Greg Glassman, a former gymnast, founded CrossFit®, Inc. in 2000. In his years coaching elite athletes, Coach Glassman found that the best way to achieve optimal fitness was not through specialization but rather through “constantly varied, functional movement, performed at high intensity.” In short, this means combining elements of Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics, sprinting, rowing and core conditioning to improve overall flexibility, strength, speed, endurance and agility.
Constantly Varied
“Constantly Varied” means that every day brings a different workout (or “WOD”), incorporating any combination of these elements. You will jump and climb ropes, swing kettle bells and flip tires. You will work at pull ups, muscle ups, hand stands, pushups, and hand-stand pushups. You will practice squats, dips, cleans, jerks, snatches and deadlifts as well as rowing, running and box jumps. Each day will bring different exercises always specifically designed to work on different muscle groups and/or cardiovascular strength.
Functional Movement
“Functional Movement” refers to maintaining the safest, most-efficient position to power through a movement. There are plenty of misconceptions out there about CrossFit®; the truth is much of what we do in our workouts mirrors activities in our daily lives. To the uninitiated, flipping a tire looks like crazy, “he-man” work. But if you’ve ever had to move a mattress up a flight of stairs, you already know the movement. Lifting a medicine ball may appear odd, but consider what your body does when you place your suitcase in a plane’s overhead compartment. If you’ve ever lifted a heavy bag of dog food or peat moss, no one needs to tell you the importance of arching your back. We will help you maintain the correct position in a workout – both to keep you and others safe as well as to maximize efficiency.
High Intensity
“High Intensity” is a concept that at first can be difficult for new CrossFitters to grasp. For many people, a workout’s efficiency is only proportionate to the amount of hours spent in the gym. You will never hear a CrossFitter say, “I had a great workout; I was in the gym for four hours!” You are much more likely to hear, “I finished in 8 minutes.” People come here skeptical that a high-intensity workout, done in a fraction of the time as they are used to, can lead to faster, better results. But results don’t lie.
The beauty of our sport is that we are all in it together, motivating one another. It’s a sport where the person last to finish the workout receives more high fives than the person first to finish.
We encourage you to learn more about the CrossFit® philosophy and methodology at: crossfit.com