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Does your idea of a workout consist of barely breaking a sweat while watching TV on the elliptical machine? Or maybe you’re a gym rat or former athlete getting bored with your current workout routine. In either case, it’s probably time for a change. Enter: Maxability Sports and CrossFit in Hackensack, where they take a no-nonsense, non-gimmick approach to fitness. Want to see changes? Then you need to make changes!
Maxability is an affiliate of CrossFit, a widely recognized fitness program that differs greatly from your average gym membership. Every day, adults of all ages and abilities show up to get their daily WOD (workout of the day) in. They know what they’re in for before they even arrive, as the workout is posted on www.maxability.net each day. At the end of the session, their name goes up on the whiteboard with some type of score or measurement related to their performance on the WOD. This creates a fun and competitive atmosphere within the community.
Many CrossFitters keep a log of their workouts and accomplishments, allowing them to track their progress and compare their old scores to their current ones. Some of the most dedicated members participate in local & regional competitions, going up against other CrossFitters in a variety of events that would bring even the most avid athletes to their knees. If you think you're already in great shape, try CrossFit. Just don't forget to check your ego at the door, and prepare for what may be a humbling experience.
As intimidating as the workouts may seem, they are scalable for individuals of all fitness levels. An 18 year old hockey player and a 70 year old college professor come together to do the same workout, applying whatever modifications are necessary for them. This is just part of what makes CrossFit so appealing. The fun atmosphere and camaraderie will keep you motivated and excited to see what the next day will bring. You will no longer be looking for excuses to skip the gym, because you’ll actually look forward to it! With each challenging workout, you will make your body healthier and stronger than it was before. Whether your goal is improved sports performance, weight loss, or general fitness, you will find results at Maxability!
In addition to CrossFit, Maxability also specializes in sports performance training for athletes of all ages. From high school teams to olympic figure skaters, one-on-one, small group, and team training are available.
January 7, 2011 - Robyn's Start to 2011
I started out the first week of the new year by skipping the WOD on Monday. Not a great start to 2011 as far as exercise goes, but a friend in need takes priority. As does mental health, which always seems to get a boost after a glass of wine and good conversation with a girlfriend. Anyway, I got back to it on Tuesday and as I write this on Friday afternoon, I feel great about the solid 4 days I put in this week. And by great, I also mean destroyed.
On Tuesday we did a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 involving pull ups. I am proud to say I Rxed that portion of the WOD for a grand total of 55 ring pull ups. Not too shabby considering I can only do about 3 in succession. On Wednesday we did “Diane” – 21, 15, 9 reps of deadlifts and handstand push ups. For the first time, I decided to do real HSPU’s instead of using a box. Not quite Rx since I used 2 abmats for my head, but still “real” to me since conquering the whole upside down thing was a big feat. When we got home that night Tim reminded me that I once said “that is one thing I will never do!” (referring to HSPU, in case your mind wandered to the gutter, like mine did.) Damn, he was right. Maybe we need to hold the word “never” to the same standard as “can’t” when we’re talking CrossFit – the mention of the word bearing a penalty of 5 burpees. On Thursday we did a 5 rounder involving toes to rings. I only recently started doing these for real, so completing a total of 100 TTR for a WOD was pretty cool. And by cool, I mean brutal. Finally, today’s WOD was a 12 minute AMRAP that called for ring dips. Those are still a while away…but I went for regular dips today instead of my go-to scale down of box dips. We only had to complete 4 for each round, but they were murder! I ended up with a few less rounds than the other ladies, but I was happy I pushed myself to struggle through the dips.
So overall, a big first week of the new year for me. I hope to enjoy the weekend watching the playoffs, knowing full well that I earned the rest days, and that I deserve a beer or two…or three.
Side note: During that conversation on Wednesday night I told Tim that there is still something I swear I will never do. I don’t care how “fit” I get…I could be doing real muscle ups and it still won’t matter. That thing? Tough Mudder!
