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Birthed in the year 2001, CrossFit changed the fitness landscape. Even after 25 years of existence, 9000 boxes (read gyms) worldwide, millions of lives changed for the better, I suspect, the majority of us don't fully grasp the methodology yet. Here is my humble attempt to explain What is CrossFit? If we go by the textbook definition, CrossFit is Constantly Varied, Functional Movements, Executed At High Intensity. Sounds like Greek? Well, allow me to break this down, in simple English.
Constantly Varied
CrossFit aims to prepare you for the unknown and unknowable. Life is pretty dynamic and unscripted. Your fitness should be able to meet its varied demands.Traditional gyms have a very set training routine. Exercises are mostly on machines that isolate muscle and joints and the daily routine is predictable as hell. I am sure, you have heard or experienced this before. This is how a traditional gym training template looks like. Mondays its chest and triceps. Tuesdays back and biceps. Wednesday, we train legs. Thursday cardio on the elliptical or the treadmill. Then you follow this pattern all year round. CrossFit breaks this pattern through constant variance. Rep schemes, time duration of workouts, equipment all are varied on a daily basis, to prepare the athlete for the unknown an unknowable.
Segmented training produces segmented capacity. For eg., a powerlifter can lift heavy loads, but can't run to save his life. A marathoner on the other hand, can run for miles at end, but can't perform a bodyweight deadlift. A CrossFit athlete, courtesy his exposure to variance, can outlift the runner, and outrun the lifter.
CrossFit blends multiple training modalities like weightlifting, gymnastics, and cardio into countless permutations and combinations. While a traditional gym regurgitates the same training template all year round, a CrossFit gym has new workout everyday that varies the rep scheme, the loads (light, moderate, heavy), time durations (short, moderate, long) As a result, the athlete is exposed to variety of physical challenges and builds holistic fitness that has fewer gaps in terms of real-world performance.
Functional Movements
Simply put, these are natural movements that we do on a daily basis to accomplish life's various tasks. These include, running, jumping, pulling, pushing, squatting, hinging, lunging and carrying. Functional movements are not exercises that are invented by a gym coach. These movements are etched into our DNA and we have been performing these since human existence. CrossFit mimics these functional movement patterns, with either external loads like a barbell, kettlebell, dumbbell or your own bodyweight as a means of resistance. The result is you get better at life outside the gym. In a traditional gym most of the exercises are done on machines that isolate muscles and joints. Here is a fun fact; while performing any physical task, we never use our body in isolation. Whether you are wearing your pants, or driving a car, or picking a baby from the floor, multiple muscles and joints are used simultaneously. Training isolation exercises, as opposed to full body functional movements is nearly not effective in building fitness or strength.
High Intensity
More work, done in less time is intensity. For eg., 100 push ups in 10 hours is easy peasy, 100 push ups in 3 minutes? Well, that is intense. Intensity is also defined as power. Power in simplest terms is "hard and fast". Jumping, sprinting, punching, throwing are all measures of power. CrossFit workouts are short and intense. This intensity is not a one size fits all approach. Intensity is based on the age, athletic experience also the physical and psychological tolerance of an athlete. Most importantly intensity is advised, once the athletes demonstrate proper mechanics and consistency over multiple reps of a movement.
Intensity is a game changer that moves the needle on strength, endurance, Vo2 max, bone density, muscle mass and overall metabolic health.
Sounds good, but is this for me?
Well, CrossFit believes our needs differ by degree and not by kind. The workouts are infinitely scalable to meet the athlete where they are. Let's take an example of two athletes in a class. One is a 24-year-old Olympic athlete. The other is 76-year-old grandma. They both perform what is called a benchmark workout "Grace" that comprises of 30 clean and jerks with a 60 kg barbell, to be performed for time.
While the young stud does the workout with a 60 kg barbell, the grandma does a scaled down version of the same workout with a pair of 3 kg dumbbells. Here is the beauty, both are performing functional movements, relative to their age-appropriate intensities, hence getting fitter and stronger. So, if you are someone who wants to earn worldclass strength, excellent metabolic health, beat all lifestyle diseases to dust, and have fun at getting fit by keeping things varied and fresh. Might I suggest, you head into a CrossFit box.
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