Five biggest fitness cults

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CrossFit

Those who like to take on Mount Olympus-style fitness feats. That’s the person who knows, loves, and lives CrossFit—which has a half dozen “boxes” (gyms) around the city.

The strength-and-endurance workouts push you past where any normal person would go on their own—say, 30 jumps on a 20" box, throwing a 14-lb ball at a target 8 feet up a wall 30 times, and then sprints. Repeat 4 times.

These challenges intensely bond the CrossFit community, many of whom eat a Paleo diet (basically no dairy, sugar, flour), wear the same lifting shoes (or go barefoot), and raise money for charities together.

As one devotee says, “The workouts produce such an amazing high, and awesome sense of accomplishment, and really send fitness soaring into space.”

Photo credit: Dan Reshef