Six Years Into My CrossFit Photography Journey

This is one of my very first CrossFit photos (still one of my favorites), taken in the distant year of 2015 at the Ironbox (today IronBox CrossFit Jamor).

It launched my project Life In a Box, that recently received an Honourable Mention at the IPA (International Photography Awards).

More importantly, it sparked my passion for CrossFit, as a photography subject and sports discipline.

I began practicing about a year after I took this photo and today CrossFit is an important part of my life. I can even go as far as saying that it is part of me,  given the number of marks it has left on my body!😄

I found what I had long been looking for: a broad and complete training system that would serve as a base for my sports activities (Climbing, Aikido, Windsurf...) and for my health in general. Training alone always bored me and the Health Club's "Body Stuff" (Body Pump, Body Balance, Cycle, Spartans...), though intense, seemed incomplete.

With CrossFit, I felt that, for the first time, I had a balanced and complete training programme, full of new skills to learn (olympic weightlifting was and still is one of my biggest challenges). Moreover, I discovered that which makes CrossFit so unique: the Community. All the people who get together everyday for a dose of "joyful suffering". Who truly support each other, with healthy competitiveness, cheering you on, or just giving you an exhausted fist bump at the end of a workout.

CrossFit Alpha Den in now my second home. This box is the paradigm of high quality training in a safe and friendly environment. I can't give them enough praise, they hugely contribute to my physical and mental sanity, especially during this never ending pandemic.

It builds top notch athletes, but more than anything, it is a place of inclusion and solidarity.

Back to the photo, I thought it would be interesting to also display the "out of camera" version, with no post-production, as a way of showing that the photographic process need not end with what we see, but rather with what we want to see.

What Does Pain Look Like?

I have to be honest. I’ve been photographing crossfitters for some time now and I never understood why they dropped on the floor as soon as a workout finished.

A few days ago I was introduced to a lovely benchmark exercise on the assault bike, with the suggestive nickname "Pain Test". It consists of going as fast as possible for 3 min, for max Kcal. Needless to say that, despite my ridiculous result, as soon as I dismounted I felt like I was going to collapse and had to sit down for a while!

In CrossFit (and interval training in general), the pain is proportional to the intensity and the intensity is the key to progression. Hence the saying “no pain, no gain”!

Photographically, I’ve always been drawn to the intensity of CrossFit because it adds a lot of drama to the shots. And I find this double journey of shooting and experiencing it more interesting every day!

The CrossFit Games Open - Cátia

Last, but certainly not least, Cátia.

I’m not sure what best characterizes her, a heart of gold or a will of steel, but if you’re one of us who can call her a friend, you have one more thing to be grateful of.

(Also, she looks great in front of the camera, but that’s just an extra.)

Workout 19.5

33-27-21-15-9 reps for time of:

65-lb. thrusters, Chest-to-bar pull-ups

Time cap: 20 minutes

I did my own little workout during this shoot, climbing up and down a stepladder, hauling a 70-200 mm on a Canon 5D Mk IV.

Not that I wanted to punish myself, but in order to "clean up” the background I had to get extreme angles, from above and from below.

The CrossFit Games Open 2019 - Andreia

Andreia is the next one up in my photo series of athletes in the CrossFit Games Open 2019, at AlphaDen CrossFit.

I’m a big fan of this coach's classes! Her "tough love" both in class and in competition (took several no reps from her during the Open!) remind me that training is not just the act of moving the body, but setting and meeting goals, big or small.

And because there’s nothing like teaching by example, when competing she shows that focus, resolve and excellence are not words, but actions.

Specifically, these photos show a wod (workout of the day) where the athletes had to complete the following list of exercises, as fast as possible (up to 10 min):

60 m dumbbell overhead lunge, 50 dumbbell box step-ups, 50 strict handstand push-ups, 60 m handstand walk

The CrossFit Games Open 2019 - Coach T

“What was that?!..."

“That”, was Tiago going by, leaving everyone behind!

Tiago Lousa (Coach T) is an absolute machine when it comes to endurance and speed wods. He is also the engine behind Alpha Den CrossFit, having co-founded it almost 3 years ago and leading it by showing what a true athlete should be.

Over the years, I’ve developed my photography skills just by trying to keep up with him. After “321 GO!” I know there will be no mercy, as he devours the reps, going relentlessly from one exercise to the other, until the wod is done. You blink, you missed it!

The CrossFit Games Open 2019 - Phelps

The CrossFit Games Open 2019 is over (the first one that is, because exceptionally there is going to be another later on this year, but that’s not why I’m writing this).

I had the opportunity to shoot a lot of pictures at CrossFit Alpha Den (when I wasn’t doing the wods myself) and ended up with a few small series that I’m really happy with, showcasing athletes that I truly admire. Like my dear friend Nuno “Phelps”, who's the very definition of a CrossFit athlete - focused and competitive, but always ready to support everyone around him.

Nuno is one of the most experienced crossfitters at the box, and a long time athlete before that, with a wealth of knowledge that he is always happy to share.