At the beginning of the year, I purchased a voucher from Deal Grocer to try a one-month unlimited Bootcamp challenge in CrossFitMNL’s Alabang branch. To those unfamiliar with the term “CrossFit,” the PR term is, “the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of professional athletes worldwide,” as per http://www.crossfit.com. To translate in my words: it is Amazon warrior training on steroids!
CrossFitMNL, or CFMNL, Alabang branch is located in the warehouse compound just beside Toyota on Alabang-Zapote Road. Yes, they turned a warehouse facility into a training center. I find it fascinating as I’ve never stepped foot in anything like it before, but I suppose the rent would be somewhat cheaper compared to commercial areas. The place is rid of machines you would normally find in the gym, leaving a large expanse of space in the middle. The equipment used in the sessions are along the sides, such as ginormous plates, med balls, kettle bells , and other seemingly random pieces that would make sense as you go into the program. There are 9 people on average during the morning sessions, which I don’t really mind since I prefer a smaller crowd.
Coach Chino Roque leads the morning class that I attend (if his name sounds familiar, that’s because he won a spot in the AXE Apollo Space Academy to be “the first Filipino astronaut”). On my first day, I look around and I can easily tell that I am the least in shape one in the bunch. I super appreciate that Chino tries to adjust the routine so everyone would be able to do it, regardless of their physical prowess. But that doesn’t mean you reach the end of the workout without feeling like you died a little inside.
A typical Bootcamp workout starts with a light 200 or 400-meter run, followed by a series of random cardio exercises. The sessions of the day, called Workout of the Day (WOD), can be anything from a combination of burpees, funky box push-ups, jumping squats, or whatever in between the coach feels like having us do. The whole thing runs between 30 to 40 minutes which may not sound like much and it does go by fast. The first day that I was told that I needed to run, warning bells went off in my head. I. Don’t. Run. OK, maybe in the safety of the treadmill. But even if I did, I get too self-conscious of things that wiggle and jiggle in the wrong places. I finished the 400-meter run wheezing and grabbing for my water bottle, but I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to do it after all. That in itself was a small accomplishment which allowed me to plough through the rest of the period. The movements may have a lot of reps, but the intervals are so quick (like, 20 seconds) that you just concentrate on getting as many reps as you can before the time is up. Next thing I know, we were done for the day! Then I thought maybe I can survive this after all.
Before I started the program, I thought I’d be able to do it every day. WROOONNNNGGG!!! This is not the program for Herculean egos and Messiah complexes. I’m not gonna lie and say that it was all cupcakes and rainbows. I was in SO. Much. Pain when I woke up the next day that it took a week before I felt normal again. Chino and CrossFitter friends recommend popping fish oil or Vitamin E pills to ease the pain. I’d rather sleep; and that also seemed to help. To be fair, the pain becomes tolerable after you really get into it.
In the one-month period, I was able to attend 7 sessions, so that kind of breaks even the amount that I paid for the voucher. I don’t keep track of my weight; instead, I gauge the changes in how I feel. I certainly feel stronger. And within the 7 sessions, I can do a couple of half-decent burpees without collapsing. I already consider that to be a small victory! Will I do it again? Sure! I would love to go back and sign up for a few sessions. But I’m already scheduled for a month-long muay thai class next and I can’t stick to just one type of routine at a time or else I get bored really easily (hello, commitment issues). But that’s for another blog entry in another day.
For more information on CrossFitMNL, visit their website at http://www.cfmnl.com.
Simply Chiara 