LAKEVILLE— A massacre took place inside the walls of Millennium Fitness Gym Saturday, Feb. 2, but there was no blood or casualties. 

Bodies sprawled on the floor, but they were very much alive, breathing heavily, sweating and letting out sighs of relief after intense physical effort.   

The long-standing Lakeville gym hosted its first CrossFit competition over the weekend. Millennium Fitness Gym came under new ownership last year when long-time CrossFit coach Jason Caldas took over and started offering CrossFit classes.  

A total of 54 athletes, forming 27 two-person teams, participated in Saturday’s competition. Millennium Fitness Gym was just one of the 978 teams worldwide that participated in the event. Aptly called the “Valentine’s Day Massacre,” the competition exemplified how the names of CrossFit events are often meant to be humorous.  

The results from each participating gym were posted on a virtual leaderboard, and the global winner will earn a $17,500 prize.  

Athletes participated in four different physical challenges that tested their strength and endurance. Challenges included heavy Olympic weightlifts, rowing, and sequences of common CrossFit exercises such as box jumps, handstand pushups, pull ups and other gymnastic moves. 

Box jumps are a plyometrics movement, which consists of rapid and explosive moves that involve jumping on a box, a test of both strength and stamina. Handstand push-ups involve doing a push up against a wall in a vertical position.  

These types of moves highlight the essence of CrossFit, which is defined as “the sport of fitness,” said Caldas. CrossFit combines weightlifting, endurance training and gymnastics in high-intensity workouts.  

Saturday’s event was Middleboro resident Amanda Collins’ first CrossFit competition. Collins, 31, started doing CrossFit six months ago. She picked up the sport to build strength so she could more comfortably carry around her two young children.  

“I didn’t want to ask anyone else to help me carry anything, and I have a 1 and a 3-year old that always need me.” Now, she said, “It has been awesome being able to pick them up without any hesitation.”  

The day was another entry in the books for Heather Vargus, who lives in Hanson and coaches CrossFit. Vargus has been doing CrossFit for 13 years and participated in some 20 competitions. She turned to CrossFit after she got injured powerlifting.  

What she loves most about CrossFit, she said, is that “it’s never the same thing. There are so many [sports] that are the same thing day in and day out,” but with CrossFit, every day brings something different. “You never get bored, and you have this,” she noted, gesturing to the crowd of roaring spectators.  

CrossFit is more than just a sport, according to CrossFit coach Courtney Beadling of Middleboro. It is a form of functional fitness, and helps increase strength and mobility in everyday movements, like lifting something overhead or picking something up off the ground.  

CrossFit’s positive impact on people’s day-to-day life is a key factor in why it has become so popular over the last couple of years, enthusiasts say. People notice improvements in their strength, mobility, and mood “within the first week” of starting CrossFit, said Beadling. 

Pairs of CrossFit athletes at Saturday’s event came from gyms near and far. Danielle Leeman and Jake Ouellette drove down from Saco, Maine to try to put their skills to the test.  

The greatest feat for CrossFit athletes at the professional level would be to win the CrossFit games, the annual competition that brings together CrossFit athletes from all over the world, said Beadling.   

Professional CrossFit athletes don’t earn a salary like other professional athletes; their earnings are based on competition prize money, sponsorships, and endorsements, according to Cross FitPD, a blog specializing in content about the sport. But top-earning competitors like Matt Fraser, who has won the CrossFit games five times, have an estimated net worth of $4 million.  

Among the 54 Valentine’s Day Massacre competitors was 53-year-old Meg Parks of Marion, who placed top ten in the Masters Division of the CrossFit Games in 2021. On Saturday, she and competition partner Mike Noe of Falmouth won the Masters Division (athletes 35 years and older) in the Millennium competition.  

As CrossFit's popularity has exploded, critiques have emerged around the risk of injury in the sport. Caldas, who has done CrossFit for 15 years and owned five CrossFit gyms, admits that those who compete at the elite level are more injury-prone, much like other professional athletes. But that is a small percentage of Cross Fitters, he said. According to Caldas, recreational athletes can easily avoid injuries through good coaching and listening to instruction.  

Vargus encourages anyone interested to give this functional fitness-based discipline a try: “Just have fun and you’re going to surprise yourself. You’re going to have a ball and you’re going to be hooked even more.”