SPONSORED — What do soldiers from Mississippi, long-distance runners from Colorado, and native Bangkokians from 6 to 60 have in common? They all go to Crossfit TEN500 on Soi Silom 9 to build muscle, improve endurance, get in shape or just roll around making fart sounds with their mouths.
I recently joined them for all of the above. The eclectic mix of natives and expats, young and old welcomed me with warm smiles and toned arms wide open. Situated on the ground floor of the KCC building a short walk from BTS Chong Nonsi, Crossfit TEN500 is a compact yet well-equipped facility with everything one needs to level their body and rebuild it from scratch.
Owner Nathan Jirakasemnukul is a Los Angeles native and former professional Thai footballer who is helping spread the gospel of Crossfit here in the kingdom. At first I scoffed at his promise to give me a “taste” of this bootcamp-style training. Being in good shape and no stranger to this stuff, I implored my trainers to “turn things up.” In retrospect, this wasn’t necessary; my legs felt like kanom jeen after the half-hour session.
For those who haven’t tried it, Crossfit is a high-pace circuit in which you rotate between the different exercises of the day as quickly as possible in competition with the clock, yourself and classmates. The class starts off with a warm-up, jog, high-knees, butt-kickers, shuffling and some squats. Everyone then breaks into their respective groups depending on ability, and the clock starts.
My workout consisted of doing three rounds as fast as possible, rotating between a 150-meter row, push-ups, box-jumps, kettlebell swings and throwing a 10-kilogram ball against the ceiling and catching it in a low squat. The workout focused on our quads, and its simple goal was for them to not work afterward.
Camaraderie and fun are the cornerstones of Crossfit and what make it so attractive and effective. Having a room full of people pushing each other to push themselves is a surefire way to get a great workout (and the most out of your gym membership). After stumbling out of TEN500, I think I had an out of body experience, probably due to a lack of oxygen. My legs screamed like they never have in solo workouts, and this combination actually made me consider foregoing the five-minute walk back to the BTS in favor of a tuk-tuk.
There’s no getting off easy in Crossfit, and no time for thoughts of easier, less sweaty things, or even quitting to creep into your head. If you’re looking for a killer workout, a good time or just a setting to meet some new people from all over the place, check out Crossfit TEN500.
FIND IT:
Soi Silom 9
Open daily
086-008-5805
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