It has become the biggest fitness trend of all time, inspiring fevered devotion among its two million apostles and hostility in its detractors. Once in, very few leave. So what’s the truth? MH joined the throng to find out whether CrossFit is a benign force for good or a toxic craze to be heeded.
Every weekday morning at 6.45am, a motorbike rumbles outside a railway arch just off the Walworth Road, south London. Willie doesn’t miss sessions, yet the 7-8am slot he prefers is exactly the same as every other one that will run that day. First, a warm-up, followed by a strength component of big barbell lifts and bodyweight movements. Then, the WOD – or – Workout of the Day a 15-20 minute torrent of reps, laps, metres and burnt calories. Willie gets in, goes hard and cracks jokes along the way, brushing his long hair back, sweat dripping on the rubber matting. Afterwards he stays on to do some rehab work on his shoulder, which he injured a while back during a test workout. It’s getting better, but slowly. Then he stretches, showers, pulls his bike gear back on and heads to work.
I have no idea what he does for a living. I think he’s American but he could be from Canada. I don’t really know Willie. But he and I, at that time in that particular gym, are united in purpose. We are here because this is what we do. More than that, it’s who we are. We are CrossFitters.
This story is from the August 2016 edition of Men's Health UK.
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This story is from the August 2016 edition of Men's Health UK.
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