When I first joined CrossFit, my friend Ruben was someone that was in the class with me. Since then, he has become one of the coaches at Legion of Power and is really good at it. Sometimes he concocts genius workouts on Sundays. I decided to ask him his take on CrossFit, and lessons he has learned as well as what advice he would give to us beginners. Take a look to see what he said.
What got you into Crossfit?
I started doing P90X in the cafeteria at my first corporate job, every day after work. One of the VPs that I worked closely with would see me doing those videos and joked "When you are ready to do a real workout, come see me at Crossfit." I thought P90X was a real workout? I mean 60+min of moving seemed like a legit thing... Little did I know. I decided to finally try a free class at Core Crossfit downtown and I did really well. My coworker approached me after the community wod and said, that's just entry 101 level. Come during the week and get a real taste for it. 1st week there I did Fran and time capped at 15 min. I knew there was something special about crossfit because I was the last one done but got the loudest applause.
Fran
21 Thrusters and 21 Pull-Ups
15 Thrusters and 15 Pull-Ups
9 Thrusters and 9 Pull-Ups, as fast as possible.
Biggest challenge:
Realizing the improvement is incremental over time and is not seen the very next day. Be patient and trust the process.
Best thing:
Friends. My best friends have come from crossfit and I can't imagine a life without these people in my life.
Proverbs 17:17
"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity."
Advice for beginners:
Make sure your nutrition, sleep, and stress are taken care of first. Come even if you don't feel like working out. Spend time in the sun. Don't be worried about failing in front of others, this is a loving, supportive community. If your are north of 30 (older than 30) get knee sleeves. Learn shoulder control in the bar, be able to stop mid kip. If you feel your hands are about to tear, swallow your pride and modify. 1 tear can impact your next few days if wodding.
Hardest move that I'm good at now:
Double unders, I used to practice every lunch break in penny loafers in the work gym. It took me 2 years to get those bad boys but now I can have full conversion mid flight.
Tell my younger self:
Emphasize gymnastic movements, tap into your mobility.
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