Source: Alain Sels for Sels Photography
We were interested in this Crossfit ad and decided to have a look at the competition and get to know the new hype that enters Belgium and Europe.
We went to the finals on Saturday in “The black box“
In these finals the best 80 athletes from all over Europe compete in different classes elite and master, men and women.
To understand Crossfit and the culture we must go back to the gymnasts Greg and Lauren Glassman. The first specialized Crossfit School was opened in 1996 in Santa Cruz (US).
These specialized Crossfit schools are named “boxes“, the boxes growed all over the US and in 2014 the 10.000 the box was opened in London.
Crossfit is a way of fitness that combines weightlifting athletics and gymnastics in one training routine.
the workout begins with a warm-up, a technical part (to learn the Crossfit moves) and a WOD (workout of the day).
The idea is to not specialize in one workout because this leads to monotone physical development.
The personal results are written down on a white board to stimulate the competition and the motivation of the athletes.
During training the athletes use barbells, dumbbell, kettle bells, sandbags, ropes, pull up bars, tractor tires“¦
The goal is to become fit and healthy as fast as possible, no matter the athletes age, occupation or physical history.
What we remember of our visit was friendship and motivation, there was a competition but after the WOD´s there were also hugs, drinks and team spirit.
We talked with a lot of the athletes and the most common remark was “it becomes a way of live“, this includes the clothing, diets, music “¦.
The shops at the event underlined these thoughts.
We stayed a little longer then we planned and made some great new friends.
We hope we can visit the boxes frequently and bring updates of this new sport.
The winners of the event can be found at the site below, but we think all these athletes were winners.
http://www.wodcast.com/OnlineEventLeaderboardPage.php?affiliateID=44270&eventID=575
