– By: Doug Robichaud
Employees of up and coming startup companies were put to the physical test on Wednesday, September 17 at 12:15 p.m. in NGIN Workplace’s modern conference room. Startup companies who are members at NGIN were given the chance to take a break from their stressful workday and immerse themselves in a challenging Crossfit class.
Olga Akselrod, COO at NGIN Workplace ran the class and will continue to lead the classes in the future. Olga is a Crossfit enthusiast who can’t stop talking about the sport.
“I got into crossfit in 2008, but didn’t start doing it on regular, almost religious basis until 2013,” said Olga.
Olga stated that her reason for starting Crossfit classes at NGIN Workplace was because of her passion for the sport. She wanted to share her passion with the members at NGIN who already loved Crossfit and for those who were interested in trying it. If you don’t know what Crossfit is, here is an informative beginner’s guide: https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/03/01/a-beginners-guide-to-crossfit/
Not only will Crossfit get NGIN’s members physically fit, but the challenging classes will help keep them focused on finishing their stressful projects. Olga explained that Crossfit not only improve one’s physical well-being, but also improves one’s daily life. She said that if a person constantly learns to challenge and push themselves to the limit during exercises, they will understand what it takes to reach and fulfill their life goals. She wanted to share this incentive with her members at NGIN Workplace because they are an energetic community of startups whose main goals are for their companies to succeed. Both NGIN Workplace and Crossfit are both all about a tight-knit community, pushing one another to become successful.
Olga expressed that Crossfit has grown in popularity in the last couple years. She said that Crossfit classes at NGIN are for members who don’t want to go and pay for a larger class at an official Crossfit gym.
“This is an extremely convenient option for our members to get into the sport,” said Olga.
The class ran for twenty minutes consisting of a variety of workouts that focused on building strength and conditioning.
Here’s the workout:
3 rounds of:
- 20 Squats
- 10 Air Squats
- 20 Double Unders/60 Singles
- 25 Push Ups/Clapping Push up
- 10 Burpees
- 20 Walking Lunges/Jumping Lunges
- 30 Situps
- .45 Plank hold
Since it was NGIN Workplace’s first Crossfit class, Olga tried to incorporate a variety of workouts to see how it worked out and if people enjoyed it. She said that her plans for the next class will be a little different. She will include some box jumps, kettlebells swings and squats with a heavier plate overhead.
Ryan Borker, NGIN Workplace member from the startup company Shortlist attended the class. Barker had never done Crossfit before, but chose to do it because his coworkers and Olga were doing it.
“The class went well for my first time, and it was pretty exhausting for a short workout,” said Borker.
Borker said that he hopes NGIN will continue to host more classes, and said that NGIN should acquire a flying pull-up bar because flying pull-ups are awesome.
When the class was over, everyone who participated wanted more… and NGIN is giving them more. The next round of Crossfit will be Wednesday, October 1. Get fit and stay focused at NGIN Workplace!
