Crossfit

     Last year my cross country tream/track team plunged into the new experience that our coach had set up and recommended at a gym not far from our school: cross fit. It's true, I hadn't heard much about it and didn't know what I was in for. I had only heard of lifting, seen it on ads and in pictures, and knew there was a class at my school that offered lifting as gym credit. I had heard that the lifting class was a little bit difficult, and since I didn't know how to lift, I avoided it at all costs, sticking to regular gym class and having fun playing volleyball with my friends. Little did I know what I was in for.
      Cross fit is becoming more and more popular throughout today's society. An extreme form of workouts and lifting, it requires you to work out three to five days a week on average, depending on the class you sign up to take. Taking it from an actual cross fit gym, the workouts were precise and targeted every body part it was supposed to accurately.
     I remember that my class full of other teenage runners was designed to improve the performance, speed, and strength of the runner, also to prevent injuries, which were building up quite quickly amongst our team. We focused on the strengthening the core and our legs, as well as our endurance. Our instructor, Nick, was merciless and made sure that girls knew they could and would do anything that guys had to do.
     The controversy on whether cross fit is safe and worth all the money and time you put into it still gets to me. I joined cross fit hoping to get stronger and lessen my chances of getting injured. My coach encouraged this class to our team for those exact reasons as well, seeing as he was and still is very active in cross fit classes.
      Physically I left the last day of cross fit class very strong and very happy with the results, despite the amount of sweat, blisters, calluses, and blood (yes, blood) I ended up putting into the daily workouts. I also left with tendonitis in my knees. I have difficulty believing that cross fit did that to me, because no other girl left with that same issue. We weren't directly given a weight to use when lifting (especially with all the squats we did) and when I told my instructor about the tendonitis he personally altered my workouts for me just to help me out. I believe it was my own fault that I got tendonitis, since I was trying to max out on nearly every set of every day just to get as strong as possible, which is not the smartest thing to do.
      I've heard of the damages and seen the damages cross fit can have on an individual, but I have also seen the amazing results that come with it. I would personally recommend such a difficult class to anyone who is the type of person who stands up when they get knocked down. Yes, this class it is difficult. It is much harder than a regular workout or lifting class, but I left cross fit with an excellent mental attitude. The message that girls can do anything was drilled into our brains, and I think that's something really valuable to have as a teenage girl.
    I would (if I could) do cross fit again, however I have parents that find it too dangerous and expensive, therefore I am sitting jealous of all those who can. Let's face it, if you can do cross fit without giving up,  you can do nearly anything.