Crossfit OM (Mumbai, India)
Crossfit OM Is tucked away on 2nd pasta lane, opposite the colaba market in Mumbai. I actually couldn’t find it at first until I saw a man walking towards me wearing typical western gym clothes (shorts and sleeveless top) when I realized that Crossfit is the same no matter where you are. Even India.
Some things to note: i was told, while in India, women had to keep their shoulders and knees covered. This includes being at the gym. Which…. To be honest, sucks. All my clothes that follow these rules aren’t made for wods and I ended up losing a pair of pants. So if you’re visiting, make sure you’re prepared!
The box is, like I said, tucked away- but opens up to a huge, well ventilated 2 story room complete with all the necessities for a great Wod.
Yoga stretches/postures are really popular throughout all of india, and crossfit OM is no different. after the warmup they do group stretching that put me to shame- and i consider myself super flexible. (I spent 2 weeks at an ashram practicing yoga and I have no doubt in my mind that asana postures help build up your core and make you a stronger athlete.) the way that everyone here can bend is mind boggling and inspiring.
Moving onto the Wod- after some back squat skill training (do 5 reps every 2 min for 20 min. Every other lift increases weight) it was a simple 10min AMRap of 7 overhead squats, 14 weighted lunges (sweet!) and 7 burpees.
I asked around, after we were done, what the hardest part was. The opinions were all over the place- some thought the burpees were the hardest, some were glad for the burpees but thought the weighted lunges were the hardest, some were still sore from the back squats. Personally, I thought the heat and the fact that I looked like I just went swimming made it the most difficult. Getting climitized is hard.
As always, the best part of any box is the socializing after the Wod- and this place is no different. Panting, tired and sprawled out on the ground like abandoned starfishes, I chat up the other members and ask a lot of questions about Mumbai and India in general. (Like- why do boys hold other boy’s hands?) laughter erupts and explanations fly from everyone in the gym. The answer, incase youre curious, is that no one knows. “It’s not a gay thing, though.”)
I’ve been in India for a month and there was a saying that “you either love or hate india. there is no inbetween.” While I understand that expression, I definitely felt most at home and welcome at Crossfit OM during all my travels. They say that the members make the box and this is no exception! Thanks for everything guys 🙂 I really appreciated working out with y’all.