October 25, 2010 - Deep Thoughts by a CrossFit Newbie
By: Robyn
Three years ago I was a 24 year old girl who never stepped foot in a gym to work out. I never even really thought about it…even during my whole first year of working right across the hall from a well equipped, perfectly convenient gym. Then I met Tim, the tall, red headed trainer who I would occasionally see in the gym, but pay no attention to…or as he fondly recalls “walk right past him without even a glance in his direction.” This is mostly true, although it doesn’t paint the nicest picture of me or my social skills. Still, I guess it worked for him. Several months later, my now boyfriend introduces me to the “gym”. I get my introduction to the treadmill, elliptical, bike, and basic machines. The meeting doesn’t go very well, as these machines highlight how out of shape I actually am. I don’t foresee a good relationship between myself and the gym.
Over the next couple of years I continued to “work out” fairly regularly. This consisted of about 20 minutes on a cardio machine and sometimes the weight machines if I was feeling especially ambitious. Although I hated it, I would feel better about myself after getting it over with. Occasionally Tim would have time to work out with me, and during these sessions I would realize how little I was pushing myself when I worked out on my own. I had no idea what I was capable of when it came to basic things like squats, pushups, pull ups (or lack thereof) or moving any kind of weight. But all was okay in the world…I was getting in my exercise a few days a week and I felt good about it. Sometimes I’d walk past Tim and the boys doing circuits and weight lifts that were foreign to me, and I’d think to myself…“HELL TO THE NO!” (thanks, Whitney Houston for adding that phrase to my vocabulary) Several months later….ENTER CROSSFIT. (insert dramatic musical score here)
When Tim took the steps to affiliate his company with CrossFit and it made its way into our every day conversations, I decided I should give it a try. Cut to today, close to 7 months later, one could say I have officially converted. I realize that phrasing it that way makes it sound like a cult or religion, which to some hardcore CrossFitters, it probably is. That is not the case for me at this point…and it probably won’t ever be. Even if I continue to get better and better at the workouts, I don’t think I’ll ever reach the “elite” levels of fitness they refer to, nor could I ever stick to the diet that the diehard CrossFitters follow. Unless maybe they decide to incorporate chocolate into the list of “good” foods. Moving on…
Doing CrossFit has changed my feelings on 3 major aspects of working out. The first being: heavy weight lifting. Back in my B.C. (Before CrossFit) exercise days, I remember Tim teaching me how to deadlift. I really didn’t see any benefit in lifting a heavy bar off the ground over and over. (That’s right, I was only doing the 45lb bar at the time…what was I complaining about?) Now I actually look foward to the strength portion of our workouts. There’s something exciting about recording my numbers in my log and comparing today to previous dates. Looking at the numbers in my own hand writing slowly but steadily increase over time provides a pretty rewarding feeling. It’s funny to think back to myself reluctantly lifting the 45lb bar just to humor Tim, now that I can deadlift 165lbs. (my current 1 rep max)
The second thing that CrossFit has changed my feelings on is circuit training. As previously mentioned, I used to see the boys doing a series of cardio inducing exercises while timing themselves. I knew that I’d never make it through one of those workouts without quitting since, at that time, I could barely run on the treadmill for more than a few minutes. Who would’ve thought that today I’d be hanging with the boys, doing those same types of workouts several times a week? Not me. Maybe Tim, since he probably had secret plans to suck me into CrossFit long before I even knew what it was. I still consider quitting during almost every workout…I think everyone does. But that makes it all the more sweet when I do my last rep or I hear the buzzer go off at the end of a hellish AMRAP. Another W.O.D. under my belt. By the way, these terrible met-cons are another reason I look forward to the strength portion of the workouts.
The third, and most surprising change that CrossFit has inspired in me is the way I feel about working out with a group. This may not sound like a big deal to most people, but B.C. I wasn’t very comfortable working out in front of others, let alone doing the same workouts with them. It never came naturally to me, like it does for Tim, to cheer people on and give them that extra push. I’m just not that peppy. One has to wonder how I was a cheerleader for most of my life. But anyway, I think I’m getting better at the cheering and encouragement thing, especially when I’ve finished the workout and all I have left to do is watch the others suffering through it. Oh how easy it is to cheer others on when you’ve almost forgotten the pain you just went through. I’ve also gotten better at resisting the urge to flip someone off when they yell at me to keep going when I’m clearly hating my life in that moment. I may still shoot a dirty look here or there when Tim tells me to push it, but I know he means well, and he knows I still love him. On the rare days when I do the workouts by myself, my lack of motivation is palpable. In those cases I can really appreciate the positive impact that a group environment has on my attitude. The support and motivation that you get and give with a group of great people really makes the experience of that awful W.O.D. a little easier to bear.
