The CrossFit method of training was launched in California by Greg Glassman, who developed it while working as a personal trainer. The first CrossFit Web site was developed in 2001. There are currently seven active CrossFit locations in Connecticut, with more than 400 affiliates worldwide.
According to its Web site, CrossFit is a core strength and conditioning program, developed to enhance an individual's competency at all physical tasks. Athletes are trained to perform multiple, diverse and randomized physical challenges. This type of fitness proficiency is demanded of military and police personnel, firefighters and athletes in many sports that require total or complete physical prowess.
CrossFit exercises can consist of outdoor activities, along with squats, dead lifts, push-press, bench-presses and more. Other exercises include medicine ball throws, dips, pushups and handstands. Trainers and students make use of bikes, rowing machines, Olympic weight sets, rings, parallel bars and plyometrics boxes, the site explains.
Relatively new to the area, Ms. Darsh's CrossFit Watertown is located in the Oakville section of town. Ms. Darsh discovered CrossFit program more than a year ago when her friend showed her the CrossFit Web site.
"I looked at it [the Web site] and [I said], 'It's a little crazy, but let me try it.' So I started reading up on the CrossFit Web site and then it started," said Ms. Darsh, who previously worked as a trainer at a gym. "I wasn't working at that gym anymore [so] I just started running [CrossFit] out of my house [and] then became a CrossFit affiliate."
Ms. Darsh, a native of Watertown, is a certified CrossFit Level I Trainer and A.C.E. certified Personal Trainer. She is also a former USA Cycling Certified Coach, an Air Force veteran and a graduate of Vassar College and California State University.
In addition to running CrossFit, Ms. Darsh teaches writing at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury. She is an amateur triathlete and mountain biker and has lived all over the United States and the world. She met her husband, Ben, while serving in the Air Force. She completed her service after six years, while her husband remained, giving the couple the chance to travel the world for the following 20 years, eventually settling back in Watertown.
Since she opened in November, Ms. Darsh has had a variety of people take classes at her gym-among them a Navy Seal, a physical therapist, teachers and Web site developers.
"The one thing I would say ... that they all have in common is [that] not one of them shies away from hard work. They're all like, 'OK, bring it on.' They won't say, 'No, I am not doing that,' and they never give up," said Ms. Darsh. "Somehow, when you are working together with a group of people toward a common goal like this, you feel like you are letting them down if you give up."
There's a big difference between her CrossFit gym and a regular one, however. Ms. Darsh doesn't allow any iPods, there are no mirrors, no televisions and all the members work out together.
"At a regular gym, you are going to see everyone come in ... they are going to have their iPods on. They are going to be doing their own thing. They are going to maybe do some weights ... they are going to walk around, get a drink of water ... they are going to watch some TV [and] they are going to look at themselves in the mirror a little. Eventually they are going to leave [and] some of them will be a little sweaty, some of them will be less so. Nobody really seems all that happy," said Ms. Darsh.
That's not her approach. According to Ms. Darsh, because she is an affiliate, she and her members follow the basic CrossFit concept. But, she said, each location has its own personality.
"Nothing here is easy. We do a lot of pull-ups, push-ups and sit-ups, [and work] a lot with kettlebells," said Ms. Darsh, referring to the equipment that are pieces of forged iron used by the CrossFit program.
A workout typically lasts no more than an hour. Members will come in and warm up, usually do some technique work, then go into the workout of the day. "The warmup or technique work can vary, depending on how long the workout is going to be," said Ms. Darsh. "So if the workout is going to be short and brutal, we have a longer warmup."
That warmup might be what some consider the whole workout. It is more intense than jumping on a treadmill for five minutes. Instead, it is a full body warmup that incorporates pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups and may include tire flipping.
"We then cover some technique work on Olympic lifting or other complex maneuvers," said Ms. Darsh. "After all that, [there is] the heart of the workout-what we call the 'workout of the day,' and that is generally anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes of high intensity 'go-till-you-drop' exercise like you have never seen before." She also encourages "proper form" to avoid injuries.
On the backboard of the gym Ms. Darsh displays what is known as "CrossFit Girls/Heroes" from the main CrossFit Web site. Named after servicemen who died while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, or women who have received CrossFit training, these workouts are meant to challenge members and see how far they have come in their own training.
New members begin with three introductory sessions which are one-on-one, for $150. "I start them off with three sessions and that's pretty much standard at most CrossFit affiliates," said Ms. Darsh, adding that once the member completes those sessions, he or she gradually becomes part of the group dynamic used for training.
There are a few options available at a CrossFit affiliate, beginning with a month of unlimited classes for $185, a three-times-weekly option for $150 a month, and the two times a week option for $120 a month.
Aside from a valuable fitness regimen, Ms. Darsh believes nutrition is a contributing factor to good overall health. CrossFit recommends the Zone Diet, which provides participants with 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 30 percent fat, explained Ms. Darsh, who added that the food guidance the program provides is about "everything in moderation."
The CrossFit owner also has a philosophical approach to the program. According to Ms. Darsh, there are four things you need to have in order to have a happy life: proper nutrition, proper sleep, proper exercise and a sense of community. "It's four legs to the table, because if you don't have all of those, your table is not standing up," said Ms. Darsh.
"When people ask me, what exactly is CrossFit, I have a hard time explaining it in a nutshell. It's easier for people to just try it to understand what we do than it is to explain it, because it's just beyond conventional explanation ... it's tough but it's rewarding," she added. "If it's not functional, we don't do it, because it just makes sense to exercise the way you live."
Several events are planned for members of the program. CrossFit Watertown members will run in the 5K Fisher House Benefit in Bristol May 24. The Fisher House is a nonprofit organization that provides free or low-cost lodging to veterans and military families receiving treatment at military medical centers.
CrossFit Watertown will be partnering with CrossFit Central Connecticut and The Power Barn in Cheshire (another CrossFit affiliate) in the 2008 Trevor A. Win'E Memorial Day Challenge on May 26. Teams of four will complete 300 pull-ups, 400 push-ups, 500 sit-ups and 600 squats in a timed event to raise money to purchase cooling vests for U.S. troops in Iraq.
For more information on both events call Ms. Darsh at 860-274-4441 or visit her Web site below.
For more information on CrossFit Watertown, call 860-806-2803 or visit online at www.crossfitwatertown.com.
The main Web site is www.crossfit.com.
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