Crossfitting Faster


My eyes were pasted shut when the alarm went off on Saturday morning. I usually hit snooze, but the alarm never got another chance. My mind started buzzing with Again Faster ideas, and I jumped out of bed.

1.22 miles away, Sammy's dented Ford Focus held one AF bar, 50 T-shirts, three jumpropes, and a pair of focus pads. I was going on a mission.

I strapped on the Mizunos and downed a cup of Folgers. I threw my rock gear over my shoulder, and set off for the car in that half-walk/jog that people do when they're in a hurry but don't want to look like it.

Halfway down the block, I was running. I never was good at pretending to be slow.

At the garage, I stripped off my load and threw it in reverse. 45 minutes later, I exited I-95 at exit 50, speeding toward the home of Crossfit Topsfield. Two weeks ago, I'd promised Dawn a brand-new Again Faster Bar, and I was about to make good on my promise.

She pulled into the parking lot about 30 seconds after I did. I was holding 70 pounds of chain, two lashing straps, and the heart of the AF bar.


"Is that for me?"

She lit up like Molotov Cocktail. I love watching people get excited about new toys, but Dawn brings it to a whole new level. As I headed through the front door with the chains on my shoulder, she looked slightly jealous of my burden.

I outfitted Dawn and Dave with a couple of Again Faster t-shirts, and we buckled down for a go at "Barbara".

5 rounds for time:
20 pullups
30 pushups
40 situps
50 squats

I'd done Barbara once, back in February. She hasn't gotten any nicer since then.


Dawn finished her last round while the rest of us were still in the grips of round 4. Barbara requires substantial work capacity and loads of fast-twitch muscle fiber, and Dawn has both in spades. She's so quick, we can't get her on film.


Barbara was a good warm-up for the work yet to come. After a few deep breaths, I loaded up the convoy for the grand opening of Crossfit MetroWest. With Brandon hot on my tail, we sped over to Murphy Field in Natick.

Will Tagye brought together the whole Crossfit Crew for his MetroWest debut. Folks were there representing Crossfit Boston, Crossfit Topsfield, Kettlebell Boston, the United States Army, and of course, Again Faster.

It was an explosive combination of too much energy, 20 or so athletes, and a bunch of over-used fitness equipment. I felt bad for the equipment.

Mandla Nkosi led the group through kettlebell progressions, teaching the proper swing from the ground up. With a mix of hardened veterans and wet-behind-the-ears newbies, he did an excellent job tailoring his lesson to the audience.


As a walking poster-child for fitness, everyone listened closely to what Mandla had to say.

They lined up in drill formation and practiced the swing, one after another. Despite the fact that most people would call that the workout, we called it the warm-up.



Will had something a little more difficult in store for this group.

3 rounds for time:
20 Thrusters
20 KB Swings
20 Box Jumps
20 Goblet Squats




A goblet squat is like a regular squat, only harder. Cradling a dumbbell in his/her palms, the athlete does an ass-to-ankles squat. The weight gets real heavy real quick. I already knew that, so I let the other kids have their fun with this one. An hour after Barbara, I wasn't about to throw myself back into the Crossfit Crucible.


Yeah, right. With the first workout over, Will and Neal immediately set their sights on creating another heart-pounding circuit. It was team race time, and I'm no good at saying no to a race.

Before my better instincts kicked in, I found myself at one end of Murphy Field, staring at dumbells, boxes, kettlebells, and Dynamax balls. Dave, Josh, Brandon, Carolyn, and I were pitted against Will, Tara, Toby, Erik, and Catie in a two-round race to the finish.

MetroWest Mayhem

2 rounds, to the finish:

Sprint to the dumbells, 10 dumbbell thrusters
Walking lunge to the boxes, 10 box jumps
Bear crawl to the kettlebells, 10 swings
Broad jump to the Dyna Balls, 5 vertical throws
Sprint back to the start

Only one person from each team was on course at any one time, and there was a whole lot of yelling. There was also a little bit of psychological warfare. I heard "Four!, Four!, Four!" during my thrusters, but I could've sworn I was on number eight.

I don't think those guys were on my team.

Despite our best effort, Will's platoon beat us to the finish, taking home bragging rights and the first-ever MetroWest team title. For the second time in one day, I'd been beaten by a Crossfit Topsfield trainer. Thankfully, Tara didn't rub it in too much.

Despite her upbeat attitude, I plotted my revenge.

On Sunday morning, we met at Jamaica Pond for "Fight Gone Faster". The morning heat was beginning to burn the moisture out of the air as Sammy and I set up make-shift cones to mark the stations. The core Again Faster crew assembled in the shade to warm-up and go over the rules.

Fight Gone Faster

3 rounds, 5 stations, 1:00 at Station One, 1:15 to sprint to the next station(s) and bang out as many reps as possible, 1:00 rest between rounds.

Station 1: Jumprope
Station 2: Punching
Station 3: Burpees
Station 4: Push-ups
Station 5: Pull-ups





One rep counted for one point, and the score was aggregated over all three rounds. These athletes proved their mettle, turning in fantastic scores less that 24 hours after the MetroWest chipper.

Dawn: 1124
Dave: 943
Tara: 999
Toby: 1019
Thor: 840
Erica: 514
Nigel: 728
Polly: 787

Thanks for representing guys. These athletes were so intense that a Navy recruiter stopped by to see if he could pull any of them into service. It was a great testament to the level of fitness all of these athletes have achieved using sound principals and good nutrition, and I loved every second of it.

Once again, we attracted a bunch of interest from the public (and the government), and we had a great time doing it. If you'd like to become a part of the Again Faster family, just drop me a line using the "Contact Again Faster" link in the right-hand sidebar, or stop by Jamaica Pond any Sunday at 8:00 a.m.

We welcome new members! Fitness at this level is not achieved overnight, but it is attainable for every adult out there. If you have the desire to work hard with a great community of quality athletes, come check us out.

Go faster!