Reebok Stages Spectacular CrossFit Workout Atop Empire State Building

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Early this morning, Reebok took fitness to new heights as 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games Champions Rich Froning Jr. and Annie Thorisdottir, the Fittest Man and Woman on Earth™, led two teams of CrossFit athletes through a Workout of the Day (WOD) at the top of the Empire State Building. The WOD, held at 4:00 a.m. on the 1,050ft high outdoor observation deck, was a real-life demonstration of CrossFit®, the revolutionary strength and conditioning program created by Greg and Lauren Glassman, which is at the center of Reebok’s new advertising campaign, The Sport of Fitness Has Arrived.

“I still can’t believe that I just did a WOD at the top of the Empire State Building”

At the end of the WOD, Reebok Head of Fitness & Training, Chris Froio, who holds a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Certificate and was on hand to judge the event, deemed Team Thorisdottir as the winner. Video of the entire WOD – from the athletes’ arrival at the Empire State Building to the completion of the WOD – is available at http://reesha.re/ESBWOD.

Consistent with Glassman’s and CrossFit’s philosophy to prepare people for the unknown and the unknowable, none of the athletes knew the details of the location or the WOD until they arrived at the Empire State Building at 4 a.m. In front of one of the mobile CrossFit gyms featured in Reebok’s new advertisement, Froio revealed the Workout of the Day, and Thorisdottir and Froning rallied their teammates.

In the Empire State Building WOD, the athletes had to complete as many reps as possible of a series of movements: thrusters, kettlebell swings, handstand pushups, double unders and walking lunges. Team members switched movements after the competitor doing the walking lunges returned to the starting line.

“I still can’t believe that I just did a WOD at the top of the Empire State Building,” said Froning after the workout. “It’s definitely been one of my most unforgettable and fun CrossFit experiences. Reebok’s partnership with CrossFit is helping us to do amazing things and literally takes our sport to new places. Annie and her team did a great job and totally deserved their victory, but we’ll see them again at the 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games.”

Uli Becker, President of Reebok, said: “At Reebok, we want to change the way people perceive and experience fitness. Many people feel that fitness can be a tedious and uninspiring chore, and we are out to prove it doesn’t have to be that way. Certainly doing CrossFit on the top of the Empire State Building, overlooking the skyline of Manhattan, in the early hours of the morning is a new way to experience fitness. And that’s what we want to show – that fitness, through CrossFit, has all the elements that fuel people’s love for sport – community, competition and challenge.”

The Sport of Fitness Has Arrived, which Reebok launched in the U.S. on January 15 and will launch around the world in the coming months, marks a shift in direction for Reebok – back to its roots as a fitness brand. In the 1980’s, Reebok was a major catalyst in the growth of the aerobics movement, making it popular for women to get up and move and live a fitness lifestyle. Through products, such as the Freestyle, and programming such as Step Reebok, Reebok was leading this new fitness movement. In 2012, Reebok, through its partnership with CrossFit, is helping to promote a new movement – one that will change the way people look at fitness.

To watch the extended version of “The Sport of Fitness Has Arrived” commercial, go to http://reesha.re/TSOFHA.

About Reebok

Reebok International Ltd., headquartered in Canton, MA, USA, is a leading worldwide designer, marketer and distributor of sports, fitness and casual footwear, apparel and equipment. An American-inspired global brand, Reebok is a pioneer in the sporting goods industry with a rich and storied heritage in running, training and fitness. A subsidiary of the adidas Group, Reebok operates under the multiple divisions of the Reebok brand, Reebok-CCM Hockey and the Sports Licensed Division. For more information, visit Reebok at www.reebok.com.

About CrossFit

CrossFit, Inc. is the world's foremost developer of functional fitness programming and a leading accredited certificate issuer for physical training professionals worldwide. Founded by Greg and Lauren Glassman, CrossFit® is the principal strength and conditioning program for hundreds of accomplished and professional athletes and hundreds of thousands of individuals seeking to achieve elite fitness.

CrossFit offers specialty certificate courses and programs, including the CrossFit Kids program; publishes the CrossFit Journal; and created and operates the CrossFit Games, an annual event which seeks to find and crown the Fittest on Earth™. There are currently more than 3,000 affiliated gyms in the global CrossFit training network. For more information, please visit www.crossfit.com, http://www.facebook.com/crossfithq or http://www.youtube.com/user/CrossFitHQ. CrossFit is a registered trademark and 3,2,1..Go! and Fittest on Earth are trademarks of CrossFit, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

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