Well, the CrossFit Community Month started off with a bang at CrossFit Pleasanton. I had such an awesome time, met a ton of really energetic, welcoming people, had an insane workout where I was pushed right to the finish despite my desire to just pass out, and felt so welcome I can barely wait to come back and visit again. But let's give a brief background on the gym (check out the video for more details!). CrossFit Pleasanton is run by Paul Southern, a pretty cool guy if I do say so myself. He's been training for a while and with the natural, and very quick growth of his company, he represents the perfect example of the "right way" to run a gym. They have TONS of classes, a member base of around 200, specialty classes (specifically powerlifting where they excel thanks to powerlifting superman Jessie Burdock). The gym he has now is a 5000 square foot, spacious haven for exercises, equipped with enough toys to make a grown man weak in the knees (yes, I was drooling...). But what set this gym high up in the chain was the people I met. I generally have a hard time just walking up to people and introducing myself, even when I am a special guest. But here, people walked right up to me and engaged me in conversation, and that is something I take to heart so much. I was not only welcomed by the coaches, but by so many athletes (and there were WELL over 30 that moved through the gym in the 2.5 hours I was there). I could totally see how becoming a member there would introduce you to a whole world of social possibilities, and that is exactly the point of my journey visiting all these places - to show how friendly and community-based CrossFit and similar gyms really are! On to the workout: this thing was a leg destroyer! Paul had asked me to write something up for the day a couple days back and after I saw a prowler in a pic on their site, I was inspired. 5 ground to overheads 195# 25 meter out and back prowler push 90# 10 ground to overhead anyhow 165# 25 meter out and back prowler push 120# 15 ground to overhead anyhow 135# 25 meter out and back prowler push 150# The interesting thing about this is that the weight being taken off the barbell gets added to the prowler. Basically there is nothing about this workout that even hints at recovery. We had some motivation from an earlier fire-breather who finished it in 6:19 and we got after it. I had a beast of an athlete right next to me, so I was being pushed the entire time. He moved ahead of me by a couple reps on the second round but I was able to make up a little time on the prowler push, then push ahead of him on the final set of ground to overheads. I finished in 6:05 and literally had no ability to stand for about a minute or so. My legs felt like they were 10 sizes too big, and I tasted a metallic, acidic taste in my mouth for about 20 or so minutes. Good Lord! Pretty sure we had a few people lose their lunch, or at least come very, very close to it. Paul went in the second heat, and despite his efforts to stay humble about his fitness level during our chat earlier, he tore it up with a 5:41 time. Damn impressive. I ended up hanging out for about an hour after the workout just talking to people and that completely made my night. I have nothing but respect and admiration for a place that aspires to form a friendly yet incredibly fit and competitive community and succeed beyond any reasonable doubt. This is one of those CrossFit affiliates that I would go out of my way to visit; so, if you are ever in the Bay area, yeah, check 'em out! CrossFit Pleasanton 7075 Commerce Circle, Ste B Pleasanton, CA 94588 Office: (925) 353-4894 Fax: (925) 734-6018 re-active@comcast.net www.crossfitpleasanton.com Tomorrow I am hiking up a good ways north of the city to visit TJ's Gym. Looking forward to it! Never Stop, GET FIT. Josh Courage
|
RSS Feed
