CrossFit training gaining momentum

CrossFit Embrace (Added: March 07, 2011)

Gym brings high-intensity cardio and strength-training workout to Dothan, Ala. (more)

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By PEGGY USSERY
Published: March 06, 2011

DOTHAN, Ala. --

When people come into CrossFit Embrace to work out, they check the board. There, they’ll find the WOD – Workout of the Day – along with the number of repetitions expected.

“Each workout every day is completely different,” said Keisha Brazell, who co-owns the gym with husbandLandon.

On any given day, members might be expected to do 100 push-ups, sit-ups or squats. There may be deadlifts and pull-ups thrown into the mix. Tossing a 10- to 20-pound medicine ball against a concrete wall isn’t unheard of either. And don’t be surprised to see someone doing handstand push-ups. There’s running and rowing and climbing rope.

Members are asked to do it all as fast as they can.

The intense workouts provide cardio and strength-training. The ultimate goal? A healthy, athletic body even if you’re not an athlete.

“We warm up like we’re getting ready for a football game,” Keisha Brazell said.

CrossFit Embrace opened at its location on Woodburn Drive in Dothan on Nov. 1. The husband-and-wife owners are both personal trainers and had already developed a following at a temporary location when they decided to open their own gym in November.

It was Landon, a former athlete, who first got hooked on the CrossFit approach. He and Keisha started doing some CrossFit training, and, as word got out, clients wanted to participate. Before they knew it, they had 40 people showing up for workouts.

“It’s just given me a lot more endurance and confidence,” said Lori Fernandez, a member at CrossFit Embrace in Dothan. “It’s so hard, but it feels so good when you’re finished.”

Started in a California garage in the 1970s by former gymnast Greg Glassman, the CrossFit training is a total body conditioning program designed to develop strength and endurance. Not only will you lift heavy weight, you’ll be able run with it if necessary.

There are a number of CrossFit affiliates in Alabama, including Optio CrossFit in Level Plains, which started in November in the garage of owners John and April Munson and opened at its current location on Joe Bruer Road in December.

“CrossFit is functional fitness,” April Munson said. “It’s not about the mirror or muscles. It’s not about anything but getting fit and being fit for a lifetime.”

Munson said interest has increased each month with the gym adding one to two new members a week, including a lot of military personnel.

“CrossFit is about being fit across all boards,” Munson said. “It’s not being good at one thing but generally good at all things.”

At CrossFit Embrace in Dothan, individual training sessions are available, but most people who attendCrossFit Embrace attend classes. Trainers determine the workouts and stay on the floor to make sure people are using proper form when doing movements. The atmosphere is like working out in a friend’s garage – music blasting and people milling around drenched in sweat and encouraging each other.

“It’s not a gym where you come in and do your own thing,” Keisha Brazell said.

And while there are some weights used, most of the workouts are done with the body’s own momentum,Landon Brazell said. Squats, for example, become more intense by using the arms to build momentum and speed.

“Everything we do is with our bodies,” Landon said. “ … The intensity part of the workout is what makes the workout.”

Those who are serious about CrossFit actually attend fitness competitions like the Garage Games where participants compete in different challenges.

But don’t let the intensity scare you. The daily workouts are designed with the gym’s best athletes in mind and then scaled down for those just beginning or still developing their strength.

Keisha Brazell said anyone, regardless of age, can do CrossFit; it just might take time to develop their endurance and body strength.

Members swear by the results.

“It’s a challenge every day,” said CrossFit Embrace member Woody Sims. “Keisha and Landon come up with a plan every day, and you never know. That’s what keeps us coming.”

Saturday, April 9, 2011