Time To Beat (Patreon)

Never in my life had I experienced anything as intense as the workout I had just completed. I wasn’t even the type of guy who worked out all that often at all - hell, walking to and from the office where I worked was about as much physical activity as I got on a daily basis - so being put through a gruelling CrossFit timed challenge was nothing short of a culture shock for me. Of course, I wasn’t doing it just for fun. There were stakes at play and that brought out the competitive nature that was usually reserved for playing video games with my buddies. It was those same guys I was up against now, only none of us were really ourselves.

See, after gaining some success in the eSports world playing competitive Overwatch, the five of us received invitations from the International CrossFit Society in partnership with the SuitYourBody corporation. They wanted to run a challenge to test out their new ‘CrossFitter’ range of bodysuits and we were to be the test subjects. The five of us were provided with a copy of their ‘Marco’ bodysuit and told that only one would be able to keep it for free, namely the one who completed the CrossFit circuit in the quickest time. Considering we were originally a group of out-of-shape video game nerds with very little fitness knowledge, it was a daunting challenge but the prospect of keeping the Marco suit fired us all up. We were used to working together but now we were most definitely in competition.

Slipping into the suit, I was amazed at how comfortable it was as it enveloped my smaller frame. Every part of me felt safely cushioned but as I pressed at the abs and felt up the biceps it was as if I was touching my own skin. The sensation was both surprising and fascinating. I desperately wanted to explore more of it but we only had access to the suits for the duration of the competition and that left no time to properly appreciate the artistry and scientific magic that went into crafting the bodysuit. If I wanted more time with ‘Marco’ then I would have to win and that was precisely what I planned to do.

I was scheduled last to attempt the workout which meant I had to sit by and watch as my four closest friends pushed themselves to their very limits: struggling through fifty pull-ups, slogging through one-hundred burpees, gasping for breath as they completed one-thousand meters on the rower. It was more physically intensive than any of us had done in our lives but when it was for the chance of a lifetime nobody was about to back down. Instead of nerves building the longer I waited, it was instead determination. I knew in my heart that I wanted to keep the suit more than any of them did and that was going to push me through to success.

Completing the workout was no stroll in the park. Every part of my body burned. Sweat dripped through the pores in the suit, rippling across the tensed muscles. Still, I didn’t give up. I pushed myself into my focused zone, the same way I did when I was crushing the opponents at an eSports competition. By the time the bell finally rang to signal my completion, I was utterly exhausted but cautiously optimistic. My friends clapped me on the back but I could see in their faces that they were worried. Our hearts raced as we stared up at the scoreboard, waiting for our timings to be revealed and to see just who would get to keep their suit…

A roar of triumph escaped my lips as I saw that I had beaten my closest competitor by a full five seconds. Marco was mine! My friends applauded politely as representatives from SuitYourBody came to collect their suits from them but that was all background noise to me as I found myself being pulled right into an interview with the ICFS to promote their upcoming CrossFit events. I was drenched with sweat but unable to stop grinning as I realized that my life was about to take a very different turn. Maybe I’d still find time to compete in eSports but truthfully I now saw more of a future for myself in the CrossFit games than with video games!