What is Crossfit?

You may have heard the word "Crossfit" come up in casual conversation with a friend or new acquaintance , on a website, or even in our office, however many people have no idea what to expect or what "Crossfit" really is. So I'm going to give you a breakdown of what it is, how it helps, and what to expect at your first class.

Crossfit is an international fitness program that is focused on function and natural body movements. There's no restriction on what you can do and they apply an intense and varied workout for everyone that attends class. You won't do the same workout twice in a week and you'll have the opportunity to create a fitness family on whom to rely for support, encouragement, and a team mentality. This program is used to train not only our law enforcement, fire and military professionals, but also prepares us for the challenges of everyday life such as lifting a heavy box up to or down from a taller shelf. Crossfit's goal is a build small tight knit fitness communities so it's members can enjoy an active and healthy lifestyle for life! Crossfit will help you to achieve your health and fitness goals and exceed your expectations of what you really thought was possible.

Crossfit helps transform our bodies by varying workouts so that we can train the body together as one rather than focusing on one area of the body. This ensures that you will be able to avoid injury from repetitive movements or moving the way a machine was designed to move rather than how your body is built to move. In addition Crossfit will help you strengthen, tone, and tighten your body like you never thought possible. Many people have a total body transformation in as little as 5 -10 weeks in which they lose many inches and gain plenty of muscle to sustain that body. Many Crossfit gyms also support the Paleolithic diet which is essentially the hunter gatherer diet of our ancestors that decreases your risk for cancer, auto immune disease, and many other chronic illnesses. They usually will give you a crash course in Paleo diet in order to help you get the nutrients your body needs to support your Crossfit experience.

Here's a video of some of the things that can be done in Crossfit Note: This video may be a little deterring to think you can perform these exercises and motions, but with training and time you'll be amazed that you can do these things!

I went to my first Crossfit class last night and wow was it intense! After viewing some videos online and talking to people to find out what to expect at the first class, I did not think that it would be a workout I could enjoy. After yesterday's class, I can say without a doubt that it was nothing like I expected and it is definitely something that I can do to achieve my goals for fitness and health. At my first class we did a combination of squats, planks, whole body stretching through dynamic movements, and short bursts of running. The only equipment we used was our body, a pvc pipe, a wooden box, and a weighted ball to carry while running. The intensity varied for each person based on their abilities and changes were suggested for those having a hard time keeping up or those with injuries. I've included a video below to give you an idea of what a more beginner type of workout at Crossfit might be.

If you'd like to try a Crossfit workout, I'd recommend calling a local Crossfit gym and talking to them about trying a class for free. Many gyms have days where visitors are welcome to drop in and try a workout.