What is Crossfit?
We Say: Crossfit is as Crossfit does!
and Crossfit does constantly varied, if not random, functional movements performed at high intensity.
Or, more succinctly: The fastest way to get the most fit.
That’s a mouthful. Let’s break it down;
Constantly varied: The best program is the one that you’re not on. If you are not switching things up and trying new variations, loads, sets, reps etc in your current workout, you are not getting the variety needed to make continual progress! Crossfit takes this one step further by presenting workouts in such a fashion that there is such great variety that they appear random and totally unpredictable, just like those little ‘oppurtunities’ life throws your way.
Functional Movement: Here’s one of the most misused terms in the fitness industry! Functional movement is purposeful movement. It is natural, and irreducible. It is not only safe but the most efficient way to accomplish a motor task. Functional movement is deadlifting, cleaning, squatting, pressing, pulling. Forget about the balance board. It will not be found at Full Circle.
High Intensity: Intensity is often defined in weightlifting as a percentage of maximum. The greater the percentage of your max you are lifting, the greater the ‘intensity’ of your workout. Well, that’s all well and good, but we mean something slightly different. We mean Power. We mean work, divided by time. Lifting a 95% max deadlift is intense, but it’s not an intense workout. Lifting a 75% deadlift for 21 reps and then doing 21 handstand pushups as fast as you can, that is intense. So we define intensity by relative power output.
Crossfit seeks to enhance an athlete’s ability to produce greater levels of power over broad time and modal domains. That means bigger maxes in heavy lifts, as well as shorter times in 10K’s. That means putting out more whether it be something moderately heavy 45 times, or whether it be repeated bouts of near sprints. Let’s face it, life is neither a marathon nor an Olympic lifting contest. It’s something in between. It’s precisely due to this fact that one can clearly observe that ‘nature, as well as combat punishes the specialist’. It is with this in mind that we earnestly seek to be competent in every aspect of fitness, and not waste too much time trying to be the best at any one thing. A well rounded athlete will always have choices as to how to best accomplish a motor task. A specialist only has one choice. If his square peg doesn’t fit that task’s round hole, he loses.
