I’ll admit, the very first thing that drew me to CrossFit wasn’t the workouts, the daily competition, the community, nor the urge to find new and exciting ways to train. Those all came later, and have a huge influence on why I will be involved in CrossFit for a very long time. The absolute first thing that attracted me was a video. This wasn’t just any video though, and it may well be one of the most famous CrossFit videos out there. I stumbled upon a crappy fuzzy version of it on youtube, searched for clues for the original, found it linked through Crossfit.com and watched it. Then I watched it again… and again… and again.
The video featured a pumping music track, an incredibly tough workout, and three equally incredible female athletes. It was called “Nasty Girls” and that name combined with the athletic and physical virtues of the women in the video would be enough for heterosexual men to want to watch it repeatedly. Once I got my mind working again though, my focus switched from admiring the athlete’s physiques to envying their intensity, strength, and mental fortitude. These three athletes blazed through a workout that leaves most gasping for air and frantic to restore feeling to legs and arms after the first round. Their names – Nicole, Eva, Annie – didn’t mean much to me then but it turned out that they are three of the original “firebreathers” with more than a few amazing performances on their resumes.
The video is long but each time I watch it I sit entranced by the story unfolding in front of me. The struggles and triumphs in the muscle ups, the consistency and focus in the squats, and the conquering of the hang cleans with cramped hands and pumped arms. For me though, the climax of the video is the end. One solitary athlete stalls on the muscle ups and from there it becomes an emotional and physical battle. I won’t share the whole story but encourage you to watch it until the end. Click the this link to watch.
This video for me encapsulates the battles we have with CrossFit WODs that make us stronger once we persevere and get through them. Often before WODs or when the going gets tough I reference videos of other CrossFit performances in my mind to get me to keep the momentum going. I’ll be sharing more of these videos with you in the near future and hope that you get as much out of them as I do.
Until next time, keep fit… and have fun!
Turts.
Today’s Workout:
Buy In – Max situps in 2 minutes.
WOD – ‘Jump, Swing, Flip”
Elite: 21-15-9 Reps for time:
- Burpees
- KB Swings (35/55)
- Tire flips
Zone 3: scale KB to 25/45
Zone 2: scale KB to 20/35
Zone 1: scale KB to 15/20
Cash Out – pick an exercise from your Success Journal to get a PR on!
