the Monday 5:00 crowd, I thought I'd get my station set up and act like I knew what I was doing. "Easy now, bud." There was no sneaking by Gregg. "I know you're hustling through foundations, but you've got to learn these lifts first." Safety really is emphasized in Crossfit training, progress can only be made with proper form.
But come on, I know I had never done a wallball before last class, but I had done all the prescribed lifts of this WOD and was not going to be babied with a walk through in front of the ladies; "Nah, Greg, I got it."
He laughed, "Ok, then, start out on the handstand push-ups." Yea... I forgot about those. There was a brief demonstration at the beginning of class by Jason, one of Crossfit Montclair's best. Like an Olympic gymnast, he walked up to the wall, and did a front handspring so he was perfectly vertical: parallel with the wall. He then proceeded to do 15 handstand push-ups. It couldn't be that hard. I tried my best to emulate him. I got up just fine, and was able to do the first three like they were nothing. After that, what seemed like all the blood in my body rushed to my head. I felt like an engorged tick with the blood pressure accumulation that ensued in the reps that followed. But I desperately wanted to impress, so I managed eight reps and bopped back down. When I stood up after my reps, my face looked like boxer Joe Frazier's after the Thrilla in Manila. My eyes were swollen almost shut and my cheeks were bright red. "Dude, what is the deal with my face?"
Gregg laughed, "The handstand push-ups knocked you out, huh?" Funny, Gregg. "All the blood vessels around your eyes burst... want to learn the proper form now?" He then demonstrated. "See? You've got to keep your back straight and your core strong, otherwise you'll look like... well, you," he said while doing 15 perfect handstand push-ups. For the first 20 minutes after my first set, my head felt like the zit some 15 year old is trying to pop in his bathroom mirror. No more charming the ladies for me. I pledged to let Gregg demonstrate workouts from then on.
After the push-ups, we moved onto the WOD. We had to perform the listed exercises in an uninterrupted sequence: a power clean right into a thruster, followed by a back squat and a rack jerk. That was one rep. Seven reps made a set, and we had to perform four sets with two minutes rest in between each. It seemed difficult, and the thruster is relatively new to me, so I went with 95 pounds. Despite 95 being the low weight option, the vast majority of the class did 95 pounds or less. Still, there were a few Crossfit warriors who went heavier.
Unfortunately, I did not feel the same level of exhaustion or struggle as I had during day 1. My guess is that the weight I chose was way too light. I finished first in the class with relative ease. While I did feel the burn, the two minute rest in between sets made the workout easy. It seemed very anti-Crossfit to allow/mandate rests in between sets. I left Crossfit Montclair, easily able to walk, talk, think, and breathe: a huge disappointment as I was able to do none of the above comfortably following my first workout. Now that I understand my limits a little better, I'll be throwing up some more weight next time.
Later that night I was able to play a competitive squash match and win without feeling any excess fatigue: another disappointment.
(Note to newbies: when you take the foundations classes, you will learn the appropriate weights for yourself. That way, your workout will never be ineffectual.)
However, I woke up this (the next) morning to two black eyes, no doubt a result of handstand push ups. And they aren't the tough looking kind. Nope, they just look like I tried to put on makeup and failed miserably. I'm trying to look at this positively... Johnny Depp was the man in Pirates of the Caribbean and he wore make up... right?
My only hope is that the Shape Magazine chicks across the hall don't notice...
Next workout: Tuesday, June 9th
Note to newbies: As my experience continues, it becomes increasingly apparent that Crossfit Montclair is far more than your typical gym. It's vastly different from the Montclair YMCA, my regular scene. And not just because of the fact that whenever you so much as pause in between reps (much less get a drink in between sets) at the YMCA someone will have inevitably jumped on your equipment, but Crossfit has a tightly knit and very strong community. I've only been here a handful of times and the entire Crossfit crowd has embraced me as one of their own. So much so, in fact, that they invited me to a Crossfit get-together. It's tonight! For just this one event, we'll be clearing the punching bags and barbells so that a live band can come and play in the back-alley warehouse setting in front of 100+ Crossfitters and their families. Can you imagine a scenario where YMCA meat-head "A" who is grunting away on the bench press would socialize with spoiled teenage girl "B" who's rolling her eyes at him because his barbell is blocking her view into the mirror? Didn't think so.
Tonight, Crossfitters of all races, ages, and sexes will convene for a night of live music and fun. Come and you'll see marines, teenagers, college kids, moms, and hell even warrior princesses in attendance. Unfortunately, my blog is delayed a couple of days, so I will not have posted about it until a few days after it happens... but I wanted to get this out to anyone who might be interested in what Guerrilla Fitness Montclair is really about.
Thursday June 11, 8:00, 13 Elm Street. Be there!
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