KENNEBUNK — On an 80-degree afternoon recently, Diane Tardif placed her hands on her knees, then straightened herself as she breathed heavily and began to sweat.

“I am so glad that is over,” she said. “Whew!”

As she regained her composure, Tardif smiled.

“This is addicting,” said the 56-year-old medical care employee. “It hurts, but it’s addicting.”

What Tardif finds addictive is a CrossFit workout.

She and nine other adults have just completed one of the most grueling 15 minutes of their fitness lives at CrossFit KGB, a gym in Kennebunk dedicated to getting people into shape without the so-called standard, monotonous workouts.

Tardif has just participated in a Thursday afternoon class at the gym that focuses on high intensity and high load workouts where the goal is to move as much weight as you can during the 15-minute session. Gym members move from a variety of exercises such as squat clean and presses to pullups, and then to a combination of deadlifts and box jumps.

The workout doesn’t sound like much, but to the people involved, it’s exhausting.

“They are gassed after this workout,” said CrossFit KGB owner Ben Vernon, who is also a CrossFit Level 1 trainer. “It’s all about pushing that intensity and really driving your body.”

CrossFit KGB is part of a national movement of exercising where the idea is to train the body through exercises that mimic people’s every day activities, Vernon said.

Gone is the Arnold Schwarzenegger thinking of training one body part per day to gain a certain aesthetic look. CrossFit incorporates functional movements into every workout, designed to increase a person’s strength and mobility.

Instead of gym members spending time trying to build chest muscles through bench presses or biceps muscles through arm curls, they instead train by combining cardio with strength exercises. The workouts aren’t long, usually 15-20 minutes, but they focus on increasing the heart rate and building core strength, Vernon said.

“It’s more relevant to daily life,” Vernon said. “Think about what they just did. They probably moved between 6,000 and 10,000 pounds in 15 minutes.”

Vernon said that one class can focus on deadlifts, which engages several muscles at one time such as the back, legs, stomach and arms. It mimics daily motion such as lifting objects. The deadlifts are combined with plyometric moves such as jumping up and down on a box for 20 seconds. Workouts will also incorporate stretching and a little bit of running, but the runs are usually done while carrying a 35-pound weight over your head. Warmups consist of bodyweight squats and pushups.

This might sound brutal to some people, but to CrossFit members, it’s a way to improve their lives.

“It’s really about your overall health,” said Molly Lawson, 23, of Lyman. “It helps you get better not only physically, but emotionally.”

That is true for Tardif, too, who said she spent years going to gyms and running on treadmills or lifting weights to try and get into shape.

“Nothing was happening and I felt like I was stuck in a rut,” Tardif said. “I just wanted to get stronger and I didn’t want to get old.”

Tardif started CrossFit a year ago and can now deadlift 190 pounds.

“I never thought I would be able to do that,” she said. “I’m 56. I know I couldn’t have done that even in my 30s.”

Vernon started CrossFit in the mid-2000s after studying jiujitsu at The Academy in Westbrook. He was also a Merchant Marine who had made physical conditioning a part of his life. He heard of CrossFit while at The Academy and starting learning how to incorporate it into his workouts. Eventually, he became a certified trainer and decided to open his own gym.

He doesn’t charge a monthly fee. Instead, members receive a punch card and pay $100 for every time they reach 20 classes.

“We in the CrossFit community try to make it affordable,” Vernon said.

Classes vary from high intensity to low intensity, and Vernon adjusts the exercises to meet each client’s needs. Newcomers, for example, won’t begin deadlifting with weights. Instead, they will use the bar and Vernon will focus on proper technique.

“It’s all about doing it right,” Vernon said. “If you don’t have good technique, then you’re not getting the full benefit.”

Ages range from 23 to 65 in this gym, but CrossFit practitioners across the United States can range from teens to people in their early 80s.

Todd Smith, 63, of Kennebunkport, is a marathon runner. He began CrossFit three months ago and said he is now in the best shape of his life.

“I have an improved heart rate and I have more strength,” he said. “I’m anxious to see how this will help me with marathons.”

— Contact Al Edwards at 282-1535, Ext. 323.