Cross Fit and Bikram Yoga a marriage made in Alabang

I’m turning 40 soon.

This means I’m looking back on 40 years and wondering where the time has gone and how come my body went with it? Motherhood is a beautiful gift, I look at each of my kids everyday (when they are not bickering) and wonder what I did so right, to be so lucky, that they would chose me as their mom.

Carrying those same 4 kids, and birthing them….well, as lucky as I know I am…that luck did not carry over into the havoc that each pregnancy wreaked on my body. With each pregnancy my weight was redistributed in places that it wasn’t before. Couple this with the fact that I haven’t been so diligent in my yoga practice, and I have stretch marks, the absence of a six pack (unless you count the one in my fridge) and saggy skin in places I would not care to admit.

And so the marriage of Bikram and Cross Fit can become my saving grace.

My friend Ginger asked me if I wanted to join a few of the Bikram Yoga Alabang students for a free intro to Cross Fit. She didn’t have to ask me twice because I jumped at the opportunity to sign up immediately after the class that she announced it in this past Monday.

I’ve always enjoyed cross training. In fact, when I was working one on one with a trainer-this is the type of workout I preferred. I like that every session is different and that you keep moving through each activity. To the outsider who has never cross trained, it might look easy. But for those of us who have actually done it…we know much different. I love Cross Fit Manila’s description on Twitter, “The first Crossfit box in the Philippines. We are the school of elite fitness. No machines, no mirrors, no egos. Just results.”

This is exactly what I need!

Cross Fit began in 2000 when Greg and Lauren Glassman put together prescribed workouts for individuals to complete on their own under the supervision of a certified trainer. Trainers go through a certification process and can only train in affiliated Cross Fit Gyms, just like Bikram teachers can only teach in Bikram studios.

Coach Chino guided us through our first Cross Fit workout by asking us to introduce ourselves and share our favorite ice cream flavor. He also shared that at Cross Fit (much like Bikram) they want  to create a community for their students/clients to embrace the culture. Have you heard of The Paleo Diet?

Our workout for the day would be completed in 15 minutes. Is that all, you say? Really? YUP. And 2 minutes into it I was already looking at the clock, wondering if I was going to make it! We needed to do 5 sets of 10 Box Jumps, 10 KB (kettlebell) Goblet Squats, and 20 KB Swings. Piece of cake you say?

 

Warm ups started with an Upright Crawl, Burpees, Duck Walks, and Wall Squats.

After we were warmed up Coach Chino introduced each of the exercises and he asked us to do a couple of reps as he demonstrated the proper form. He wanted to be sure we had the proper form for the box jumps, (I preferred to step up) the squats, and the KB swings. When he was sure that we had a good grasp on each of the sets, the clock was set.

And after only a few minutes, I was already hating that clock…

The music was loud and the energy level was high. I really felt like I was competing with myself. As soon as you finished your 5 sets you let Coach Chino know so he can record your time. This is part of your final score you will keep with yourself. (The second part would be your lowest count on butterfly crunches.)

After everyone completed their sets, we were told to get some mats from the wall. Coach Chino then gave us the third and final part to our boot camp. We had to do butterfly crunches and forearm plank pose. We would alternate between these two postures for 20 seconds with 10 seconds rest in between.  The timer is set for 2 minutes 50 seconds.

I had such a good time (despite my soreness the next day) that I already asked Ginger if we were going to go back as a group. I can see myself using this type of training to get my body where I want to be, before I hit the big 4-0….Yes, I AM feeling it…YES, I am wanting to fight it every step of the way. (gray hair and all)

To learn more about Bikram Yoga you can visit their facebook page. If you already working out using the Cross Fit method, you might want to take a look at Bikram. I was all kinds of tight after the workout and needed to attend a yoga class the next day just to stretch! I think these two regiments will go very well together for someone who enjoys balancing different ways to stay fit.