What is CrossFit?
CrossFit combines the best parts of weightlifting, sprinting, calisthenics and kettlebells. Plus, we do a little bit of basic gymnastics. By sticking to the most effective exercises from each we can complete really efficient workouts in about 30 minutes. They’re hard, but they have to be. It takes a couple of years to be really great at CrossFit, but you can be good in a few months.
What’s the WOD?
Workout Of the Day. Most of our members do CrossFit and that’s part of the language.
What happens at a CrossFit group class?
We start with group warmup and some mobility work to prepare us for the work ahead. Then we move into skill development: one day, we’ll spend time perfecting your squat; another, we’ll work on your split jerk; another, we’ll teach you to do a handstand (yes, you can.)
The core of the class though is the main WOD. You’ll all start the 'WOD' at the same time in an enthusiastic and supportive atmosphere.
I do Functional Training / Circuits / BootCamps / Group Training at my non-CrossFit gym. Isn’t that more or less the same thing?
A lot of people do circuits or group classes using similar type movements in classes that are described as 'functional' or 'x-fit'. But the differences are huge: we don’t split the body up into its component parts, because the whole is far more than their sum. We use technical lifts, which require good coaching but also remove the ceiling effect that boredom creates through repeating the same program forever.
We measure our progress objectively – am I faster today? Leaner? Stronger? Better? – instead of just going until we feel like we’ve put in enough time. Plus, if you are not being coached in an affiliate by a qualified CrossFit Trainer then it isn't CrossFit.
The training sessions look too hard, is CrossFit just for elite athletes?
One of the great things about CrossFit is that the training can be “scaled” to suit everyone, regardless of their skill or fitness level. Scaling means that the same workout can be adjusted for different individuals by keeping the same format but substituting different exercises, changing the intensity, reducing or increasing the volume (number of reps or rounds), or changing the amount of rest.
Can I do CrossFit if I don’t know how to do Olympic weightlifting? Lifts like the Clean and Jerk and the Snatch look dangerous?
CrossFit is for everyone, not just elite athletes that already know how to do Olympic lifting. We say that a lot because it is an important message. