There are some 15,000 Crossfit gyms around the world, with about 4 million people participating in the popular fitness sport.
From all those gyms and all those athletes, the top 40 teams qualify for the Crossfit Games, set for Aug. 3-7 in Madison, Wisconsin.
And one of those top 40 squads is Charleston's Team Rhapsody, which trains at the Rhapsody Fitness Crossfit gym on King Street.
"It's really whittled down from almost half a million people who try to qualify, and 15,000 Crossfit affiliates across the world," said coach Alan Shaw. "It's one of those things where all of our athletes are incredibly talented, and when they get together as a team, they really shine."
Team Rhapsody members Stephanie Rodriguez, Cristian Mathes, Tyler Watkins and Jordan Lundin will compete in the 16th edition of the Crossfit Games at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison against teams and individuals from around the world.
Crossfit is a form of high intensity interval training emphasizing functional movements such as squatting, pulling and pushing to build strength and conditioning. Gyms are often referred to as a "box", and athletes can use kettle bells, bikes and rowers, speed ropes, medicine balls, plyo boxes and other equipment.
There is also a "workout of the day" that all members are supposed to perform on the same day.
Each of the members of Team Rhapsody came to Crossfit in their own way.
Rodriguez, for example, is a 32-year-old who works at a marketing firm and got bored with her trips to the gym.
"I wanted to be challenged," she said. "So I tried out a class and got hooked. I've always been a competitor, and it just kind of fills that competitive gap that you are missing once you have outgrown your sport."
Rodriguez has competed in the Crossfit Games before, qualifying for the event in 2018 with a team from New York, and last year with another team from South Carolina.
As intense as Crossfit workouts can be, the Crossfit Games are on a different level, she said.
"It's a lot more intense," she said. "There's a difference between competitive Crossfit and just doing Crossfit every day to be healthy. It's a different level of extreme.
"You are seeing what your capacity is, pushing your body more and mentally pushing yourself."
One added challenge: Athletes don't know in advance what workouts they will be asked to perform at the Games, so they cannot practice specific challenges.
"That's actually one of the best parts about the Games," said Shaw. "None of them know what they actual workouts are. That's sort of the beauty of Crossfit, that it's constantly varied.
"And that's why the training is so intense leading up to the Games, because you are trying to cover all of your bases. You have to figure out a workout 30 minutes before you have to do it. Those moments when it hits the fan, it depends on how they respond to it in that moment."
Just a chance to compete with some of the top Crossfitters in the world is special for the members of Team Rhapsody.
"It means a lot," said Lundin, who is 28 and a fitness coach himself. "We've made a lot of sacrifices, each of us and as a team together. We spend all of our weekends together and are training three, four, five hours a day.
"Making the Crossfit Games is a goal I've always had since I first saw it on TV, so it means a lot that it's all come together and we were able to qualify this year."