You think you know, but you have no idea

The last weekend in June I attended the CrossFit Level I Certification at CrossFit One World. I was so nervous and excited the night before the cert that I woke up every hour on the hour. When I got to One World, an hour early, Nicole Carrol was standing outside with her starbucks in one hand and cell phone in the other. I've sat about 5 feet away from Sandra Bullock once at a concert and didn't give her more than a glance. Movie stars don't phase me, but here I am sitting in the car and all I want to do is stare at Nicole in complete shock. I tried to play it off and be cool as I walked past her and entered the gym. Once inside I almost fell over when I saw the rest of them....CrossFit Royalty, Icons and fitness heroes. Freddy, Pat, Boz, Dutch, Tony B, and my personal favorite, Jolie . I'm probably building them up way too much. After all, they are just home video celebrities, but I've watched their videos for months. I used to think the things they did were impossible and unobtainable, but after a few months of CrossFit I started doing the same workouts I had been watching them do on CrossFit.com (with a huge scale down on time and weight). These guys were about to teach me, hands on, how to execute the moves and train my clients to get the most out of the CrossFit program!! The 2 days were filled with lectures, demonstrations and hands on critiques. Oh, and I cannot forget those random WOD's they threw at us. At the end of day 1 Nicole sent us out to warm up. This is where it became clear that CrossFit warm ups really are the other guys work outs. Burpees, squats, push ups, more squats, fast squats, slow squats, bottom squats, and a nice run that ended with a view of the mountains. Sounds so peaceful doesn't it? Peaceful and short lived. We walked back into the gym and were set up to attack FRAN! A bench mark work out consisting of 3 Rounds of 21, 15, 9 Reps of Thrusters and Pull ups. I had only attempted FRAN once and my time was over 10 minutes at prescribed weight and pull ups. I was nervous. I set up near the front wall with Jolie standing in front of me. 3..2..1...GO! The thrusters were easy and for some reason my pull ups seemed weightless. (Freddy has a badass pull up rack set up.) I'm not sure if it was the adrenaline, the practice over the months, or the fact that I had my own cheering squad on me the entire time, but I ended with 3 holes in my hand and a 6.13 minute FRAN time! It was a PR and it felt great! Every single minutes of it. I got lots of sleep that night.

The next day was more lectures and demos. I was so interested in everything they said and taught. I didn't want to miss a world or forget a single move. Just when I thought we were being released for lunch they sent us out for another CrossFit warm up. We came back to rows of med balls, boxes, barbells, and rowers. It was time for a little FIGHT GONE BAD. I partnered up with another female that had just started her CrossFit adventure. I yelled and pushed her through the entire work out. Then it was my turn..... This time my cheerleaders were my partner, Dutch on the rower, Pat on the Push Press and Freddy on the box jumps. My score wasn't all that great and by the end I think my body was moving and my brain was on vacation. Somewhere between Sumo Deadlift High Pulls and Wall Balls it all became a blur. I can't wait to do it again!

At the end of the two days I felt more educated, more athletic and almost like I was a step ahead of the other guy on my journey into Fitness as a career. I believe that CrossFit has got it going on! I've done the WOD's, I've trained with many other CrossFitters, I've read blogs and checked the website daily, but it wasn't until the end of my 2 day cert that I really grasped the concept of what CrossFit is. You think you know, but you have no idea.

What is CrossFit?

Constantly varied functional movement performed at a high intensity.

Break that down.

Constantly varied: Constantly - continuing without pause. Varied- to change or alter, variety. Its is with out a doubt never the same routine. There is no leg day or arm day. Who wants to spend an hour working on their biceps when you can tone your entire body in 20 minutes?!

Functional Movement: Functional - capable of serving the purpose for which it was designed. Movement - actions or activities, as of a person or a body of persons. The body was designed to move. Every time you sit down you squat. When you pick something up off the floor you deadlift, when you put something on a shelf above your head that is a shoulder press. Functional movements are performed all day every day.

Performed at high intensity: Perform - to carry out; execute; do. Intensity - great energy, strength, concentration, as of activity. This is basically the "GET SOME!" part of the program. You take those functional movements and do them at a high intensity! That's where the good stuff lives.