Crossfit Around the World

Crossfit Around the World, Part 6: America + Home

Crossfit Hardcore Pompano Beach

I had to cross the entire Atlantic before I could have the pleasure of another Crossfit box visit. During my 15 day crossing in a cruise ship, I had to make do with the bulky exercise equipment in the onboard gym at the front of the ship.  One of the regular gym users, who became a mortal enemy of mine, enjoyed building up insane amounts of sweat on the elliptical and then smearing it on every machine he could get his back on and never wiping it off. Luckily, when I arrived at Crossfit Hardcore Pompano Beach, I didn’t have to worry about workout machines or people leaving their sweat everywhere (except, of course, on the floor after collapsing from a good WOD).

After a warm walk to the box, a warm welcome, and a warm up, we were all ready to attack the WOD.

And with our one infant spectator watching joyously from a toddler swing-chair that was dangling from a pull up bar, it was 3,2,1, go. Our punishment for the day was hang squat cleans, front squats, and push presses in descending reps of 10,9,8…2,1. It was one of those rare workouts that doesn’t get harder as you go on, but rather there’s a curve of maximum pain. Some of the Crossfitters at Hardcore easily pushed through that curve, I was not one of them. Part of the reason for that might have been that, using only machines on the ship, I had forgotten how to count, and had loaded up 125 lb instead of the prescribed 115 lb. Gabby, our wonderful coach, kindly pointed out my mistake and things got a little bit easier after that.

Following the workout and much needed recovery, I got so caught up in great conversation that I forgot to take pictures. I don’t think it was the fact that I was finally in a country that has a lot of English speakers, or that I was around people my age, or even that there were a couple of fellow Canadians in the box, but mainly I think it was that I was in a Crossfit box. Everywhere around the world almost all the Crossfitters I met seemed to be kind, friendly people dedicated to a good community and a good WOD – not dedicated to marking their territory with pools of sweat.

Crossfit Long Island City

Making my way down the dark, unfamiliar streets of Queens, the snow that blanketed the city gave off that chilling sharp crunch underneath the feet. It wasn’t the playful packing snow sort of crunch, but the biting what-are-you-doing-outside crunch. Thankfully, Crossfit Long Island City wasn’t too hard to find, especially since the owner, Vadim, was arriving in official Crossfit LIC truck at the same time.

Turns out, Vadim is friends with the owners of Crossfit Natrium, the box that I visited when I was back in Moscow. Vadim is originally from Belarus, so almost every time there’s a Crossfit certification seminar or event in Russia, he’s over there helping out with much more than just his language skills. Crossfit almost seems like a wonderful contagious habit; I’ve met so many box owners along the way who spent time with Americans and then ended up taking Crossfit back to their homeland.

 

Vadim was able to focus his love of Crossfit both on macro and micro levels. While sometimes he may be helping to spread the sport across the globe, when I met him his focused on helping every individual in class. Whether it was checking our form during the strength round of squats, or helping to motivate us through countless rounds on the rower, he kept us on point.

Conclusion

I finished my journey not long after my visit to Crossfit LIC. I arrived in Toronto, after a pretty sleepless bus ride from New York and found that it was all finished; there were no more roads, rails, or oceans to go over. And I could not be more grateful for my experience with the Crossfit community along the way.

From my very first box visit with Crossfit Alchemy in Hamilton, Ontario all the way through 5 continents, I found nothing but the warmest hospitality and kindness from every box that I went to. Well, that and a devastating WOD, of course. It is astounding that every time I stepped into a Crossfit box, regardless of country, culture, language, or geographic location, I was sure to find great people who were having a great time, and committed to serious fitness.

There may not have been Crossfit boxes at all points along my journey, but I tried to make do with what was available to me. Whether it was a park bench in New Zealand for box jumps, a playground in Tibet for muscle ups, or a soggy track in Sibera for some sprints, I was motivated to stay fit so I could keep up with the crew at my next visit.

