The FitFluential & Reebok Crossfit 1 Crew Post WOD

This past Friday I spent the day at Reebok Headquarters in Canton Massachusetts and man am I excited to share my experience! This is my second time traveling to Reebok country as about 2 months ago I attended a Crossfit Level 1 certification at Reebok CrossFit One – there’ll be more on that later – but for now let’s just say me laying flat on my back, completely wiped out is part of the story!

You all know I’m a FitFluential Ambassador right? Well Reebok and FitFluential have joined forces to help spread the word of fitness and get Reebok’s ‘Get After It’ mantra out to the masses. I’ve been fortunate to be included in this campaign and my experience with the Reebok gear; clothing and sneakers has been great. So when I was told I was invited to the company’s headquarters to see the new 2013 product line I was super excited. So here’s a recap of what I saw, heard and most importantly – what I felt.

One Of Many Motivational Walls At Reebok

One of my main takeaways from the 2012 Reebok Fitblog is that this is a company that truly cares about making health and fitness part of every individual’s life. We kept hearing from various department heads  “We want you to be fit for life” and it was clear that each person we spoke with was passionate and believed in Reebok’s mission. A strong emphasis was placed on the fact that while Reebok has partnered with CrossFit, they still are and always have been a company supporting all types of health and fitness. While Crossfit may be the fastest growing fitness brand of the moment, Reebok is still heavily involved in and actively supports all fitness activities including running, yoga, dance, weight training and everything in between.

The line of products the company is offering is designed to enhance your time spent being active – product with purpose and thought sewn into every stitch, whether you’re deadlifting, running a marathon or striking Warrior 2. I wish I could tell you all of the amazing new products I saw for 2013, but I can’t. Sorry you’ll just have to wait and see for yourself. But trust me…there’s really great Reebok gear heading your way.

I’d be lying if I didn’t share my envy for those who work at Reebok headquarters. You’ve got to see this facility – it’s simply amazing. Just off campus is of course the famed Reebok CrossFit One, but let me tell you – Reebok’s main office is nothing to blink at. Everywhere you look there’s fitness; a full basketball court, a gym, cardio deck and a full size track around the perimeter of the building. Reebok employees walk the walk as well – out of 1,000 people on staff, 600 lead active, fitness driven lifestyles, workout regularly and several hundred regularly engage in Crossfit workouts. Within the building you’ll see sports and company memorabilia, motivational posters, banners of athletes, a Reebok store and an all around positive, friendly vibe. It’s without a doubt not just a job when you work for Reebok, but a way of life that funnels it way down to what you see on shelves and in stores.

This Is All I Could Do After The Final 200 Meter Run!

Ok so let’s get back to me lying on the floor. Yes as expected all FitBlog participants took part in a CrossFit Workout of the Day led by the best coaches in the world. I was happy (and a little afraid) to see some familiar faces, coaches and CrossFit athletes; Austin Malleolo, Spencer Hendel, Jared Davis and James Hobart were once again present to lead the workout and this time they brought a couple of friends including the 2nd and 11th fittest women in the world – Julie Foucher and Christy Phillips.

Julie, Austin & Myself. Look At Those Abs!

After a brief dynamic warmup Austin explained the WOD and while it sounded hard on paper, it was in actuality much harder then I had could have imagined. Each coach picked two team members (teams of 3) and here’s what we did:

1. Relay Run – each member runs 200 meters, then

2. 150 Dumbbell Thrusters (combined) 45# men /30# women, then

3. 100 Chest to bar pull-ups (combined),
then

4. 50 Box Jumps (combined) 30 inches men and 24 for women,
then

5. ANOTHER Relay Run 200m each!

And there were rules!


ALWAYS-

*1 person works

*1 person holds 115 lbs.  men – overhead, women – deadlift

*1 person rests

* If the bar hits the ground it’s a 10 burpee penalty for each person.

It’s Thruster Time!

So this was obviously a team effort and each person’s reps counted towards the total needed. Here’s what I’ll tell you – it kicked my ass! You know it seems like I’m saying that a lot lately and always when referencing CrossFit! Coincidence? I think not. Once again the vibe was electric, the camaraderie was strong and the sweat was pouring! I did ok but when it came to the last leg of the 200-meter run I was just spent – I mean my legs were rubber and I was sucking wind like a fish out of water. Coach Maleollo saw me and told me he’d run the leg for me, to which I said ‘No you won’t, you taught me better than that’. I was referring to the fact that Crossfit is scalable and even if I had to walk it, I was getting that 200 meters done. So out the door I went when Julie (my teammate) from the website Peanut Butter Fingers (check it out!) tagged me in. My legs were Jell-O and when I hit the half way mark Austin and Julie came out and ran with me back to the finish. That’s true teamwork and a great show of respect.

About To Grab Some Kipping Pullups!

To sum it up, from viewing the new product line, to meeting Reebok employees, spending time with my FitFluential family, the WOD, the atmosphere, the mutual respect amongst everyone etc., it was just an awesome experience. What was also really nice was to truly feel appreciated by a company of such magnitude. They treated all of us first class, answered any questions and genuinely listened to all of us when giving feedback and making suggestions.

Yes I get to try out new Reebok gear, yes they sponsor some of my workout videos and yes we mutually co-promote one another. The reasoning is simple – I believe in them and they believe in me. I’ve come across my share of talkers in this business, but few who are genuine and truly care that we share a common goal. It really brings back memories to tell you the truth – I wore classic Reebok high tops for years when I was a teenager. In fact I wore ‘Boks’ for years. So I’m really excited to be a Reebok ambassador and I can’t wait to show you all what the future brings.

Now all of you – Get After It!

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