When I saw the topic of this week's Issue I decided I had to do some shilling for my recent key to happiness. www.CrossFit.com. First of all, It's free. They post a different workout every day and to me it almost feels like... (god I can't believe I'm making this comparison) like I'm doing a quest in World of Warcraft. It's as if Coach Glassman(co-founder) has a bright yellow exclamation point over his head and by doing this Daily Quest I get a PHAT experience bonus, stats increase(stam, str, AND agi!) and a phenomenal endorphin high (no gold in the rewards so far though...).The workouts taken as prescribed are seriously intense(If you try it DO scale it down for the first month or so) and they're all designed to build real world functional movements(lifting climbing jumping running). The only real downside to CrossFit (not unlike WoW) is the Gear Requirement. CrossFit workouts often make use of Barbells. There is also the learning curve. A decent portion of the exercises are movements take a decent amount of practice to get used to doing (barbell squats, cleans, snatches). They have videos of all the exercises on their website but if you are completely new to barbell training It's VERY strongly recommended that you find a coach to get you started with the movements.
To continue this.... odd analogy CF, like WoW has no discernible END. You could conceivably find inexhaustible value from both until you die. Also Both coach Glassman and Blizz have created a very refined and polished product that delivers.
The major(and I mean MAJOR) difference is the social aspect. basically It's like this..
WoW forums - Noisy Iritating Whinefest
Crossfit forums- Unimaginably Helpful and Supportive.
Random WoW player you pick up from the LFG system - ~60% chance of you wishing to god you had a guildie
Stranger you see doing the Workout of the Day at your gym - ~95% chance of you guys are gonna have a GREAT time doing the Workout together.
This has gone on a lot longer than I expected so I'll sum it up like this. What WoW can be for your mind (engaging, challenging, exciting) Crossfit is for you soul and body and honestly, It has saved my life.