I hope I managed well because I couldn't  be more grateful to all the Crossfitters I met along the way. To the owners, coaches, fellow WOD sufferers, and even the occasional resident dog, thank you. I might have to go around the world the other way, just to check back in again.

Crossfit Around the World, Part 5: Russia + Central Europe

There is, unfortunately, a sad scarcity of Crossfit boxes between Hong Kong and Moscow, especially along the silly root that I had elected to take. I therefore had to make do with what was available to me along my path. In Tibet, I managed to do some pull-ups at a roadside workout park, which at Himalayan altitudes, were the most difficult pull-ups I had done since hitting puberty. In Beijing, I found a park near the embassy zone that had a pull-up bar, which was all I needed to devastate myself with a Barbara WOD. While sucking in wind during my 3 minute rests, I was able to marvel at the benefits of healthy living when a 75 year old man executed perfect 360 degree gymnastic swings around the very same bar. The smog heavy atmosphere that severely shredded my lungs for life was, however, less than ideal.

Finally, I entered Russia, and my next appointment at a Crossfit box was drawing near. Although first, I had to be cooped up in economy class on the Trans-Siberian Railway for almost 4 days. Needless to say, the physical fitness facilities inside a train car packed with over 50 people is less than nonexistent. So, I had to content myself with lunges and pushups on train platforms during brief rest periods. I was therefore very happy when I arrived for my return to a genuine Crossfit box in Moscow.

Crossfit Natrium

I nearly showed up late to my class at Crossfit Natrium in Moscow, partly because the city is so incredibly poorly labeled. Street signs are nearly unheard of, and when they can be found, they are in Cyrillic; so, often one has to resort to asking for help from locals, who generally speak as much English as a typical Montanan speaks Swahili. But I found the box, and was definitely glad not miss out on a great experience.

After only 6 months in operation, Natrium had a dedicated and noticeably fit clientele. The two guys running the show manage to have multiple classes a day with skill levels ranging from beginner to near-superhuman. I could see upon arrival, elite-level beasts crushing the end of a hardcore workout while newer members were getting rope-climbing tutorials. I don’t think it will be long before this outfit grows out of itself.

And of course, as has come to be expected around the world, the community was just fantastic. Not only was I welcomed warmly and had all of the details of the warm up and WOD kindly translated into English (one can find a good English conversation at any box around the world) but all the crossfitters did their best to help me introduce me to their box, not only by pushing me to my limits in the WOD, but by trying to start some inter-continental dialogue. And between a Russian and a Canadian with a language barrier, the conversation of course turned to hockey.

A Missed Opportunity: Poland

There again was an anxious gap in my Crossfit schedule because there weren’t any boxes along my path until I arrived in Warsaw. Just as I was getting excited about meeting more of the international community and a doing a WOD, my knee met the horrifyingly hard surface of a slippery staircase. The incapacitating pain left me out of commission until my arrival in Prague

Crossfit Praha

People from all over the world come to gaze at the legendary beauty of Prague. It is understandable that some of them end up wanting to stay, and many of these expats have found their way into the welcoming arms of Crossfit Praha. Just on my visit, I met many Czechs, Scandinavians, and Americans. The box owner, Zdeněk, was Czech, but had discovered Crossfit while living in the USA and brought back his expertise with him (not the first someone has acquired the Crossfit habit after hanging out with Americans).  

 Another habit he had brought with him from his original box in Washington was to not hold classes at scheduled times (except for skill specific sessions) but rather, to let members show up and do their WOD when they choose to. This was not a set up I had yet come across, and I found it quite interesting. Not only could members have more flexibility in their schedule, but there was more room for personalization, particularly if an athlete was training for competition.

I was worried that with this setup the sense of community might have been reduced by the individualism, but I was pleased to find that it was not. There were so many members coming and going that there were always people working out at the same time. And of course, many align their schedules in order to do their WODs together.

Reebok Crossfit Ljubljana

Reebok Crossfit Ljubljana left a nice trail for me to follow in order to discover the location of the box. As I strolled down the dark streets of Slovenia’s capital, I finally caught a glimpse of a pull-up/ rack jungle-gym station in a parking lot, this was a good sign. Inside the building, it was even easier to find which part of the building I should go to; I just needed to find the source of the Rammstein music.

Stepping through the front door, not only was I welcomed by strong German rock music, but some of the greatest group of people any traveller could hope to stumble across. The owner and all of his trainers were incredibly hospitable and were super easy to get along with. They even prepared for me “a very special” WOD which I was told would be “easy”: a 15 minute AMRAP of 15 Burpess and 15 2-pood KB Swings.

 

It was easy, but only in the sense that I could remember my set and repetition count. I hope I’m not the only one who often finds it difficult to count to high numbers such as 3 and 4 after a few minutes of a good WOD. Even my watch seems to have the problem, since it always counts down the last half of my WOD way too slowly. Eventually, both me and my Casio made it to the finish with the strong encouragement of the trainers and other gym members.

Crossfit Around the World, Part 4: South East Asia

Crossfit Equator

As I struggled why my way for almost 2 hours through the chaotic nightmare of Jakarta’s traffic, I couldn’t wait to arrive at Crossfit Equator. Not only was I eager to be free from the endless series of jammed city

streets, but I was more than ready to have my first non-Western Crossfit experience. Indonesia and Jakarta possessed, no doubt, a slightly different culture than at previous box visits, and I wanted to see how the spirit of the community was flourishing in such a different setting.

At first, it seemed I was in for a radically different experience. It was the month of Ramadan, so when I showed up for the 6pm class, I was all by myself since most of the members were using the break of dusk to break their day of fasting. As I got ready for my one man workout, however, all the excellent hallmarks of the Crossfit community began to reveal themselves.

Still on the WOD board was the exercise list for the “Hope” WOD which Equator members had recently completed and while raising thousands of dollars of charity. I couldn’t think of a WOD I would want do more so as I struggled my way through it, I was greatly in debt to my coach for constantly helping me to push through and keep up my pace and form. She not only gave her time to guide and encourage me one-on-one,

but afterwards, she was also incredibly passionate about teaching my Jakartan hosts, who had come along, all about Crossfit.

The strength of Crossfit’s community hadn’t been diminished by any national, continental, or religious divides.

Crossfit Vidatha

The Crossfit community had undoubtedly translated well in Asia, and at my next visit, to Crossfit Vidatha in Kuala Lumpur, it was inspiring to see other strengths of the community so impressively exemplified. The husband and wife team who own the box began, like many of us, as home gym Crossfit enthusiasts.

Eventually, their passion for the sport of fitness grew so much that they had to leave their corporate jobs and opened Vidatha just 6 months ago. Even though the Rogue gear still gives off that wonderful new equipment smell, the box has been able to, in that short time, develop an informed, sociable, and dedicated membership.

When I read the whiteboard, which was telling me the WOD was 100 pull ups for time, my idea to complete Barbara the day before at public park suddenly seemed like a less fantastic idea. Luckily, the other Crossfitters with me, even the ones very fresh to the sport, were supportive from start to finish. The veterans and the relative rookies were quickly able to appreciate not only the fact that the first 20 are a lot easier than the last 20, but that a little encouragement helps a lot during the entire WOD.

 

In addition to having perhaps the most badass of all box names – Vidatha has multiple Sanskrit meanings, ranging from “Body of Warriors”, to “Community”, and “Knowledge” – it is one of the most astoundingly poignant examples of the good that can come from Crossfit: fitness, community, unlocked passion, and family.

Crossfit The Lion Rampant

Originally, I thought that The Lion Rampant was a hilariously intense mistranslation from Chinese; until Kevin, the Scottish owner of the box, assured me that it is the name of the Royal Standard flag of Scotland. So not only is the name intense, but a wonderful illustration of how worldwide Crossfit has become – a Hong Kong box, run by a Scot, who picked up Crossfit while living in South Korea, with a class full of expats. I felt foolish for thinking for a second that anything could mistranslated or mis-anything after arriving for my WOD.

Located just steps away from some of HK’s most famous skyscrapers, everything about The Lion Rampant is on point. The facilities and equipment were excellently set up and Kevin was in tune with every client’s

needs, keeping accurate mental notes of what everyone’s maxes should be during the front squat buy-in. The WOD was also cleverly punishing. 30 straight AMRAPing minutes of 10 over-box jumps, 10 burpees, and 10 toes to bar left the multi-national class with a sense of accomplishment and a never ending flow of sweat to get the day started.

Afterwards, I was invited out to join many of the class’s Crossfitters to fuel up on bacon and eggs at a favorite nearby diner. While cramming ourselves with pure, delicious protein, we were joined by several members of the box who hadn’t even worked out that morning. The Lion Rampant’s international membership had found a community for fitness and friendship beyond both the borders of their countries and even the walls of a gym.

Crossfit Around the World, Part 3: Australia

Crossfit ETS

With only a few hours left in Sydney before hopping on an overnight Greyhound, I went in search of a good workout. Strapped into my dual backpack arrangement, I trudged my way through the dark city streets until I arrived at the intersection where I expected to find Crossfit ETS. It took me several passes before I finally noticed the diminutive ETS tucked into the side of building.

Just like how the street outside was illuminated by the light pouring from ETS’s two garage doors, the passion of this gym couldn’t be restricted by its surroundings. The leader of this uniquely driven hunger was the owner, Luke. Luke possesses a genuine desire to see everyone achieve their fitness goals, and that includes providing constant support in regards to technique, whether it be a power clean or a “Russian Baby Maker.” Beyond this you can also sense his inspiring passion for his business and the growth of Crossfit.

Luke’s drive was reflected well in all of the members of Crossfit ETS. Not only was everybody pushing themselves to achieve new personal bests and finally conquer some frustrating technique, but they were supporting every else at every opportunity they could. Nothing makes you feel better than cleaning more than you thought you could while having your own cheering section, on hand. I just wish I didn’t have to hurry off so suddenly to catch my bus. For the next 12 hours to Melbourne, I could feel the crystallization of my hard-earned sweat as evidence of from good workout.

Crossfit St Kilda

I am forever in debt to Crossfit St Kilda for letting me once again fully appreciate how much better it is to suffer through a devastating workout in the company of others. The mutual sharing of pain is a much more enjoyable than the solitary punishments I’ve grown accustomed to during my travels. I knew my experience in St Kilda would differ slightly from my pleasant strolls down the nearby waterfront when I walked into the gym and was confronted with the day’s WOD: Death by Power Clean.

With a setup where one does 1 power clean the first minute, 2 the second minute etc., it’s funny how the workout gets a lot harder as time goes on. It was around minute 7 that I really began to be thankful for the presence of the dozen other Crossfitters suffering with me. When my thumb became nothing by shorn meat from bar friction, there were others feeling the same pain. When my legs turned to jelly and my lungs to fire, I felt support through the shared experience of everyone else.

Just when we thought we were all free and clear, we gathered in a circle for a Tabata squat buyout. Not just any ordinary run-of-the-mill Tabata squats, but banded squats, where the rest is held in squat position. Being able to recognize the same look of joyful agony in everyone else’s eyes is some of the best motivation to keep going.

Crossfit East Adelaide

I knew I was in for a treat the morning I arrived at Crossfit East Adelaide. Not only was everyone there willing to get after it early on a Saturday morning, but recent battle wounds acted as a harbinger for things to

come. During a warm up round of ground-to-overheads, my partner had to re-tape his bleeding hands which were still gnarled from a recent heavy dose of pull ups and toes-to-bar.

The last clue that something great was in store came just before the WOD began when we were told that there was a 30 minute cap for the workout. Was this really going to take 30 minutes? Yes, yes it was. The gloriously punishing combination of, among other things, box jumps, farmers carry, ground-to-overheads, and rowing would have been punishment enough, but this workout also included what I find to be the most frustrating of all movements: the Turkish Get-Ups. As frustrating as that exercise can be, it wasn’t as bad as being just 50 meters of farmer carry short when we reached the time limit.  

As I was leaving to go happily nurse my grip strength back into existence, the owner and coach, Ian, started looking after something much more important. His wife and his newborn baby had come in to get a good start to the weekend. The importance of family is a powerful presence I’ve come across at many of the Crossfit gyms along my journey (and now that I think about, something I’ve never seen in any other type of gym).

Crossfit Darwin

The international presence of Crossfit and the interconnectedness of its community is often fascinating and inspiring. Not only are there gyms all over the planet established with the same commitment to elite fitness,

but with each one of these affiliates there is often rich multi-national history which sheds a unique light on some of what Crossfit has to offer.

Take, for example, the founder of Crossfit Darwin, Kelly. She served in the Australian military, completing three tours of duty in Iraq. While sharing several bases with American troops, she noticed that they were quite found of Crossfitting. It wasn’t long before she was as well. In between missions to the Middle East, she set up a Crossfit box in Darwin and its popularity grew rapidly. Being unable to maintain obligations to the military and her business, she chose to leave the army and focus on the gym. She misses life in the army but if there’s a reason to leave the service, I suppose having a business that’s too successful is a pretty good one.

After a warm up where I was happily able to reunite with a set of gymnastic rings, and workout of Burpee Box Jumps and Burpee Pull ups, my mind and body were feeling great, and they were both looking forward to their first Asian Crossfit experience.

Crossfit Around the World, Part 2: New Zealand

Crossfit Hawke’s Bay

As soon as I stepped into Crossfit Hawke’s Bay, I was engulfed in an aura of energy and enthusiasm. The last time I could remember feeling so blown away and unprepared was when I showed up for the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Then I hadn’t realized that the Running of the Bulls was basically a weeklong out of control party of drinking and throwing sangria. At CFHB I hadn’t realized that it was time for the Crossfit Open workout 13.2, and every Crossfitter from the area had come to compete against every Crossfitter in the world.

In Pamplona, I had chosen a sangria-heavy method of coping, but that really didn’t seem like the best option here, so I started warming up. As I was getting prepared I joined the throngs of supporters in cheering on the first heat of competitors. The very passionate supporters were not only fellow athletes, but family members, friends, and even the local police. What was inspiring about these fans was that as the heats went by, and

exhausted Crossfitters fell to the ground following their herculean efforts, the enthusiasm and the numbers never dwindled. Right up through the final heat, which I was in, everybody was cheering and helping us all through the pain.

Afterwards, someone provided a round of recovery beers for the cool down, but not everyone was ready to call it quits. The toddler of the CFHB top performer dreams to be like daddy. So while everyone else was calling it a night, he was running around preparing for his first Crossfit competition a decade or two in the future. Ask him to do a burpee and he’ll tumble down to his hand and knees before standing back up and clapping. Near perfect form.

Crossfit Central Wellington

Two things became apparent to me after visiting Crossfit Central Wellington. The first is that the Crossfit community, while also spanning the world, finds its way into the smaller more personal community of a family. At CFHB there was the toddler trying to do Burpees like dad. Here at CCW, my partner for the push press buy-in had just come back from his honeymoon, and his wife was at the rack in front of us! I wonder if that says anything about the strength of the CF community.

The second revelation I had after visiting CCW, is that it is important to get to the gym consistently, not just every once in a while. I didn’t realize the full weight of this reality during the day’s WOD of Double Unders

and Push Jerks, because I felt pretty good. My cardio and strength were there so I was able to get through it just fine. But these movements were not something I had contended with for quite some time, so the whole me-feeling-fine thing didn’t last into the morning.

I had been sleeping on the floor at a friend’s place, when I woke up to find that I couldn’t make it off the ground. My arms had become completely useless. Every muscle from my wrist to my shoulder was absolutely wrenched. My body was furious at me for letting it go so long without having experienced the weight of the push jerk or the rapidity of the Double Under movement. Eventually, I was able to roll myself, like an overturned tortoise, onto my legs and stand up, but my devastated arms didn’t then help much with the winding roads of New Zealand I then had to steer my car around.

Far North Crossfit

My arms had long since recovered in time for my visit at Far North Crossfit in Whangarei. Far North has only been in operation for a little over a year, but the passion is strong. I got there on a Friday night as the sun was setting and the rain was pouring down. I got a little lost along the way, but fortunately I could just

follow the exhausted looking people sprinting down the street, in the rain. They must be Crossfitters. Sure enough, their trail led me right to the sort of place I like to be.

After a very friendly welcome and a good warm up, we got under way with a fast-paced combination of 400m sprints, sit ups and snatches. The rain fortuitously held off just in time for this last group of the day to cap off the work week in style.

While cleaning up and cooling down, one of the fellow Crossfitters told me that she just happened to have an aunt who knew almost everyone in the sailing community in northern New Zealand. This was music to my

ears, since I was trying to find a ride to Australia to continue my flightless circumnavigation of the world. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find anything that was leaving for several months, but there’s nothing like having people from a good community earnestly trying to help you achieve your goals, whether physical or otherwise.

Crossfit Aboard the MV Bahia Grande

I wasn’t able to find a yacht to Australia in northern New Zealand, but I did find one in Tauranga. The only problem with this one was that neither it nor its skipper were seaworthy, a problem I didn’t discover until already out at sea. After spending a terrifying night sailing into a rocky bay, without control or an engine, during a thunderstorm, with a captain that was trying to navigate us into rocks, I hopped off at the first dock in sight and booked a ticket on another container ship.

The Bahia Grande gymnasium was not exactly the ideal Crossfit box, but it did have just enough for me to

make due. With a rower, of a design I’ve never seen before; a barbell, which was so flimsy I think it might have been disposable; and a rusted lat pulldown machine I was able to bust out a decent, albeit substituted, Jackie. I wouldn’t have been able to do that on my leaky yacht from hell, I suppose.

As I write this, the horizon is revealing the distant nighttime glow of Sydney’s lights on the sky. Australia has over 300 Crossfit affiliates; it should definitely be a good country to pass through.

Crossfit Around the World, Part 1: Canada, USA, and the Pacific

About 2 years ago I discovered and got seriously hooked on Crossfit. It was only a few weeks after college graduation when I bumped into my former track coach preparing to take on the Nate Hero WOD.

He suckered me into joining and even though the KB Swings were brutal, the handstand push ups dizzying, and the assisted muscle-ups nearly impossible, I became addicted. It must have tapped into the physical competitiveness void I was missing after retiring from 4 years of college athletics. For the next year I would avidly check the main site every night in preparation for the punishment that would come with the next day's work out.

I didn’t have an official gym; it was me and 3 other guys who were lucky enough to have access to all of the equipment needed to thoroughly obliterate ourselves day in and day out. I also didn't have an official Crossfit gym when I moved to Ghana a year after that first Nate WOD, because, well, there are no Crossfit gyms there.  I was able to bring my Rogue rings along and make do with what heavy things and equipment I could get my hands on.

