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Crossfitters

Crossfit’s in the OC Register!  Here is the story below:

What are the hot workouts now?

By JENNIFER MUIR
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
CrossFit: A workout with a competitive edge
David Miller is like a machine, feverishly pressing 75-pounds over his head as fast as he can before the minute ends.
After this, he’ll spend another 60 seconds sprinting on a rowing machine — the second of five exercises he’ll do as fast and precisely as he can before moving on to the next minute of lifting or pulling or squatting hell.
And when he’s done, he’ll lay on the floor sweating until his heart rate dips below frantic again.
This grueling workout is called Fight Gone Bad. And while Miller, 22, is pushing through it alongside friends at a Huntington Beach gym, thousands across the world have undoubtedly already completed same workout within days of this mechanical engineer.
They’re all part of a growing movement called CrossFit.
Every day, people log on to the Cross Fit website to see the workout of the day (W.O.D.) — strength and conditioning exercises that sometimes will take only 10 minutes to complete, but will leave you feeling like you’re going to puke when you’re done.
CrossFit’s mantra is functional fitness; each exercise is designed to prepare participants for situations they might encounter in real life, whether it’s fighting a fire or pushing open a garage door that’s falling shut.
It’s also controversial — critics say beginners can overdo it, causing injuries and even death by a condition called Rhabdomyolysis, which is caused when muscle fiber breaks down and is released into the bloodstream, poisoning the kidneys.
But those who do it say the risks are worth the benefits.
In Orange County, there are at nearly 20 CrossFit affiliated gyms, populated largely by people who have heard about the workouts through word of mouth.
“You can’t hide what kind of person you are here,” says Steve Serrano, a retired Santa Ana police sergeant and former Naval Special warfare officer who owns CrossFit Marina in Huntington Beach. “If you’re the kind of person who will cheat to get ahead, it’s going to come out here.”
The Orange County Fire Authority adopted CrossFit as its training model, and Santa Ana police has stocked a third of its gym with functional fitness equipment used in CrossFit workouts, such as kettle bells, medicine balls, Olympic bars and plyometric boxes.
“It’s the standard now for the department,” OCFA Capt. Greg McKeown said.
It’s grown so popular that this year that — for the first time — there are regional qualifying events for the annual CrossFit games, which bring together athletes from around the world in a competition of raw strength, endurance and stamina.
Miller, a former college soccer player, is training for the Southern California qualifier being held this weekend at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department training facility.
“It’s kind of marketed to hard-core competition, people who want a kick-ass workout that leaves me crying,” says Mariessa Marlow, who owns CrossFit South Bay. “But we also have people who come in and want to lose weight or who are bored at the gym.”
Sure, the 70-year-olds who do CrossFit aren’t doing handstand pushups, but instructors provide alternative exercises and recommend lighter weights for anyone who needs it.
About 30 CrossFit “newbies” showed up on the sand one recent weekend for a free introduction to the fitness regimen. There were men and women, some in their 20s and others in their 50s.
Everyone did the same workout. Some could lift more or push through each station faster. Others needed to rest between every couple pushups or squats.
The common thread among those who decide to keep coming back to CrossFit isn’t an innate athletic ability, Marlow says. It’s a competitive edge.
“You’ll see the clock running, and you’ve got the guy next to you who you want to kick his (butt), and lift more weight than him,” she says. “It’s functional fitness with a competitive edge.”