Ryan Donovan
Staff Writer
When walking into the varsity weight room, you can immediately feel the intensity from the various students participating in CrossFit workouts. The group meets up at seven o’clock every Monday and Wednesday in the Fieldhouse. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the group meets at four o’clock in the Fieldhouse as well. The group is headed by sophomores David Dubin, CJ Harper and Carly Elkin. Both Dubin and Harper are recently certified CrossFit trainers.
CrossFit was established in 2000 by Greg and Laura Glassman. Ever since the establishment of the sport, interest from people has flourished.
In just seven years after the creation of CrossFit, there is a worldwide event called the CrossFit Games. The sport is now very popular in various continents like Europe and Australia along with America. In the CrossFit Games, they recently added different groups for gender and age to make it easier for select groups to win their division. The winner of each division goes home with $250,000.
For the newly-created CrossFit group on campus, their workouts do not differ from what you would see at the CrossFit Games. Some of the equipment they use are barbells with weight plates, kettle bells, pull-up bars, medicine balls and the rowing machines. But the most important thing you need is your body, of course. Although their exercises only last 20 or so minutes, it is extremely rigorous to the body.
“It is very time consuming doing three to four workouts a day, plus the intensity of the workout. But the results are what make me keep going,” said Dubin.
People use CrossFit to improve their strength and conditioning rather than just trying to improve their physique. Many of the participants in the CrossFit club on campus have already seen improvements in just four weeks. Along with the improvements you get from CrossFit, there is a feeling of community with all of the participants.
“The group is constantly growing every week, and we are still hoping to pull in more participants. I wanted to bring CrossFit to this school and have other people join. I thought it was an activity that everyone who liked working out could participate in,” Dubin said. “I am hoping for at least 50 people to join, and to also add more and more people every week.” If you are interested, stop by the Fieldhouse and see what CrossFit is all about.
Ryan Donovan can be reached at rdonovan2@springfieldcollege.edu