The purpose of the BootCamp is simple: to ensure you’re safely and effectively doing the exercises and getting your awesomeness on. Let me take you through a typical day of BootCamp awesomeness-inducing activities:

BootCampers Alice Batson and Dayna Muggeo with Craig Hysell

A Day in the Life of an Awesome CFHH BootCamper:

• You begin with entering CFHH at 6 Bow Circle Road (near the southend post office off of Palmetto Bay Road). The music is pumping with tunes like Good Feeling by Flo Rida. The people are pumping each other up with salutations and small talk. And then Hysell asks you in a chill-but-with-a-hint-of-challenge voice, “Are you ready to get awesomer today?”
• Everyone nods.
• Then there’s the warm up. You may run 200 to 400 meters. You may try some other doable physical feat like pull-ups or push-ups. (Don’t worry, Hysell will have walked you through multiple variations and you will feel competent and even excited about doing it.)
• Then you stretch. CFHH’s workouts are designed to provide an upward track of physical and emotional awesomeness, which means they take every measure to make sure you don’t get injured—this includes mobility training and doing some yoga.
• Now it’s time to learn about today’s WOD, which stands for “work out of the day.” As a naïve onlooker, the WOD is usually written on the dry erase wall in what looks code (see CrossFit-lish below). This is actually a good thing for two reasons: 1. You can’t really freak out about the workout in advance because you’re not sure what you’re looking at; 2. The abbreviations prepare you for understanding CrossFit-lish and upon BootCamp graduation you are ready to rock out CrossFit lingo and moves.
• Hysell walks you through the WOD.
• You crank out the WOD, which is usually a timed series of exercises (~15 minutes), and you instantly feel accomplished and generally awesomer.
• Last, Hysell gives a briefing on a wellness topic like nutrition and within the hour people are high-fiving each other goodbye and feeling pretty rock and roll physically and mentally.

BootCamper graduate Beau Bader

Once you complete the BootCamp you have a variety of tiptop training options. CrossFitters can participate in daily workouts, endurance training, races, workshops and such community outreach programs as “Movember.”

“Movember is simple. We hate cancer, but we love mustaches,” explains Hysell. “CFHH Mo’ Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions, words and sweet ‘staches, they raise awareness and money by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health, specifically prostate cancer.”

But his is just the tip of the awesomeness iceberg. CFHH’s I Can program benefits several nonprofits like:

• The Ret Thomas Pediatric Cancer Foundation
• Hope Haven of the Low Country Children’s Advocacy and Rape Crisis Center
• Honor Our Heroes Foundation to benefit US Service Veterans

Here’s a few CrossFit-lish terms I learned to love:

• AMRAP = as many reps as possible
• GPP = general physical preparedness
• HSPU = handstand push up
• KB = kettlebell
• KTE = knee to elbow
• OHS = overhead squat
• MetCon = metabolic conditioning workout
• PU = pull or push ups
• WOD = work out of the day

Be well, Becca.