Oh man what an awesome time I had here. For starters though, I had a supposed quick run in the morning. I measured out a 5k course and set off for an attempted 7 minute mile pace. Then, when I never saw the street sign for one of my turns, and with my watch reading 25 plus, I realized I was probably a little lost. So I just kept running, hoping I would find my way. I finally did and measured the course again at 5.1 miles, finishing it in 37:30, a 7:20 pace.
Then, a bunch of hours later, Lindsey and I headed over to Albany CrossFit for their WOD: 3 snatches at 135# at the top of every minute, and burpees for the rest of the minute until you reach 100 burpees. Wow!
This place was pretty cool. You actually enter in to like a racket ball gym type of thing, with a normal gym attached. Pass the front desk and head down stairs to the courts. Albany CrossFit has taken over the first two of them and they are fully stocked with everything you'd need within the two, super high-ceilinged rooms. I was introduced to Caleb and Jay, Jay being the "main guy" around there. He was a nice guy, tons of energy and spent the whole workout running back and forth between the rooms snapping off pictures and yelling words of encouragement to everyone. He also has a pretty chilled-out sense about him, and from this, the entire place seems just that much more relaxed. The relationship between the coaches and athletes reminded me a bit of CrossFit DC, everyone was comfortable, they jokingly picked on each other and kept the atmosphere light.
One of the best things I found about this place though, was how supportive everyone was. Besides the coaches, the athletes also spent their time pumping each other up, and pushing each other to keep going. This was evident so much during the end of the WOD when one athlete was really struggling to finish. All the others came around and yelled words of encouragement and saw that she finished. This all took place before anyone racked up any weight, it was really an inspiring scene. To start off the day, we all piled into one room and went over basic snatch form. A coach took us through this and I was told it was his first day instructing after an Olympic cert he had just earned. He did a pretty good job considering, and with a group of around 13 people, he was able to get everyone getting a pretty good snatch. I think it would have been beneficial to take another 5-10 minutes to perfect the "most technical of Olympic lifts", but given the time, and, seeing that form was not all that bad on the video, I think it all went down very well.
From there, we split up into two separate rooms, guys in one, girls in the other. I would have loved to work out with Lindsey...but, it was totally understandable given the amount of people and the space. Time started and we got after it. This was a tiring one, and my legs were feeling it a little after box squats the day before and the hard run that morning, but it was so much fun. Also, I learned just before the WOD that only one other person completed it as prescribed, with the 135#. So, of course, I HAD to get it.
The snatches felt pretty good all through the workout. I splayed my feet a bit like I tend to do, but I really focused on driving with my legs and staying neutral through my spine, so I was very happy with my form all in all. The burpees were damn hard, as expected. I was able to finish with an average of 10 per round and the most exciting for me was entering my tenth round. I had 13 burpees to get and I wanted to finish. So, I just checked my gut, and turned it on, finishing in 9:59, 1 second from the top of the minute. I then walked around and cheered everyone on, a thing that I always do, and felt so comfortable doing here. Talk about a tight community. Even being there for a few minutes and you feel like you are being welcomed into a large, warm, welcoming family. I will definitely be back here every time I visit Lindsey in Albany.
I'll be headed there again today for another workout, I'll post that video and a smaller write-up later. Thanks so much to Albany CrossFit! If you're ever in the area, go check them out for sure.
Never Stop, GET FIT.
Josh Courage
1 comment:
Thanks for the super positive feedback! It was our pleasure having you! I added you as one of our "Friends" on our website.
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