Crossfit, ready or not, here I come

By Trent Modglin

As of this writing, I’m about three weeks away from starting a personalized Crossfit program, which means by the time you read this, I likely will be sore in places you don’t talk about at parties. And hopefully, provided my back holds up, I may just be in the best shape I’ve been in since, well, at least a few years post-college anyway. Like the hot new restaurant you can’t get a reservation at or the tasty new craft beer everyone is clamoring for, I’ve just heard too much about Crossfit not to give it a try. Too many legitimate success stories. Positive energy. Increased confidence. All that good stuff.

If you’re under the age of, say, 50 and aren’t aware of the Crossfit craze, I’m guessing you’re immersed in a committed relationship with Netflix and your couch. Or you don’t have an account on Facebook, where no doubt several of your friends (if they’re anything like mine) unnecessarily feel the need to regularly post news of their workouts and overall progress.

“Constantly varied, functional movements executed safely at a high intensity” is how Cheston Bogue of Windy City Crossfit describes the regimen in our interview on page 12.

While I’ve played sports and worked out at the gym most my life, I’m far from naive. I’m well into my 30s now, have witnessed my once flat stomach transition into something less impressive, and I’ve done my research, so I’m prepared for this to be challenging, probably even make me feel a little out of my element at first. My friends who are joining me for this adventure? Color them worried.

Brian, for instance, has expectations to lose 10-15 pounds in a month or two, but his fear is that he will pull every muscle he has on the first day. But he’s also looking forward to something new from the gym “instead of the same old crap that I always do,” he adds.

As for Dan, well, he’s not exactly sure why he agreed to this life-changing plan. And he is, admittedly, scared to death. I’ll just let him explain, considering he does it rather well.

“I’m a married man of 10 years, work from home and take care of a 20-month-old,” Dan admits. “I’m in public like 10 times a year, all designed around places where a shirt is required. I have no hopes to have a strange woman yearn to put suntan lotion on my newly ripped abs, as was pitched to me. That’s just plain weird. My expectation is to be sore for a year, eventually injured, and then healthier like I’ve never been in my entire life. And I guess, really, it’s heading into an unknown that draws me to the idea of Crossfit — attempting to attain something that I’ve never been able to fathom before, to be in truly great shape.”

To be in truly great shape. Yes, that is the ultimate goal, I suppose. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen quicker than doing the same routine at the gym day in and day out. Provided I can get out of bed for the second workout, that is.

Check out www.TheRealChicagoOnline.com periodically to keep up on my blog about the Crossfit experience, and for more information on classes, visit www.WindyCityCrossfit.com