Today: The sport of fitness has arrived. {Part 1}
[tweetmeme source=”elizabethev” only_single=false]I can think of no better way to end a wild week than a day of fitness with a lovely group of ladies.
Reebok generously welcomed a group of FitFluential Ambassadors to their headquarters in Canton, Massachusetts (just a short trip down the Expressway) for what proved to be an incredible experience.
Despite logging a pathetic ten hours of sleep between Wednesday and Thursday nights, I couldn’t help but feel energized crossing Reebok’s campus. From the minute I reached the reception desk, I felt warmly welcomed. I met two ladies who also live in Southie, so you know they’re good people. Their team is friendly, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and above all, they clearly love what they do.
The day started with Johnice Graham giving us an introduction to the brand and their current campaign, The sport of fitness has arrived, as well as their partnership with CrossFit.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAu-ftOM3C8?rel=0&w=560&h=315]
For the record: I still get chills every time I see that ad. I also kind of love the Chad Johnson and Annie Thorisdottir one. Mostly because I kind of love Chad. Probably as much as Tina loves Annie. The workplace culture was remarkable, there is no mistaking that Reebok employees practice what they preach. As Johnice shared with us, in the last year alone, Reebok employees have lost over 4,000 lbs. by engaging with fitness in the workplace. From an on-site CrossFit box to walking paths, fitness classes, sports fields, and a track that wraps around the headquarter’s main building, it seems there are limitless options for getting and staying fit.
I especially liked the “express WODS” posted throughout the building.
The morning’s discussion provided the perfect segue into our first workout at Reebok CrossFit ONE, in our matching Reebok gear and RealFlex kicks.
I’d heard Tina and Mal rave about their visit to CrossFit ONE earlier this year and was really excited (and admittedly, a bit scared) to give CrossFit a try.
Austin Malleolo, head coach at CrossFit One and one of the best CrossFit athletes in the world, gave us an introduction to the CrossFit philosophy and took us through a quick warm-up with Caleb Diebolt before we paired up for a partnered WOD. The advantage to being engaged to a CrossFit addict is that I’ve unknowingly absorbed all the lingo. I was excited to see kettle bell swings and running on the workout, but pull-ups? Not so much.
[Photo by Kelly Olexa]
Sarah asked me to be her partner, and I eagerly agreed… until I remembered that she had her videographer with her. I’d like to apologize to all of her viewers for any and all of my on camera time. Fortunately, Sarah saved me when it came to pull-ups and jumped in whenever I was close to giving up. That’s the beauty of a partner workout. Want to see us in action? Kelly Olexa posted this great video of the two of us.
The kettlebell swings were definitely my favorite, and Austin, Caleb and the other coaches were great about helping us with form, and motivating us all to crank out a few more reps. We finished three rounds in 15:03. A quick and sweaty workout, to be sure. And yes, I can see what all the hype is about.
[Photo by Kelly Olexa]
I’m looking forward to hitting up an intro session at our neighborhood’s box soon. I think I’m ready to sip the Kool-Aid, especially after talking a bit more about it with Bridget during this morning’s run. I’ve been promising Nick that I’d join him at CrossFit Southie one of these days, and with work craziness starting to wind down for the new few months, I am running out of excuses. 😉
Highlights from the afternoon included a focus group and discussion on women’s footwear and apparel, a visit to Reebok’s Human Performance Engineering Lab (safety goggles!), and a cardio dance class with Ilyse Baker that had us stomping, shaking our hips, and channeling our inner Beyonce. More on all of this to come.
In the meantime, many, many thanks to Johnice and everyone at Reebok, as well as Kelly and the team at FitFluential for making the day possible. I am so grateful to have been included.
Also On Tap for Today:
- Running (and catching up) with Bridget 🙂
- IMAX movie at the Aquarium
- Grocery shopping, laundry, and other glamourous things
How do you stay fit at work?
Comments (13)
Betsy
May 12, 2012 at 4:12 pm
Yay! And yay Johnice! So glad you had fun 🙂
pushthedumpfatbutton
May 12, 2012 at 5:25 pm
Reblogged this on Pushthedumpfatbutton/weightloss/Living healthier Blogger/Exercise/Gettingthepoundsoff.
Erin (@girlgoneveggie)
May 12, 2012 at 6:49 pm
Way to rock it! That looks like the best time!
Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family
May 12, 2012 at 8:49 pm
SO jealous!! I love CrossFit and I am sure all of you lovely ladies represented FitFluential in the best possible way … I mean how could you not? You all ROCK!
funandfearlessinbeantown
May 12, 2012 at 10:27 pm
It looks like you had an amazing time. It has nothing to do with work but I’m thinking of signing up for barre classes to get toned for the wedding!
Today: The sport of fitness has arrived. {Part 1} « On Tap for Today | news update for you life
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Amanda L. (@KitchenMisfit)
May 13, 2012 at 10:58 am
I’ve drunk the Crossfit Kool aid and now I’m selling on every corner. Crossfit has literally changed my perspective on working out. Amazing, life changing will-do-it-for-the-rest-of-my-life. Yeah, I love it to say the least…
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