CrossFit Southern Hospitality Part 2

Goodbye to Grayson, Page and Ryan after bacon and eggs- we parted Tracy's parents house (thanks Judy and Dan) headed towards No Excuses CrossFit.

One look at their website and you will know why we chose it!- Co-owner Kyle Maynard is easily among the most inspirational and gifted athletes in the world.  While Kyle was not in, we did meet a huge group of CrossFitters at the 9:30am class.. know as the Motley Crew.  While difficult to fully describe, this group is much like our Peace Love and Flowers 9am class- a group of regulars who always show up (usually) with lots of personality and energy- and then some... I mean there were 20 people on a Tuesday morning, NOT including Scott Mike Tracy and Matt.

Upon arrival Mike identified Paige as the unofficial chief of the group- and she told us what to do.  A strength set of shoulder presses, half tabata set of KB swings and SDHPs, THEN the WOD: Jerome coached us thru dead hang pull ups (are we going to do pull ups EVERY day on this trip?) handstand pushups and 24" box jumps in a 12 minute AMRAP.  You should SEE the motley crew do these 3 exercises-- is was like they KNEW that visitors were coming and they were going to show us how they do it in the south! Amazing job.

A 4 hour HIGH ENERGY lunch with Paige (and her daughter), Jerome, Brandie, and Bliss- that included gorilla burpees in the middle of the restaurant, coffee fueled conversation about our various CF experiences and discussion of where to go next... listen- a FOUR HOUR LUNCH after the workout!  A fun group of athletes and very welcoming!  I think there will be some NEACF members visiting the Hut in the future.

 Off in the RV headed northeast towards Greenville, SC/Charlotte, NC and it took a while to come down from the very high energy of No Excuses CrossFit experience.  After a work out, coffee, restaurant burpees, and amp up CrossFit conversation (especially with this lively bunch) the sound of our 19 footer hitting 70 miles an hour brought the energy down slowly.

While Mike drove, Scott looked thru notes and got online to find our next destination- if kept pace, we could hit CrossFit Greer's 5:45pm evening WOD with time to spare.  A 20 minute diversion off I-85, CFG is about 15 minutes east of the city of Greenville and this is where we felt a little like we hit the South.  Not big city Atlanta South- but the more cozy south.  Grocery marquees advertising "Hog Jowls and Collard Greens," drive up BBQ restaurants, more roadside churches and ministries than gas stations, and home to Bob Jones University, reputed to be one of the most conservative religious institutions in the US of A.

CFG tagline: Out lift the runner, out run the lifter

We arrived at CFG on the just the right day- it was Sexy Marc's birthday WOD- 3 rounds of running, heavy (for us, but not seemingly so for CFG athletes!) power cleans, pull ups, push ups and sit ups.  Typing that WOD out doesn't do it justice... it was TOUGH.  The crowd of 12+ CFers finished up in about 20 minutes in a space only slightly larger than the Hut.  Opening the large roll-top garage exposed the 30 degree temps- perfect to override the large industrial heater that served as the warm up to our WOD.  Thanks to Kristen (owner) and Regan (who coached that class) and the fun group there- many of whom now sport CrossFit Malibu's skull, thorns and blood shirts. 

Dinner on Main Street then 2+ hours to Charlotte NC, to Mike's sister's house just across the state line in Fort Mill, SC- home of the Billy Graham Library, the grounds of PTL (think Jim and Tammy), among other local sites and CrossFit Boxes.  We plugged the RV in to prevent pipes from freezing and spent night #2 in a warm house.  Entertained by Emily, the slightly over-caffeinated niece, Nephew Robert and sister Shelly and bro-in-law Scott... just before midnight we called it a night.  Dreams of Tammy's blue eye shadow, tomorrow's Lowe's concrete run and Atlas Stones.  Good night South Carolina.