MONDAY MEAT-UP: MEET THE TRAINER (Me!)

Biggest Loser contestants are doing it, celebrity trainers do it, NASCAR drivers do it, pro sports teams are incorporating it into their conditioning programs. Want one more reason to try it...because I am a CROSSFIT LEVEL 1 TRAINER! Big ol' PASS

The hardest bit, was having to wait 5-7 days to get the results. It came in an email, at some random time of the day, and it said “PASS”. Truly, the hardest part is what comes next. Training others. I just need to stick to facts (no BRO science), and get to know my athletes. Find out what their goals are, what their weaknesses are. Learn to work with them and I’ll do nothing but succeed.

CrossFit is the "sport of fitness" or "training for the unknown and unknowable," which means we're (I can say that) the jack-of-all-trades of athletes. Our (part of the team now) specialty is to not specialize. CrossFit combines aerobic conditioning, Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics along with some other old-school training elements like kettlebells, rope climbs, tire flipping and sledgehammer into daily WODs (workouts of the day). We're trained to be able to run a 10K but to also do long jumps, box jumps, and pull-ups -- and anything you can do with a barbell or dumbbell, we can do it. Guess what?  I can teach you!

The sport started in a few decades ago by gymnastics coach Greg Glassman in Santa Cruz, Calif. It was used primarily by military, police and fire academy trainees, but spread quickly around California then worldwide. It's now grown into a sport of its own, and Reebok sponsors the Reebok CrossFit Games, where each July, the best CrossFit athletes in the world compete for the title of "Fittest on Earth."

As a  Level 1 CrossFit trainer (WOOP!) and possibly an evangelist of the sport for the next couple days as I ride this high, I've come up with reasons why everyone should try CrossFit -- at least once. 

There are so many ways CrossFit can improve your life, I'll share a few.

It's fun
You'll love what your body can do.
You'll gain a new social network.
It can help make you a better person. No, really!
Improve your self-confidence
Make you more humble
Help you lose excess body fat and gain muscle
Strengthen your heart and cardiovascular system
Improve your flexibility and joint mobility
Give you a whole new group of friends
It can also put a smile on your face! It does mine;)