Workout features several types of exercise

B1

by dwayne tingley
times & transcript staff

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Kevin Wood's words seem contradictory until he explains what CrossFit is all about.

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GREG AGNEW/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT

Kevin Wood of Crossfit Moncton tosses a wall ball. The ball, weighing 20 pounds, is tossed several feet above the person's head in a timed event.

"It's meant for anybody, but it is not for everybody," the enthusiastic 28-year-old operator of Moncton's CrossFit gym said yesterday.

CrossFit, which began at a California gym in 2001, features workouts that encompass elements of weightlifting, gymnastics, running and rowing all done at a high level of intensity.

The Moncton club, located at 94 Rideout St. in the Moncton Industrial Park, has about 30 active members who attend workouts from two to five times a week. The participants range in age from 18 to 60.

"There's no one demographic," said Wood, a physical education teacher at Petitcodiac Regional High School.

"The workouts are for everyone and are scaled to each person's abilities and endurance. The workouts can range anywhere from three to 45 minutes and the average would be about 20 minutes. It's 20 non-stop, intense minutes and the participants get a lot out of it.

"The more they put into it, the more they get out of it."

Approximately 70 CrossFit participants from all over the Maritimes will be at Wood's gym on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the Atlantic Hopper Championships.

Several exercises will be placed in a hopper and drawn by male and female competitors, who will be asked to perform at least two and perhaps more of them. The competitors who complete their drawn exercises in the best times will be declared champions.

"There's no way to prepare for it except to come in the best shape possible," Wood said. "No one knows what they're going to be doing in advance.

"They might be asked to run backwards 400 yards or do pullups or dead-lift weights. It's going to be a fun day and a great challenge to these competitors."

The Moncton gym has been open for about a year and it's popularity is growing.

"The word-of-mouth has been great," Wood said. "It would also be great to see a lot spectators out to Saturday's event so more people can discover what CrossFit is all about. As the word gets out there, we're going to keep growing."