The first time I met Morgan Hepfer, I had just walked into my gym for a normal afternoon workout. He was there for the first time with his wife, Lisa and their baby daughter, Finley. Morgan is of average height, well-built, head shaven and heavily tattooed on the arms. His build is beguiled by a warm smile and very agreeable disposition. He and Lisa had just recently moved back to the Tacoma area after teaching English in Bangkok, Thailand. They went through our workout and I found that I was quickly dominated by Morgan’s work ability: Finley lay on a blanket for the duration, every now and then being checked on by her mother. It may sound strange to befriend someone so randomly at a gym, but I should explain that this gym is anything but typical. We were training (a word used here in place of “working out”) at Crossfit Pierce County, a gym owned by Eugene Allen, a local sheriff and former special forces member. At the time the gym was run out of Gene’s oversized three car garage. There were about 15 regular clients coming in at the normal workout time of 4:30 PM, any day you wanted to train.

Gene has been running the gym since 2004 and is one of the original grassroots members of a growing fitness phenomena called “Crossfit” invented by a trainer and former gymnast named Greg Glassman and his wife Lauren out of Santa Cruz, CA. The program began simply in 2001 as a website that posted a workout every day, along with some simple instruction on the movements prescribed; It quickly gained popularity among law enforcement and military groups, who found that it’s functional emphasis directly contributed to the skillset demanded by their jobs. Glassman wanted a program based upon functional exercise, applicable across vast domains and executed at very high intensity: Out of that simple premise, he devised a program that uses multiple, simple, multijointed movements used in constantly varying combinations and completed as fast as possible. what results is broad, general inclusive fitness that is by nature, not for the faint of heart. The movements combine skills from all sports including, olympic and power weight lifting, gymnastics, sprinting, plyometrics, kettlebells and mid distance running. The equipment is minimalist in that there is virtually no mechanical machinery used. Free weights, pullup bars, boxes and balls are a staple of the program. The program is not shy about its purpose of making its clients, stronger and faster in multiple ways and derides the traditional methods of working out to slim down, tone or “look” a certain way. They only care about performance: which is measured by work done over time. We call this power.

After the website began to gain popularity, the Crossfit staff developed a certification program for their workout style, after that came affiliate gyms who would register to use the Crossfit name and are run as independent businesses throughout the U.S. and the rest of the world. Many of these original gyms were planted in the Pacific Northwest region; many in Seattle and one of them in a garage in Tacoma – Crossfit Pierce County.

I first began using crossfit methods in the Summer of 2007. By this time, the main website had added detailed instructional videos, articles on training and instruction in addition to a daily workout – all for free. I began by trying to follow the workouts as best I could in my own gym, for the most part through a lot of trial and error, I found that a typical workout could easily kick my supposed fit ass. I found myself quickly humbled and strangely addicted. Upon moving to the Puget Sound region in Spring of 2008, I was excited to find that there was a Crossfit affiliate gym in my area (actually more than one: www.rainiercrossfit.com). I emailed Gene and was invited to come train for free for the first workout. I went and I was hooked. All the areas I had fallen short of in my own training were quickly bolstered through proper equipment and friendly competition. The advancement of skill and endurance was quickly accelerated by always having someone to chase in a workout… or by being chased.

Since my arrival to Gene’s gym, he has moved into a larger facility, a large warehouse providing ample space and dedication for sadistic exercise combinations. Workout titles like “Vest of Tribulation”, “Hypoxia” or “Fight Gone Bad” are all listed and tracked on a wall-sized whiteboard. Our friends Morgan, Lisa and Finley have since staked their livelihood on Crossfit and started Crossfit Tacoma Just near Wright Park on Fawcet street in downtown Tacoma. Since starting from scratch in the Northern part of town, Morgan’s affiliate has gained a legion of clients who continually come back for more punishment. His dedication and personal instruction with each one is not only commonplace in any Crossfit facility, it is unrivaled in any other facet of training I have ever experienced. Over the past year I’ve visited several different Crossfit affiliates in the region; Rainier Crossfit in Puyallup, all the way to Crossfit Taranis in Victoria, BC. The theme remains the same: Comradarie, intensity and results. This spirit and attitude toward fitness coheirs easily with the Northwest lifestyle. The embrace of improved ability and function over aesthetics and vanity are something defining about this region. One might even argue that these sorts of priorities could even been part of the rudimentary sprouting of the infamous grunge movement that we are so known for up here.

So if your bored with your own exercise routine, or simply just want to try something new and do it with people who are passionate about something and can get results, look into one of the many Crossfit affiliates available in the Puget Sound region, I find myself almost dogmatic and religious when talking about it and I’m not even that good.

More info at: http://www.crossfit.com/cf-affiliates/

One the right of the page you can scroll to Washington state and see just what gyms are in your area: You might be surprised at just how many of these underground renegade torture chambers there are.

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