Crossfit or Unfit

As some of you may know, we use a training regimen at Chatt Valley called Crossfit.  Crossfit is a difficult thing to describe because it incorporates such a large number of movements, exercises, and skills.  Essentially, it is a combination of powerlifting, conditioning, and gymnastics that continually challenges the body in new ways.  In one word: Tough. 

I'm proud to say that while Crossfit is gaining popularity around the country, we are likely the very first JUCO team to have incorporated it into our everyday routine.  3 years ago, as I was reading Muscle and Fitness, I came across an article called "Sweat Storm".  I'd been looking for a new workout routine for myself, and I have never really enjoyed traditional weightlifting, so this article really grabbed my attention.  The workouts it described reminded me of the kinds of things we did on my high school wrestling team, and let me tell you, there aren't too many things that compare to wrestling in terms of intensity and conditioning.  With my interest piqued, I asked Coach thomas if he'd give it a try with me, and of course, he did.  After a week, which was called "Hell Week", we immediately decided this was something our guys needed.

 This is our 3rd season Crossfitting now, and with Crossfit Inception opening up in Columbus recently, we've really been able to ramp up the level of intensity and instruction our guys are getting.  The guys over at Inception have done a great job teaching our boys the essential lifts of Crossfit, and today, they ran us through a workout called "Baseline", which is a measuring stick for CF performance.  So far, with the help of a few extra pairs of eyes, and some quality leadership from our returning players, the team has done well.  "Well" in this case, means different things for different people.  For Bryce Dial it was dominating the workout today (Baseline is not a full workout, it is like a time trial, so it can be completed very quickly by an athlete in great shape) in 4:16.  For Zach Helewski, it was continuing to fight even as time expired and not giving in to the pain.  For most of the others it was cranking out as many reps as they could as quickly as they could as the clock kept ticking. 

We've barely scratched the surface, and it is only week one, but our guys have gotten a taste of what we expect from them now, and it is already starting to give us a glimpse at what some of these guys are made of.