In This Moment

written by Eric Devine

There’s a tension of anticipation as palpable as the blossoming crests of sweat on shirtfronts and down spines.  The room and its members are warmed up and keyed up and now in position for the start of the workout.  Like so many horses partitioned into gates, there’s some last minute jockeying and adjustment, some whinnies of excitement or nervousness, some dead cold stares, fixed straight ahead.  All of these individuals have left jobs or homes or schools for this moment and the ensuing workout that follows.  They’ve made the conscious decision to suffer, and in the process, succeed.  But first they must begin.

And in those fleeting segments of tension before the call goes out, they must tuck away the baggage of the day: the annoying coworker, the looming deadline, the insufferable spouse, the self-deluded teacher, the myriad roadblocks that emerge along their path to this one destination.  With almost religious attenuation, some close their eyes and mutter, while others, almost mockingly, smile and get in one last joke before the capacity to do so is stripped from all.

The instructor crosses the room, cognizant of all the players on the board, prepared to dive in and adjust as needed, a guiding hand amidst the throes of chaos, or pandemonium, or whatever aptly fits as a title for the whirling, flailing, thrusting, and undeniably arresting function of humanity proceeding with the unrefined grace of unrestrained capacity.  

This tension, this eager anticipation, this almost maddening hold before freedom, this is the air of CrossFit, and the athletes inhale it one last time before it is laced with the foul element of their toil.  But in this moment is sanctity and clarity and reason.  In this moment before the instructor clears his throat and calls out, “3…2…1…Go!”