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Andrew Ashling

Andrew Ashling

About

I write gay fiction.

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>

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<strong>Review:</strong><br /><br /><em>&quot;Once I accepted that not everything in this story was going to be easy to read I became immersed in the events told mainly thru Andrew's eyes. The highs and lows, the good and bad, the beautiful moments and the ugly truths he learns all combined to make this an entertaining and thought provoking story. I liked the author's writing style although I did feel at times that Andrew was perhaps too mature for his age. It was a bit hard sometimes to believe he was so young from the way he comes through in the book however that didn't take away too much from my enjoyment. I did waffle a bit on the rating because of my reservations with parts of the story but when I realized I was thinking about the story long after I'd finished it and wishing there had been more to it I felt it deserved a five star rating. Highly recommended.&quot;</em><br /><a href="http://lily-ilovebooks.blogspot.com/2010/11/dish-served-cold-by-andrew-ashling.html">♥♥ I Love Books ♥♥</a><br /><br />I have to warn you that there are some very graphic and sometimes cruel scenes. <em>&quot;I actually have sympathetic pains in my chest over this poor boy!&quot;</em>, one reader wrote in a comment on a site where I tested it out. <em>&quot;Some of the scenes were brutal and a little hard to read, and some of the 'history lessons' were quite long. However, every single one of those scenes was necessary in my opinion, it helped me really understand the world I was reading about.&quot;</em> another wrote. More recently, on my own site, where you can find the complete review, someone said <em>&quot;There was so much detail and finesse to the story. I would have liked to have known if he was able to track down that poor kid from the airport. I cried at that point and at the parts involving Eric. What a cruel world.&quot;</em> But a little bit further down, the same person says <em>&quot;It is such a beautiful tale of redemption as well.&quot;</em> and <em>&quot;The epilogue was amazing also, though very bitter-sweet.&quot;</em><br />There is romance too. I promise.