After the long and painful five minutes it took me to actually sit down, I realized that mixing up my normal workout with a program called CrossFit can leave some pretty sore effects on the body. The strength and conditioning program of CrossFIt utilizes all parts of the body in various ways is exploding across the world and making its participants hurt in places they never thought possible.

Four times a week of weightlifting and cardiovascular activities unfortunately can turn quite boring quite fast. A friend of mine mentioned she got her push into CrossFit from a friend of hers and she decided to give it a try – and she hasn't looked back.

“The best part about CrossFit is that it's a great way to amp up your workouts by maximizing your efforts,” said Amanda Rhodes of Morgan City, La., “And a lot of the moves require you to only use your body weight as resistance--which is actually harder than you'd think.” Believe me, I know. As hard as it is to take in, five sets of 30 glute-ham sit-ups and 25 back extensions aren't as fun, or easy, as they may seem.

And before you think, “Oh, well. I can't do that program because I have no clue what those exercises are anyway.” Hold up. You didn't think CrossFit trainers would let you get off that easily, right? On its Web site, www.crossfit.com, a workout of the day is posted with the type of exercise and sets required, along with video demonstrations of the exercises. And don't be discouraged if you can't lift the amount listed or complete the full set. Modification is allowed. (Whew. You can now breathe.) Oh, but what's that? You have no one to push you through the exercises and make sure you do them correctly? Think again. Check out the site under “Start Here” for locations in your area that have facilities equipped with trainers ready to teach and people ready to learn. “I love it because it's very challenging, and when you finish it, you feel like you've accomplished something,” Rhodes noted. “Anyone who stays committed to it and maintains their diet will start to notice endurance and strength gains within the first few weeks--not to mention loss of inches.” Besides the plus of strength gains and loss of inches, isn't it always rewarding to try something new? Even though the handstand pushups and pull-ups that I will have to endure in the next workout won't feel rewarding at the time, the feeling I get when I proudly drop to the ground will be worth it all. So, what about you? You in?

-Mary Catherine Holcomb