Where I?ve Trained, What I?ve Learned

An early adopter of CrossFit, Russell Greene shares lessons from his first decade of training.

As CrossFit has expanded, finding a fully equipped CrossFit gym has become much easier. During our recent honeymoon in Maine, my wife and I found ourselves running into CrossFit gyms by accident. It was a major contrast from when I started CrossFit in 2002.

Back then, there was only one CrossFit gym, and it was 3,000 miles away. I would estimate that I was one of the first people to try the Crossfit.com WODs in a Globo Gym. From this position, I am in awe of the growth that CrossFit has seen. I can’t help but find myself a little bit jealous of people who can start their first day of training with a full stock of equipment and a CrossFit trainer. These people have staggering potential to improve their fitness when they start in such an environment.

As I look back on my training history, I hope that one day no one will have to go through the hassles I have endured in working to improve fitness. As with all difficulties, however, we are strengthened by the challenges that we face in getting our training done in non-supportive environments. In this spirit, I’ll examine several places I have trained and share something I learned in each place. It’s the story of where I have worked out and how those places have made me who I am today.

Diora Baird Laura Prepon Ashley Scott Michelle Behennah Julie Benz