Feels Like Family 2

Today's post is all about the CrossFit workouts that I like to do with a few others at work. I've mentioned them on this blog before, since they can be awfully amusing. Heck, even the process of writing about the work outs is pretty amusing. And since I've been going to that class a little more regularly again, I've picked up a few more amusing stories in the process:

• Generally speaking, the trainer for the class doesn't tell us what the Workout of the Day (WOD, for short) is going to be. The whole idea is for it to be constantly changing, so as to keep us on our toes and force us to challenge ourselves. That means that he will often say things like, "it's not THAT bad" as he's writing up the WOD. That statement is always followed by a laugh. I don't mean that it's followed by a laugh some of the time, or that he throws in a light chuckle. I mean that he laughs every single time after saying that, and it's a full laugh, the kind that follows genuine amusement. Put it this way: more than one person has commented that he has an evil laugh.
• Since he always has to let us know the WOD at pretty much the last minute, he is usually writing up the WOD as we stroll in. We've all gotten used to a certain level of difficulty, so it's not uncommon for him to write something like 50 reps of a single exercise. It's not necessarily fun, but that's just how it goes. Keeping that in mind, that means when it's a tough WOD, it's the sort of thing that's going to make us groan just a little bit.
  So, in an effort to keep the complaining to a minimum, he'll leave off the number of reps or amount of time for the ones that are more strenuous. Of course, if anyone asks what the mystery number should be, we're usually met with the evil laugh.
• Along those lines, I walked in for a recent WOD, and I didn't see any reps next to any of the exercises. I immediately suspected something was up, but I didn't say anything. Of course, when he revealed what we were about to do, I couldn't contain myself. I immediately blurted out, "I knew it!" and then a couple of people immediately laughed at me.
• As I've mentioned before, there is something like a sibling rivalry that all of the people in the class have. It's actually the exact opposite of a cutthroat mentality, but we still like to try to keep up with each other. Sure, the point is to challenge yourself, but it's not uncommon to challenge yourself just a tad more when you realize that someone else is taking on that same challenge. It's all in fun, and it helps keep us a little healthier, so I'm not complaining. I am, however, amused as all heck that this recently led someone to say, "aw, how are you gonna let Sam lift more weight than you?" Since I knew no one involved meant any offense, I cracked up on the spot.
• I write blog posts for those WODs, so that people who miss the work out can do them on their own at a later point. On the days when I go, I just have to remember what we did so that I can transcribe it properly. However, on the days that I can't make it, I have to ask someone (usually the trainer) to let me know what the WOD was on that particular day. On a recent day that I missed class, I asked what the WOD had been. The response was classic: "you know, don't worry about this one. Today involved working with a partner, and it'd be HELLA hard to do this one on your own." I had visions of splitting up 300 reps of various exercises, and then I was just a tad relieved that I had missed that day's class.
• I mentioned once to the Mild Ex that I was super sore after one of these work outs, and that I was walking funny since I was so sore. She chuckled and commented that I sounded like an old man. Great, now I have "old man work outs."

  All in all, the whole process is a really good way for me to stay in shape, but it's also freaking hilarious. I think I'm going to have to keep going, for that fact alone.