In closing, I’d like to reinforce that CrossFit is a bitch! If I said I loved it, I would be lying. If I said I hated it, that would be closer to the truth. But I do not miss my old workout routine and I have no desire to get back on that treadmill or elliptical. I like that I get my cardio and strength training done all at once…usually in 20 minutes or less. Seven months in, I still consider myself a CrossFit newbie…and maybe a year from now I still will. I don’t aspire to enter in any competitions and just in case I wasn’t clear before, I don’t plan on cutting out dessert anytime soon. I don’t know what the future holds…but for now I’ll just stick to working my ass off and getting better at the things I never thought I’d be able to do…like pull ups. Yeah, real pull ups. 
October 21, 2010 - Being a CrossFitter = Priceless
By: Coach Tim
Attention Future CrossFit Athletes:
To those of you tossing around the idea of becoming a Crossfitter, but you haven't quite come to the understanding why you would pay $125-$199 a month as opposed to your $19.99 at your GLOBO GYM....here are just a few thoughts of mine to help explain to you what it is you're missing.
COST OF PERSONAL TRAINING
$1000 per Month
$65-$100 Per Hour at 3X per week for a month..Average
Now for many of us, incluing myself, we would never even think of doing personal training for the simple fact that we couldn't afford it....and the truth is why would we when the majority of Personal Trainers at local gyms all SUCK..!! Personal Trainers as a whole dont have a great amount of respect for changing people's lives. The reasons are: #1 A lot of them are just number counters who stand next to you going from machine to machine writing down your weights and talking to you about your/their personal issues. #2 They can' t keep you coming/motivated forever...there is NOTHING EXCITING that you are drawn to or a part of that makes you want to keep coming back.
There are some outstanding Personal Trainers out there who will show you some of the most advanced and safest techniques and who will also have a lot of positive energy to keep you going. But, your going to pay because they are a small percentage. I am obviously an outstanding, (and humble! lol) if not the best Peformance Coach in the area...see how I called myself a Performance Coach, because I don't even want to be in the category of Personal Trainers. Yes, I will do private sessions, but only a few per week...because it's boring compared to working with groups which is the shit, just like working in one is...!!!
COST OF THE TYPICAL GLOBO GYM MEMBERSHIP
$19.99
Especially recently these gyms are popping up everywhere and are charging $19.99. Turn a warehouse into a bright ass room with bright ass equipment....pump up the techno dance music...and pay someone to check people in at the door and you're good to go.
They can do that because thousands of people are going to sign up with the intentions of coming and eventually fall off and stop coming. Why?...because they dont love it, most likely they don't even enjoy it. I get nauseous if I ever go into a globo gym now. It's uncomfortable for me....I can't imagine how other people who aren't confident with their bodies or the way they exercise may feel.
Listen, the bottom line is this- If you're excited to leave work or home to go to your gym because you can't wait to see how well you're going to do that day at your same routine of exercises; if you're one of those who enjoys spending a lot of time at your gym doing little to challenge yourself mentally and physically and more time walking around bullshitting with your buddies; if you enjoy going on the elliptical or treadmill for an hour a day like a hamster who goes around and around on his wheel....
Then GO FOR IT!!!! If that works for you, by all means DO IT!
COST OF P90X
About $200
If standing in front of your TV sweating your ass off in your living room works for you...
Then ROCK IT OUT....and when you're tired of it give us a buzz
CrossFit
Constantly Varied
Functional Movement
Performed at High Intensity
We offer a Community of Athletes who know what hard work really feels like and will help push you to levels of fitness you never imagined.
HARD WORK
DISCIPLINE
COMMUNITY
and
GETTING IN THE BEST SHAPE OF YOUR LIFE....
$ PRICELESS $
Actual Cost as low as $100 Per Month....GET IT DONE
