Location
Easy to find, ample parking for its size, building is quite new
Equipment
Lots of gear to go around, multiple truck tires outside
Instruction
Maria was very sharp and had a great sense of the mechanics of each movement.
Vibe
Very inclusive and friendly, and they have a partner WOD every weekend
Partner WODs are fun. They have a different feel than a typical workout. You tend to push yourself because you don’t want to let the other person down – you want to hold up your end of the bargain. So I decided to visit Crossfit Bardown in Bedford, just a few blocks from where I live, during their weekly Saturday morning partner workout.
First, on the board, the partner WOD didn’t seem too bad. Those are the workouts that surprise you though. It was deceptively simple. In pairs, you would do:
Each 200m run (around the building)
Then 5 rounds of (whoever starts first does 3 rounds):
8 one-arm kettle bell squat snatches
12 kettle bell swings
100m one-arm overhead kettle bell carry
Each 200m run (around the building)
Then 5 rounds of (whoever went second the first time through goes first and does 3 rounds):
8 one-arm kettle bell squat snatches
12 kettle bell swings
100m one-arm overhead kettle bell carry
Our finish: 25:05.
I was surprise to find the overhead carry was the toughest part of the WOD. I really struggled with it, and it wasn’t one side versus the other – I had a tough time with both arms. I was ok for the first 30-40m and then I had to alternate to be able to keep moving. Definitely going to have to work on those!
This was also the first time in months that I opted to run. It was a short distance and I didn’t push it – I just wanted to see what it felt like. My knee was a little tender, but it held up just fine. I don’t want to do more than that kind of distance any time soon though, and I’ll still more often than not, opt for rowing in place of running to allow my knee to continue to heal. It did feel good to run just a little again.
A very knowledgable coach
I’m finding it pretty easy to tell when a Crossfit coach is passionate about what they do. It may in fact have to do with the knee injury I’m nursing, because it does draw a little attention to itself when I have it wrapped up. But my visit to Bardown definitely highlighted the experience and expertise Coach Maria. She immediately zeroed in on the trouble I was having with my knee and repeated some of the same advice I had heard from my physiotherapist. She was quick to point to some exercises I could do to build up the muscles in my legs and butt that were not firing during squats in particular and resulting in undue tension and pressure on the knee join and my patellar tendon. My knee is on the mend, but it does still have a way to go. I was impressed with how quickly she picked up on it and on the underlying cause just by watching my movements during the WOD. She clearly cares about what she does. And it doesn’t hurt that she’s good at it. I’ll be back, Bardown. I’ll be back.
