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So, I thought I'd been through it all. I've done a LOT of hard workouts - you don't lose 60 pounds without hitting the gym a lot - not to mention complete a 200-mile bike ride in a day, run a marathon, complete an Ironman. I've been tired and I've been sore and I thought I knew muscle pain.

Well, that was before I met Crossfit.

Apparently Crossfit is this new trend in exercise classes; a co-worker of mine set up a private class for folks from my team, and of course I was game. Basically, we show up at this small gym in an office park once a week and two trainers work us HARD.

For example: the first time I went, we did pull-ups, an overhead press exercise with a heavy bar (then added weight to the bar), raced each other on a rowing machine, and did sit-ups. Oh, and jumped from the floor up to a platform about a foot and a half high. Yes, that's next to impossible for a girl who is 5 foot 3, but I tried!

The first half of class is primarily instruction in technique, but you still get your heart rate up and work your muscles hard. The second half we split into teams and compete to finish the most repetitions of whatever routine the trainers think up.

It totally appeals to my competitive side, but at the same time, I got myself in some trouble yesterday.

The trainer had us do squats - all the way down so our bottoms touched a beanbag type ball on the floor (about 1.5 feet off the floor). And all the way back up. 20 seconds of as many as you can, followed by 10 seconds of rest - EIGHT times. And the way we "scored" this was the lowest number of reps you did in any given set was your score - so whatever you do first, you need to continue so your score doesn't drop.

I did 15 my first time. Then I realized that wasn't quite sustainable - it hurt. So I dropped to 14, and stayed there for the rest of the sets. I came in second - the only person who beat me didn't come up all the way at the top, so his score didn't count.

See, I know I can't compete with the guys when it comes to lifting weights. Some women can, but I'm not that buff yet.

But I knew my quads could stand more squats than theirs - and they did. However, today I am paying a huge price. I can barely walk! I actually ran four miles, but only because running hurts as much as walking. And oh my goodness, trying to sit down from a standing position...excruciating!

The thing is, a body needs this sort of overload once in a while to get stronger. Muscles get stronger by breaking down, then rebuilding. Now, I didn't really need bigger quads than I already have - but I know my legs will come back from this even better than they were before.

And it's so easy to get into a routine with weight lifting and never break through to increased strength. So I'm excited for these workouts - even though my legs may protest and my quads are trying to jump ship!