John Riggs Tries Yakima Crossfit for the First Time [VIDEO]

I've heard a lot about Crossfit for the past few years, but I'd never quite heard what it was exactly. It always sounded like a hardcore, intense workout strictly for fitness fanatics. But after a quick visit to one of their classes, I learned firsthand that this is far from the truth.

I was invited to check out the facilities on 16th between Lincoln and Fruitvale. The staff were  welcoming and accommodating. Knowing it was my first time doing Crossfit, I was put at a beginner level. It was still a workout, but it was at my own pace and I didn't feel like I was being judged by not being at the level as the other members of the class.

I was joined by two other members and Holden was our instructor. We started out with some warmups. A little jogging, some lunges, something called a 'karaoke,' which was a side-shuffle straight out of a Broadway musical, and even some planking. That's right, planking. Just a little something to get your muscles limber, stretched out a bit and get your heart rate going.

Once I finished with that, I was already breathing heavy and that's when they announced it was time to start the workout. What?! I thought that was the workout.

It happened to be 'squats' day. I was OK with that because I need some meat on my legs. I have no backside. It's basically a straight line from my shoulders to my ankles with my pants falling down all the time. If I can get a little 'bass,' fine.

Now I have psoriatic arthritis, so I can't bend my wrist very well. Instead of doing standard squats, I just held a barbell plate and did some standard squats. Then, from there, did some more squats using a weighted ball and some modified pull-ups using the rings. The nice thing was that nobody was forced to keep going the entire hourlong workout. You work at your own pace, rotate as much as needed, someone is on hand at all times to make sure you're doing good and offer encouragement and motivation. It was great and a lot of fun!

I hope you get a chance to check it out for yourself, too. This Friday they have a half-price deal you won't want to miss out on.

Yakima Crossfit is our Weekly Deal this week. Starting at 8:30 a.m. Friday, you can get a one-month membership valued at $110 for $55 while they last.