The Pleasure of Pain

Some things have been marinating in my cranium over the past few days.

On a more or less daily basis, I enjoy a dynamic and semi-life-threatening workout from a great fitness program called CrossFit (http://www.crossfit.com). I've been doing this for a while and have noticed an incredible growth in my strength and conditioning. There is one down side to it though...it can kill you. I read an article in the NY Times titled "Getting Fit Even if It Kills You"about this favored program and can't help but ponder the idiocies of the American media.

True, CrossFit is potentially dangerous. True, the guy in the article did almost die. True, I'm more scared of crossing the street in rush hour than I am of killing myself in a workout. If the author of this article had bothered to do the research, she would know that a good portion of her insinuations and statements (no education for newbies, no emphasis on technique, no safety whatsoever) is hogwash.

How often does something come along that requires hard work, effort, and ethics? I'm not just talking about CrossFit, though that is my focal point at the moment. I guess I could go to a gym where they tell me to do 3-5 sets of 10 on four different machines and I'll be good for the day, but I'd rather put in the work, sweat, and puke to do something that will change my life for the better.

I could do the machines, run the treadmill, and get dead as a drunk driver slams into me. I could fall down the stairs in a dark movie theater. Some things are worth hurting for. Some things are worth paying for. Some things are worth dying for (though that may be outside the realm of exercise, but you get my point.) Why is pain such a bad thing, anyway?