Sometimes I cruise around other CrossFit websites looking for gems to post on this blog.  Its great to be able to find applicable essays and on occasion some really funny stuff.  Either way, anything I think you guys would like and / or appreciate I pull it off and post it.  I’ve actually been getting quite a few emails about the content I write asking to have it posted on various CrossFit blogs…isn’t it great to be part of a gigantic community?

I got this one off CrossFit Evolution - written by Leo Soubbotine

“Fun Vs Chore: Observation of a Torture Chamber Supervisor”

Have you ever been on a bike trail, enjoying the day, biking fast and having fun, when you fly by two massively overweight ladies with their seats too low, knees hitting their chins, biking at the speed of a turtle on tranquilizers?  How do we know they’re riding for fitness (besides the fact that they don’t look like they’re having fun)?  They have the same look on their faces as all the folks on the treadmill-stairclimber-elliptical machine at every Globo gym.

One of the things that I’ve been noticing for a while - is that CrossFit attracts people that are not afraid to behave like children: learn and dare to try new things, make mistakes, smile and have fun while pushing to the limits at the same time.

Compare a children’s playground to a Globo Gym - one is a fun enviroment, where limits are found and boundaries are pushed, unless they will make all playgrounds super safe and Idiot proof.  Let’s pray they keep them “dangerous”, where you don’t need a canopy over your head and rubberized matting everywhere. There’s nothing wrong with scratches and scabs.  The other place is generally boring, with very little changes to the behavior, appearance and limits of it’s visitors.  And don’t forget the Backstreet Boys as your “uber-fired-up-get-going-at-6-am concerto”!  Fitness improves on the playground, not so much in the “three sets of ten and cardio” domain.

Chore is the best way to describe fitness from the eyes of regular gym goers.  Drag yourself there, 10 minute warm-up, no intensity, 5 minutes on various machines, then 30 minutes on the Super Crunch ABS-olutizer 6000 and then go home.  Lather, rinse, repeat. 20 minutes slow cardio after the “workout” - optional.

And every time a kid comes into a CrossFit facility - they’re off to play with mats, rings, ropes, boxes.  It’s the coolest thing.  Adults are more reserved, but they’re no different.  You have to try the pull-up bars, the rings, and drop some bumpers.  We all have the inner child within us.  We want to learn new stuff, try things that we’ve never done before, and we want to explore.  Or life turns into a chore.

CrossFit is fun.  That’s why it works so much better than anything else out there as a program to keep us fit, excited and focused.

Constantly varied, functional movements executed at high intensity is a smart way of saying “We’re going to have a sh*t-load of fun at the coolest modern age adult playground!”

Don’t be like the regular gym zombies and the ladies on the bikes.

How cool is this “playground”?  I wish there was a picture of the whole thing.  Does the army base out here have a cool obstacle course?  If so, could anyone a rrange a visit for us?  Now that would be a wicked field trip!

Burpees Completed: 2, 585

Burpees Remaining: 2, 565

• 400m Run
• 500m Row

Rest 2 minutes between exercises

3 Rounds