I recently set out on a circumnavigation of the world – leaving Toronto and heading west – without flying and I thought I would try to get a taste of an aspect of Crossfit that I have been missing out on, the community. Having never actually been a part of an official gym, I feel I have been missing out on a major benefit of being a Crossfitter. Since Crossfit affiliates can be found all over the planet, I'll be trying to pop my way into gyms all across 4 continents. Not only will I maintain physical fitness to overcome some of the more physical components of my adventure, but I'll also get to see what I've been missing.

Alchemy Crossfit

I had been doing primarily bodyweight exercises, like Angie or Cindy since my time in Africa. Being without a Crossfit gym in Ghana had left me pining for a regular diet of Olympic lifting.

Working for a start-up in Ghana had left me pining for money, as well. To save funds once back in Canada, I would seek out any equipment I could find for free in public: a batting cage to do pull ups over here, a big tree to throw my rings over there. But unfortunately, there's not much in the way of rowing machines or barbells at your local playground.

I was to find out how much I had been missing by focusing solely on bodyweight exercises with my first stop on my Crossfit Around the World tour with Alchemy Crossfit in Hamilton, Ontario.

Despite unpaved roads after the heaviest snowstorm in years, Alchemy members made the pilgrimage to their morning workout. I was sincerely welcomed as the warm up began. Two things in particular blew me away at Alchemy: the workout and the hospitality. Having forgotten how devastating the row machine can be, I blasted out the 500m row buy-in way too fast and annihilated myself for the workout.

I had also forgotten, but the workout helped me remember, how heavy a 2 pood KB actually is. Only 2 or 3 rounds in and I was already puking out my early morning snack on the new blanket of snow outside the gym's entrance.  This might end up being a long journey.

Before I left the building I was already receiving offers for couches to sleep on once I get to Australia.

Windy City Crossfit

Stepping out of the Chicago cold and into the aptly named Windy City, I found myself in one of the largest

 gyms I’ve ever been in with some of the highest energy I’ve ever felt (the rather sleepy looking dog taking a nap in the office was an exception). After being welcomed with open arms, I was brought into the mix for the day’s WOD, which was a team WOD. What better way to get to know a community than through a team WOD?

I don’t know if I could’ve asked for a better team. Even though I took the first round out way too fast and suffered for it later on, the 3 other members of my team were there encouraging me and helping me push beyond the pain and get to the end of the workout. After making a break to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water for what might have been the world’s most parched throat of all time, my team was waiting for me to come back so they could support my push to the end.

These 3 guys, who I had only met minutes before, were cheering me on like I hadn’t experienced since my last college track competition 2.5 years earlier.

The WOD hurt, but my team got me there. Crawling to my newly borrowed water bottled afterwards, I looked around and could tell that all of the teams shared a similar spirit.

Front Range Crossfit

Front Range, in Denver, also brought back feelings of being on a team but for a different reason. Everyone showed up about 10 minutes early and then got right to the warm up.

During the whole warm up, everyone was joking, catching up, and seemed like a close and familiar unit. Then after a little stretching the WOD was read out, and it was down to business. Everybody got their station set up and became focused on the job ahead. After preparing as a team, the 3, 2, 1 count came, and then everyone was getting after it as best they could.

I believe many of the people I got to work out with are very competitive in Crossfit competitions. And if I lost focus on the workout at any point it was simply out of awe for the physical feats some of these Front Rangers were capable of.

After the workout, which some champions blasted through very impressively, everyone cleaned up and it was back to the joking friendly unit. They were definitely a team.

Salt Lake City Crossfit

Salt Lake City Crossfit made me work to find their gym which was tucked beside an off-ramp on a frigid street that seemed much shorter to walk down on Google maps than it did in real life.

The struggle made me all the more appreciative of their willingness to have me join their community for a day.

The WOD for the day was 7 rounds of 2 minutes of rowing for calories. Once again I had to face the rower that I had been away from for so long. Luckily, there were several of us in a row tackling the workout at the same time. Some were expert rowers, others were not, but we all went after it as best we could. We also went after the rest time as best we could, preparing mentally and physically for the next round which was always harder than the previous one.

