The sport of fitness
By Ian Dille
MERRILY PORTER'S ALARM GOES OFF AT 5 A.M. on a muggy morning in mid-May. As she makes her way to the CrossFit Central location in Austin, Texas, a light drizzle reflects off her headlights. Inside what looks like an old auto garage converted into a torture chamber for fitness -- with dumbbells, medicine balls and various other workout equipment scattered across a rubber-matted floor -- Porter joins seven classmates (four women and three men, including myself). The CrossFit trainer, Michael Gregory, is a towering 26-year-old with ample amounts of upper body muscle. He wears his hat turned backward, sports a red goatee, and is trailed closely by a puppy pit bull, Bella. "Fast feet," he says, and we begin our warm-up. With nearly 500 affiliates worldwide and a Web site attracting thousands of hits per day, CrossFit training is among the fastest-growing fitness trends in the country. The concept, which combines a unique and hardcore workout methodology with a business model based on giving much of it away for free, was first conceived by a former gymnast, Greg Glassman, in 2001. . . . keep reading...>>
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