“What’s a WOD?”
If working at a startup is the learning experience of a lifetime, then what is working at a startup attached to an interval training facility?
Before joining GymNext, I THOUGHT I was physically fit. I had always been active, and I had even just completed a half-marathon. The kind of constant cardio associated with running has kept me lean and in shape most of my life. But, the GymNext office is attached to The Garage Crosstraining Compound, a gym known for its close knit community and intense workouts. I saw this as a prime opportunity for me to try out this thing called ‘CrossFit’ as both a way to improve my knowledge needed at the company and to improve my fitness levels.
I asked Duane, the founder of GymNext, for any words of advice before I first tried this out. He began to say things like “Scale the WOD”, “knees out”, and “squat stance”. Confusion, then fear.
What do any of these words mean?
There was no chance I was doing this alone, so I dragged Kevin, an intern, into this experience as well. (That’s what interns are for, right?)
The first workout was 60 sit ups. Then 40. Then 20 more. In between deadlifts and rope climbs and running across the floor like a robot. How is that one workout I asked. My trainer did scale it back for me and Kevin, the only newbies in the class. Still, I struggled mightily. Afterwards, my body was completely crushed — from a scaled WOD.
Regardless, I can now say I have completed my first WOD (and I know what WOD means)! And I’ve clearly got a lot to learn. But man, I’m looking forward to all the sweat and tears I’ve been told to expect. At GymNext, we set goals for ourselves every week. I plan to do the same for my CrossFit Journey!
This week my only goal is: Find out what all these new words and acronyms mean. WOD, AMRAP, Rx, PB, Chipper, and many more.
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