Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness
Description
<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
"John, they would have brought a body back but you know wild animals. I want her alive as much as you do. She came from my own womb," she choked out in anger. Why do you think you suffer more than me? My guilt could kill me but we have a whole table full of children in there who's scared of what is going to happen next!"
John was quiet for several moments.
"Remember, Mattie," he finally broke his own silence. "We never wanted to loose a single child," he anguished and shook his head. "I put us all at a horrible risk. I failed Laura, and then I quit on her. If what you say is true, there isn't even a body to bury, Mattie! Not even a rest-in-peace on a wooden cross!"
They listened to the sounds around the fort. It seemed strange for the world to go on as if nothing had happened.
"People ask me, " Mattie tearfully spoke, "'how can you be so strong, you're so stronge, Mattie', they say. I want to look back at them and tell them, I'm not. I just don't have a choice.
Everyday I struggle, John. Children are resilent it's true, but what makes you think they don't suffer, too? If we give up, John," whispered Mattie, "we'll lose them all-one way or another."
John studied her and she was making sense. He was missing what his family was going through while he was so selfishly handling his own grief.
He took her in his arms and held her close. He was letting them all down. He was destroying his own family. Beyond Laura, how much more damage did he want to do?
"Well, I'll give it to you, Mattie...your right! The only thing we can do now is go on when the snow passes. We have no choice. I sold everything back in Vermont. God help us," he said.
They walked back inside, together.