 "Photo: Lisle Alderton")
Forging elite fitness – that is the CrossFit motto. Combining exercises from gymnastics, lifting, sprinting and several other regimens, the CrossFit program seeks to strengthen core muscles and whip any dedicated person into shape.
Jason Lembright, a self-proclaimed CrossFit fanatic, described the workout program as a "high-intensity, short-duration" exercise. Lembright said he has been doing CrossFit for six months, and his fitness level already has increased drastically.
"The workouts you do in CrossFit, all those movements are functional to everyday life," he said. "My back pain is gone."
The program was created by Greg Glassman, also known as "Coach" in the CrossFit world on the west coast. But Lembright said the exercise's popularity is making its way to the Midwest.
Although there are no CrossFit gyms in the area, the program's Web site, CrossFit.com, allows anyone the opportunity to become apart of the CrossFit community. Workouts are three days on and one day off and usually last about 20 minutes. The Web site provides users with free workouts of the day, referred to as WODs, and each one is a different and separate workout from the day before. It also gives users instructional videos that show proper exercise techniques.
Some of the daily workouts include exercises such as pull-ups, squats, short sprints and power-lifting.
Lembright said everyone from government task forces to Marine Corps and mixed martial-arts fighters are adopting the CrossFit workouts, but said anybody can do the exercises. He said the workouts are universal and can fit to any fitness level.
The Web site to the program also has a blog, which allows CrossFitters to share their experiences with others.
"It builds a community of people," Lembright said.
Cheyenne George, senior in public health nutrition and a local fitness instructor, adopted the CrossFit workout about one month ago and described the exercises as "hardcore intense." George said she often looks forward to her rest days, but the short duration of the exercises motivates her to keep going.
"I just feel better overall," she said. "I will definitely stick with it."
The short-length workouts of CrossFit allow for an increased level of exercise. George said at the end of a workout, she "literally wants to die."
Lembright said the exercises keep your heart rate at a level you never thought you could, but also said the moves gets easier with time.
Brett Bartlett, a platoon leader at Fort Riley, has been doing CrossFit for a year and describes himself as "a CrossFit junkie."
"I love it," he said. "It's the best workout regimen I've ever found."
Bartlett, who has been in the military for eight years, said he considered himself to be in pretty good shape, but realized with CrossFit he could do a great deal more.
"You'll be amazed at how much better you feel," he said.
However, Bartlett said people who are not good with a little pain and soreness would not like this type of workout.
Lembright said he is headed to Dallas in February for a CrossFit certification seminar where he plans to obtain certification to open a CrossFit gym in Manhattan as soon as possible. Bartlett also said he is working toward becoming certified through the military so he can partner with Lembright at the gym.
Both Lembright and Bartlett said they think a CrossFit gym would do very well in Manhattan.
"There couldn't be a better place," Bartlett said. "It would take off like crazy."
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