Aside from a few oblique references, I wasn't able to find a solid thread on this subject, so I thought I'd kick one off.
I'm not really sure how I want to start this off. Maybe at the end, and then jump backwards? Sure, why not.
I'm keen to get into this. I don't expect it to be a cakewalk. I'm just biding my time, as I had knee surgery last month and I'd really like to wait for the standard 6-week post-op window to expire; my surgeon and my physiotherapist have both underscored this necessary waiting period. My PT has already cleared me, at least in terms of ROM and strength, but I'll be continuing once a week with the PT (and most days on my own time) until the end of this month. I even asked my PT directly whether he was aware of any uptick in injuries relating to CrossFit; not only did he answer in the negative but an extended conversation with another employee there ended up directing me to the local 'box'.
I've already been to the local 'box'. The owner was very friendly and willing to answer questions. He let me watch a class (session?), and it was getting me charged up; I wanted to get in there with the rest of them. He knows about my knee, and was willing to work around it until after the 6 week period, but I'm keen to avoid mishap, regardless. I've let him know that I will be back after the 6 weeks are up.
I think I only heard about CrossFit for the first time this past July. To clarify, I'd met someone for the first time who is active in it, and enthused about it. I had the usual mix of feelings, spanning from 'neverheardofit' to 'fad' to curiosity. I started to research it, halfheartedly at first, and found myself puzzled and perplexed, just for starters. But the spark of curiosity had been set, and the kindling was starting to smolder. As this continued to quietly burn inside me, I found myself digging deeper and wider. There was still quite a bit to digest, but it was starting to make sense.
I've been going to the gym for years, which is itself a fairly major departure from my youth. I've got a wiry build, and am genetically predisposed to staying that way. As such, I don't work out to lose weight, I do so to improve/keep my strength and cardio. All fantasies of becoming hugely bulked up are in the distant past. My gym attendance was spotty in the 90's but got quite a bit more consistent in the last decade. A few months back I stopped with the treadmill runs (doc told me to give up, due to my knee diagnosis) and decided to try rowing, in part because of what little I'd read within the context of CrossFit. Around the same time, another specialist recommended laying off the dips due to a minor shoulder issue, but suggested doing pull-ups; I still do dips, but I started in on pull-ups with the Gravitron and made startling gains (startling for me, at any rate), going from an offset of 50+ lbs back then to no offset at all as of last month. I say startling, because my gains are usually slow and hard-won.
Where I am today fitness-wise is a huge departure from where I was in my youth. For me, gym class was a distraction; I kinda liked gymnastics, but I didn't like anything which stressed my cardio, such as the infrequent cross country runs we would do. I felt I had a few reasons for giving up gym class back in high school, so as soon as it was no longer a compulsory subject, I dropped it.
My early experiences with weight training (high school and university years) were extremely infrequent, usually started with enthusiasm followed by crippling "day after" immobility. It's a wonder I ever decided to try it again, let alone finally finding a plan I could stick with. It was a learning experience, and I can say without exaggeration that I'm easily quite a bit more fit now than I was then. Thing is, I've been neglecting my legs for years, largely out of concern for my knees. Seemingly unfounded, based on what I've been reading in Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength. That, or maybe I've just been apathetic about working on my legs. And they look like they've been neglected. Bleh.
I haven't managed to inspire any interest in cherri. So far. She's content to go to our current gym and spend time on the elliptical, with a cool-down walk on the treadmill. She did enjoy having a personal trainer for something like 11 sessions sometime last year, so who knows. I just know that for now, I need to avoid pushing her -- err, strongly encouraging her -- to join me in my CrossFit endeavors, at least for the immediate future.
I write this as I expect there are at least a few folks on this forum who are already active in CrossFit, and others still who have been contemplating getting into it.