CrossFit

"Ole-ole-ole-ole." My cellphone ring tone. (Have I mentioned that I'm an avid soccer/football/futbol/calcio (Italian) fan?)

So I reached for my cellular and, much to my surprise, the caller identification read "Danny Schmieding." One, I didn't know I had Danny's number. Two, why was he calling me?

Danny and I were best friends back in the McDowell Elementary days. It was a love-hate relationship. Don't get me wrong, we weren't abut to throw down. At worst, I might have told him, "You can't come to my birthday party," and he might have said, "You can't watch Wrestlemania at my place." We didn't have more than a few tiffs in our years as neighborhood buddies, but we always had a friendly athletic rivalry. We were always out to one-up each other.

In those days, we were nearly identical in athletic ability. Our basketball team was a dynasty, our baseball team was one of the best in the league and we set a meet record at the West Side Relays in the sprint medley. Basically, we were used to winning. However, we were both so competitive that we would get frustrated when one outperformed the other. The rivalry became more intense when we both settled on track and field, a largely individual sport, as our primary interest.

When we entered high school, Danny and I parted ways. He hung out on the lawn by the front office while I assimilated into a clique of freshmen jock-types in the quad by the library. The distance put a serious strain on our close bond. Actually, Danny was simply more developed socially. He had friends at the school who were older while I struggled to find an identity. I tried kicking it with Danny and his group, but I never felt like I fit in, and so our best-friendship ended. Even though we hung out on occasion in high school, it was never the same.

On the track, Danny and I found ourselves competing for a spot on the varsity 4x100 relay team. I remember being incredibly jealous that he made the squad as a junior while I had an absolutely terrible season. It wasn't Danny's fault -- he was running faster than me, period. Still, I held it against him a bit. The next year, I was the more successful runner. Danny couldn't replicate his previous season's success and, although we both made the relay team, I could sense a mounting frustration from him throughout the year.

After high school, Danny and I parted ways more permanently. I saw him around town on occasion, but we haven't hung out since our high school days.

Here I was, on my way to an Oakland A's game with my dad, and here comes this random phone call. Danny and I exchanged the mandatory pleasantries, then he got down to business. (That sounds less friendly than his proposal actually was). Turned out, Danny was pioneering the development of a new workout philosophy in Sonoma County called CrossFit and he wanted me to drop by the gym to give it a try. I jumped at the chance to spend some time with an old friend and, at the same time, experience something new.

After doing a little research, I found that CrossFit is a program that originated in Santa Cruz, Calif. It incorporates a workout-specific warm up with a timed set of exercises. The CrossFit website describes the regimen as "broad, general and inclusive." Whether you're 80-years-old, recovering from injury or perfectly fit, CrossFit's primary principal is scalability -- in other words, they use the same program for everybody, but scale the amount of resistance depending on the person's fitness level.

Tonight was my first workout with Danny and his crew. My first reaction was, "Wow, this is just like the Spd Factory." Danny set me straight. While the Spd Factory uses several CrossFit principals, their workouts are more sport-specific. Honestly, I didn't see too many differences except in the warm-up. At the Spd Factory the warm-up was mostly agility oriented while CrossFit was more tailored to the actual workout.

At first glance, the workout seemed fairly simple. There were three exercises: front squats, dumbbell push ups and sit ups. The first set was 21 reps of each exercise then a round of 15 reps and then nine reps. The workout intensity increases big time, however, because everything is full-go. You're working against the clock. As soon as you begin the workout, you find yourself driven to compete against everyone around you. As I completed my first task, 21 front squats, I looked around and noted how far I was ahead (or behind) the others. Forty-five reps of three different exercises -- cake, right? As soon as the competitive juices get going, that workout suddenly becomes much more difficult.

I completed the workout in 9 minutes, 20 seconds. Once again, my weakness was sit ups. And, for a second straight week, I watched a woman beat me up in a timed workout. She did more weight than me on the front squats and pounded out those sit ups. I could sit here and tell you that I've only been working out for about 45 days and that I ran 2 miles earlier in the day at a quick pace, but I honestly don't feel the need to toss out any excuses. That girl was impressive. She is flat out in better shape than me and gender has nothing to do with it. The 20-something-year-old even had the energy afterwards to further dazzle me with a series of deadlifts, several using just one hand. If only she could run -- she would kick the crap out of almost all the Cal Poly girls in the weight room, every sport included.

Thanks to Danny I've experienced a new method of working out, one that is quick (we were done in under 45 minutes), do-able and self-motivating (every time out you're competing against the clock and your peers). I'm already looking forward to my next CrossFit experience.