By Toby Jones
In the last couple days, all over Michigan, all over the United States, and all over the world, over 55,000 people are participating in one of the largest, most unusual athletic competitions ever.
The goal is to do as many burpees as you can in seven minutes.
Imagine a seven-minute work out in which you do as many squat thrusts as fast as you can without stopping. Then, try and imagine another 55,000 people in countries all over the world
doing that exact same work out. This is the essence of the first leg of the 2012 Crossfit Open.
Phil Loesch is a certified Athletic Trainer and the founder of Crossfit Petoskey...
So Crossfit is a strength and conditioning program. The thing that stands apart with this is that they use functional movements in almost everything they do and it's all measurable. We can easily and accurately go back and say, 'Hey, your fitness level is better than it was two weeks ago, two months ago, two years ago.' And that's one of the things I really love about it.
Beginning this week for the second time in history, Crossfit Participants are quote "gathering" in their respective gyms all over the world for this highly unusual competition and fitness test.
Last year they had over 26,000 people compete worldwide, This year, right now, there's over 55,000 people competing worldwide. And how this works is we've got 24 people in our gym working out and competing in this worldwide event, and if they make the top 60 in our region, they'll get to go to regionals, and then, if they were to do really well in regionals and were
the top two or three guys or top three women, then they get the chance to go to California for the finals.
At the Petoskey Crossfit facility, the athlete with the best chance of advancing is Steve Schmaker.
The open is something where if you're a competitive person you just strive to do real well at. And it gives me a way to see how I stack up and compete with the rest of the world and some
of the best guys in the country.
In a world full of fitness fads and exercise programs, CrossFit seems to have found its niche. But that niche isn't only with elite athletes.
My name is Mike Erxleben and I live in Harbor Springs, Michigan. And I've done various programs tried to lift weights through the years, play basketball, ran, got bored with running. And now I'm into doing Crossfit now, and just trying to stay in shape. I'm 45 years old and just trying to stay active.
So after all this hype and talk of world wide competition, 55,000 people, I thought I'd jump into the open and give it a try. I mean, how hard can 7 minutes of anything really be?
Oh my gosh! That was the worst seven minutes of my life! That Was 64 and a half burpees...I don't think Crossfit is going to be calling me anytime soon.
In the last couple days, all over Michigan, all over the United States, and all over the world, over 55,000 people are participating in one of the largest, most unusual athletic competitions ever.
The goal is to do as many burpees as you can in seven minutes.
Imagine a seven-minute work out in which you do as many squat thrusts as fast as you can without stopping. Then, try and imagine another 55,000 people in countries all over the world
doing that exact same work out. This is the essence of the first leg of the 2012 Crossfit Open.
Phil Loesch is a certified Athletic Trainer and the founder of Crossfit Petoskey...
So Crossfit is a strength and conditioning program. The thing that stands apart with this is that they use functional movements in almost everything they do and it's all measurable. We can easily and accurately go back and say, 'Hey, your fitness level is better than it was two weeks ago, two months ago, two years ago.' And that's one of the things I really love about it.
Beginning this week for the second time in history, Crossfit Participants are quote "gathering" in their respective gyms all over the world for this highly unusual competition and fitness test.
Last year they had over 26,000 people compete worldwide, This year, right now, there's over 55,000 people competing worldwide. And how this works is we've got 24 people in our gym working out and competing in this worldwide event, and if they make the top 60 in our region, they'll get to go to regionals, and then, if they were to do really well in regionals and were
the top two or three guys or top three women, then they get the chance to go to California for the finals.
At the Petoskey Crossfit facility, the athlete with the best chance of advancing is Steve Schmaker.
The open is something where if you're a competitive person you just strive to do real well at. And it gives me a way to see how I stack up and compete with the rest of the world and some
of the best guys in the country.
In a world full of fitness fads and exercise programs, CrossFit seems to have found its niche. But that niche isn't only with elite athletes.
My name is Mike Erxleben and I live in Harbor Springs, Michigan. And I've done various programs tried to lift weights through the years, play basketball, ran, got bored with running. And now I'm into doing Crossfit now, and just trying to stay in shape. I'm 45 years old and just trying to stay active.
So after all this hype and talk of world wide competition, 55,000 people, I thought I'd jump into the open and give it a try. I mean, how hard can 7 minutes of anything really be?
Oh my gosh! That was the worst seven minutes of my life! That Was 64 and a half burpees...I don't think Crossfit is going to be calling me anytime soon.