With the 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games just a month away, it seemed only right that The Try Guys give CrossFit a try.
The Try Guys are Keith Habersberger, Ned Fulmer, Zach Kornfeld, and Eugene Lee Yang. The four have earned their stardom through YouTube where they have launched a wide variety of videos that have included wearing corsets, getting ear wax extractions, and now their most recent endeavor: taking on a CrossFit® workout. This one really focuses on just one of the guys, Keith Habersberger, who puts his strength to the test at CrossFit Ganbatte in Los Angeles. While he didn’t quite qualify for the Games, he really gave it is all. (Hey, maybe he’ll get one of those Wildcard invites.)
To give you an idea of his level of expertise he opened up the video calling a push press “the thing where the bar goes up.”
Before Habersberger jumped into a workout he sat down with JP Amistoso, the gym owner of Crossfit Ganbatte and Habersberger’s newest coach. He gave a brief introduction as to what CrossFit is, and after the orientation Habersberger was instructed to get down and do 10 sit-ups.
After some light sit-ups and push-ups action, the baseline workout was drawn up as follows:
- 500-meter row
- 40 squats
- 20 push-ups
- 10 ring rows
The goal was to finish all of the exercises in nine minutes. So why did Habersberger decide to give CrossFit a try? He said it was because it finally hit him that never in his life has he had a fitness routine. After he finished the baseline warm-up, he went on to participate in an actual CrossFit class that included other people.
The “real” workout started off with a three-minute relay carrying a 25-pound plate overhead, then it moved on to the strength portion of the class: push jerks or push presses, two every two minutes at 75% of your 1-rep max. The final workout had Habersberger doing four sets of 50-foot walking lunges and 15 sit-ups in 12 minutes.
He got through it, and even learned a thing or two (aside from the jerk) about the sport.
“Everyone’s got different goals, and you’re just trying to meet your own goals, and it’s a supportive environment.”
It’s encouraging that the video didn’t take the “CrossFit classes are crazy and intense” angle and instead showed it as a scalable workout in a supportive environment that can cater to a variety of fitness levels. We’d be down for a part two.
Featured image from The Try Guys Youtube channel.