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Ellen Frankel

Ellen Frankel

About

Ellen Frankel is an author and licensed clinical social worker. Her memoir, Beyond Measure, was published by Pearlsong Press in September 2006.

She is also the author (with her sister Judith Matz, LCSW) of Beyond A Shadow of a Diet& The Diet Survivor's Handbook.

Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness

Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness

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<p><b>The absorbing, definitive account of CrossFit's origins, its explosive grassroots growth, and its emergence as a global phenomenon.</b><br /> <br />One of the most illuminating books ever on a sports subculture, <i>Learning to Breathe Fire </i>combines vivid sports writing with a thoughtful meditation on what it means to be human. In the book, veteran journalist J.C. Herz explains the science of maximum effort, why the modern gym fails an obese society, and the psychic rewards of ending up on the floor feeling as though you're about to die. <br /> <br />The story traces CrossFit’s rise, from a single underground gym in Santa Cruz to its adoption as the workout of choice for elite special forces, firefighters and cops, to its popularity as the go-to fitness routine for regular Joes and Janes. Especially riveting is Herz’s description of The CrossFit Games, which begin as an informal throw-down on a California ranch and evolve into a televised global proving ground for the fittest men and women on Earth, as well as hundreds of thousands of lesser mortals. <br /> <br />In her portrayal of the sport's star athletes, its passionate coaches and its “chief armorer,” Rogue Fitness, Herz powerfully evokes the uniqueness of a fitness culture that  cultivates primal fierceness in average people. And in the shared ordeal of an all-consuming workout, she unearths the ritual intensity that's been with us since humans invented sports, showing us how, on a deep level, we're all tribal hunters and first responders, waiting for the signal to go all-out. </p>

Story Behind The Book

Media Links

Boston Globe article about Ellen Frankel & Beyond Measure

🔗 http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/01/17/in_opposing_heightism_she_has_found_her_cause/?p1=email_to_a_friend

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Marblehead Reporter article about Ellen Frankel

🔗 http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/homepage/x272476967

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Reviews

&quot;Delightful and provocative both as a personal journey and as a candid look at how the social prejudice against short stature has been reconfigured as a medical issue,:<br /><br /><strong>Alan Cassels</strong><br />co-author of <strong><em>Selling Sickness</em><br /><br /></strong>&quot;If you have ever measured your height or your weight and felt good or bad about yourself as a result, you need this book. In its pages, Ellen Frankel makes an important contribution to human liberation, by telling the most fabulous story that can be told, the story of a person coming fully into her own. This book is thought-provoking, heart-rending, and a genuine solace for people of all sizes.&quot;<br /><br /><strong>Marilyn Wann</strong><br />author of <em><strong>FAT!SO? Because You Don't Have to Apologize for Your Size</strong></em><br /><strong><br /></strong>