Outside The Box Feats

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When is the last time you tested your fitness outside the Shop? We are always encouraging our members to get outside our “newly painted” walls from time to time and use the awesome strength and conditioning you’ve gained from your weekly CrossFit training. One recent thing that surprised me was when Melaney and I traveled to the Grand Canyon. We got into Phoenix super late and with barely any sleep, we woke at 4am and drove 3.5 hours straight to the Canyon. We knew our trip was super short and wanted to get in and see the awesomeness, so we got there and decided to go right into one of the gnarly hikes that is the South Kaibab Trail. The South Kaibab trail has several turn around spots but Melaney and I just kept going all the way until Skeleton point around 3000 foot of elevation change where you can see 360 view of the canyon and the Colorado river. We are no avid hikers by any means but we were impressed with how we did. As we were trekking down the pretty steep trail looking at the awesome views of the canyon, I couldn’t help but realize how easy it was for both of us and how many folks were struggling, especially our age or a little younger. I think about how, although we probably could have completed the trail back before we did CrossFit, it would not have been half as enjoyable because we would need to take tons of breaks and legs would be gone. We were actually able to enjoy the views while going down and most surprisingly, crushing our way back up. Several warning signs said to at least account for double the time going up and I think we actually almost beat the time it took going down, even with breaks taking it all in.  Anyways, it was super fun and we were pumped at finishing it, even though when we were at the bottom we were quite skeptical of how long it would take! The most noticeable difference in fitness was how quickly we recovered when we took those short little breaks to catch the views. Within a couple seconds we’d be ready to go. Thanks, CrossFit!

Share some of your recent out of the box feats you’re proud of in the comments section!

8 replies
  1. Brenda
    Brenda says:

    Last year, I took a month off from Cross fit and rediscovered hiking. Hiked in Muir Woods, Big Sur, and Tilden Park. Recently hiked Mt. Tam and hiking is much easier now.

    I plan on taking amonth off this year. This time I will learn to swim. If I can get over my issues with snatches, I can learn to swim.

    Reply
  2. PT
    PT says:

    Going through rocks and other obstacles in order to get to the one of the waterfalls in Maui when others turned around. Worth it!!

    Reply
  3. Jacqueline Janet
    Jacqueline Janet says:

    Went to a picnic with friends last summer. We played badmitten. I love badmitten. Haven’t played in years. For some reason, I was rallying solo on one side of the net while several people on the other side tried to keep up. I’m fit. Thanks CrossFit

    Reply
  4. Big Mike
    Big Mike says:

    My story is a little different. I found my Crossfit conditioning to be very beneficial during my radiation treatments for prostate cancer. I convinced myself if I can survive the rigorous workouts, then the cancer treatments wouldn’t be as big a challenge. While the radiation treatments were difficult, my body was able to deal with it better due to a high level of fitness training at Sweatshop.

    Reply
  5. JB
    JB says:

    Chief-
    If I was this cancer, I would be scared at shit knowing it’s going up against a badass like you. I’m pumped that your dedication to your fitness has given you strength to beat this thing!

    We’re rooting for you big man and SS is always here if you need us!

    Reply
  6. Nabil
    Nabil says:

    Chief you are honestly the toughest most resilient human I know! I have full confidence that you will beat the shit out of this cancer, making it only a minor hiccup in your life.

    Reply
  7. Big Mike
    Big Mike says:

    Hey Guys,
    Thanks for all the support these past several months. While I still have plenty of work to do in regaining body weight, strength and stamina, I am confident one day I’ll be able to beat Lones in a met con workout …ha..ha.. She’s a beast right now and I mean that in the most positive way.

    Reply
  8. DJ
    DJ says:

    Chief, You kick ass in and outside of the gym my man! You know you have the entire support of the Sweat Shop! You without a doubt inspire me to push myself inside the gym and in life and I know you’ll be back to 100% in no time.

    In response to JB’s post Britney and I went on a “moderate” hike yesterday up Mt. Diablo. What we thought was going to be a casual weekend hike turned into quite the uphill battle, quite literally. We had to hike a good portion of the trail at a pretty steep incline and it seemed like it would never end. After a couple of hours of incline we almost turned back but a passerby convinced us the views were more than worth it. We were not disappointed once we got to the top but realized the enjoyment would be short lived as the sun was setting and it was getting chilly. We then had to hurry down the trail, jogging most of it, just to make it back to the car as it got pretty dark. Even though we are both fairly young we both agreed if we had not been doing CrossFit fairly frequently we probably would not have made it up and definitely would not have made it down as fast as we did.

    Reply

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