Crossfit London - ON IN LONDON

Who’d have thought the day would come when I’d find myself surrounded by hot, sweaty people, sitting on a hockey ball, trying to get a knot out of my right butt cheek. Yet there I was, in a crossfit box one evening after work, pulling ugly faces, trying to finish a horrendous work out of the day which included me floundering on the floor like a fish out of water, trying to do just one more sit up…..but first, dealing with a troublesome butt cheek that was hindering my prgress. I’m proud to say it’s slowly becoming a bit of a habit, which I’m sure will eventually turn into one of those regular daily habits you don’t even notice yourself doing any more, as much as a subconscious act as brushing my teeth in the morning or checking my Twitter feed during my lunch break.

Crossfit originated in the United States and has turned the art of keeping fit into a sport in its own right which now includes the Crossfit Games, a world wide competition which allows crossfit participants to compete for the title of the world’s fittest athlete. Crossfit was founded by Greg Glassman in 2000 and the games were introduced in 2007 so both are relatively new.

Crossfit is focused on “constantly varied, high-intensity, functional movement.” Work outs include a multitude of disciplines including olympic lifting, gymnastics and calisthenics moves. Everything can be scaled to suit your fitness levels which makes it truly inclusive. I can’t do a standard pull up, for example, but with the help of a band or box, I’m able to take part with the rest of the group and work my strength up.

As with anything new, crossfit seems to have attracted as many opponents and critics as it has die hard fans. Some argue that it teaches people to push themselves too far, causing injuries. I haven’t seen any signs of this in my own box. We are taught to never sacrifice form and that our safety is paramount. I do see how an athlete could become caught up in the moment and ignore the body telling you it is injured, but not any more so than would be evident in any other sport.

There are over 9,000 crossfit afiliates around the world so it shouldn’t be too hard to find your local box. Boxes in London include:

CrossFit Blackfriars

50 Belvedere Buildings

London, London

00447527248271

CrossFit North London

92 Tottenham Lane

Hornsey, London

07739743952

CrossFit Evolving

Archway 3, 303 Holloway Road

London, England