By the end of it, as that glorious burning-lung sensation settled in, I think we were all glad to have had someone else rowing next to us. Not having to do it alone, but just having others there going through the same grueling challenge made it all a little easier.

Crossfit Amity

I had always thought that California was supposed to be sunny and warm, so I was all the more thankful once the group warm up begun on this freezing morning in Palo Alto. It was also warming to learn of the small helpful things that members of this Amity community were willing to do for each other.

The trainer for our class was Brittany, who usually would be away in Los Angeles completing her masters, but was home for the holidays. Since it was the holidays, she decided to come and help out at the gym she used to work at so that her former colleagues could enjoy more time with family during the break

For the back squat buy in, we all had to team up to share the limited number of racks available. There wasn’t a hint of the awkward last-kid-picked-for-the-team feeling for anyone in the gym, not even for me, the new guy. Everyone got together and was eager to start getting it done.

The eagerness never abated, even after Brittany’s explanation of her theory that the secret to getting a PR on a WOD is to have some good Justin Bieber tracks playing. Not only were we assured that he was going to be as professionally cemented as Justin Timberlake, but the theory stated that the care-free relaxation one feels from a Bieber track gets you into a proper PR state of mind.

5 minutes of pull ups and burpees later, I forgot to ask around if the theory had proven true.

Crossfit City of Angels

City of Angels was the smallest gym I’ve visited, but if there was ever proof that it’s the size of the fight in the dog not the size of the dog in the fight, it was here in Los Angeles.

 The energy was high from when the 8:00 am class walked through the door until the very end of the WOD. The gym was full up with the class and though space was limited, it never felt cramped.

We lined in the center of the gym in our pairings and then blasted through the split jerk buy in. The instruction and support were excellent and constant, not only from the trainer but also from the experienced split jerkers to the newbies.

The support continued into the workout as we split into 3 different groups on rotating stations: rowing, medball sit ups, and plank hold. There were cheers of encouragement from within each group, either to row harder or plank better than any group had ever planked before. Although, I think by the time the WOD was complete there was more panting and gasping than cheering.

I have never been one for setting New Year’s resolutions, but I think I may have to steal one that I saw one City of Angels’ resolution board: “upside down rope climb.” Such a wonderful idea had never occurred to me, but now that it has I think it must be done.

Crossfit on the Cargo Ship Hugo Schulte

One of the biggest challenges I faced in the planning of my surface circumnavigation of the world was finding a way across the Pacific Ocean. After several months of research I discovered that the only way to do it that wouldn’t take several months or be exorbitantly expensive (I am doing this on a shoestring budget) was by getting on board a cargo ship.

Unfortunately, the facilities on board a cargo ship, as I should have imagined, are not the best. There certainly wasn’t a Crossfit gym; in fact, the “gymnasium” on board was nothing more than two bar barbells and a ping pong table.

The two stroke length pool on board wasn’t going to be that useful either.

Luckily, I was able to use my experience with bodyweight based Crossfit exercises to make do with what was available. One day, I was in serious need of a pull up, so I scoured the ship for the best spot to do some of those while not accidentally flinging myself into the Pacific. The best place was near the bow of the ship, so on a nice sunny day I hammered through a Tabata workout: Tabata pull ups, Tabata, push ups, Tabata sit ups, and Tabata squats.

The facilities may not have been close at hand - a few thousand miles off hand, actually - but there were some Crossfit workouts I was able to apply in my given circumstances.

Looking Backwards and Forwards

All of the gyms had their own unique personalities for sure. Some were more competitive, others more laid back. Some were small while others were quite massive. But regardless of their differences, I could definitely recognize a community common to them all: an opened armed community focused on working together to push through awesome workouts every day.

As I now head to countries and places I have never before seen, I only have a few resources at my disposal. One of them is the Crossfit Affiliate Finder Map. I think I should be just fine.

View Crossfit Around the World in a larger map