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.  

Among the 54 athletes participating in Saturday’s competition was Marion’s Meg Parks, 53, who placed top 10 in the Masters Division of the CrossFit Games in 2021. And on Saturday, she and competition partner Mike Noe of Falmouth won the Masters Division (athletes 35 years and older) in the Millennium competition.  

Parks, who has been doing CrossFit for 14 years, said, “CrossFit in my mind is the perfect mix of cardio, strength training and gymnastics. You have to be flexible.”

The thing she likes best about it is the workouts are “prescribed for you,” so she can just shut off her brain and do the work. 

And it’s a lot of work. 

Parks said to become elite in her division and age range, athletes have to practice for four or more hours a day.

“That’s what I had to do for training the summer leading up to the games,” she said. “I went to the gym in the morning and then I went back home and then went back to the gym in the afternoon.”

But at the end of the day, it’s all worth it. Parks said she loves the camaraderie and support involved in CrossFit, noting how Caldas was “a big part of making it to the games.”

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.