This was the second of four “essentials” classes. I’ve done more erging this week than I have all year. (In addition to the below I also found myself on the erg earlier this week at the gym. The poor gym ergs … they looked so shiny and new three years ago ..)

What I practiced: Press; Push Press; Wall Balls; AbMat Sit Ups

Our mini workout was 3 rounds of:

• 250m row
• 10 Push Press
• 10 Wall Balls
• 10 AbMat Sit Ups

I clocked in at around 12 or so minutes. Looks harmless but you still end up pretty sweaty.

I’m trying out the Crossfit gym up the street from me. It’s a tiny little studio. Good thing there was just two of us in the beginners/essentials class. In addition to learning correct posture and positioning for a variety of lifting exercises, we did a quick workout of:

• Run 300m
• 5 back squats
• 7 deadlifts
• 9 box jumps

Repeat 3x

I was freaked about not injuring myself doing those deadlifts. In fact it was the box jumps then running that made me feel weak in the knees (and not in that romance novel kind of way)

I like it. I suspect this will be a new way to meet some neighbors since it is so close to me.we’ll see how the remaining 3 essentials classes go…

If you haven’t noticed by the lack of posts, I’ve been somewhat lost since finishing the half-marathon. Training went great. Race was great. But as soon as I finished I was pretty much finished with running. In July I saw myself running less and less, almost as a last resort activity, and by August I was pretty much done with it.

A new Crossfit gym opened up a few blocks up the street from us earlier this year and I walk by it every day on the way home from work. So today I went in for a trial class.Today the class did what they call the “Filthy Fifty”. Teacher modified it for me since I was new and not experienced (though I had done a bunch of the exercises listed, I still count as inexperienced). It was something like this …

• 15 box jumps
• 15 jumping pull-ups
• 15 walking lunges
• 15 kettlebell swings
• 15 knee elbows
• 15 push press
• 15 good mornings
• 15 wall balls
• 15 burpees
• 45 down-unders (basically jump-roping)

So … I liked it. The people doing it were nice. The husband mentioned that he often sees a class running around the neighborhood (apparently one workout includes running up and down the hill). He mentioned the people he saw weren’t all that fit, but I don’t know what class that is because everyone in our morning class seemed in pretty good shape.

It’s not cheap, but if it is fun and gives me a good workout and I’m close to home and not a huge commitment, I see a lot of good reasons to try it out (it starts with an “Essentials” class and then you move into the big leagues). I’ll still need to figure out what to do the other days of the week, and if it even fits in my schedule. Hm… wheels are turning.

Teacher said I’d probably be sore today. Well, I was sore when I walked into the gym from my workout yesterday, so this should be double the fun.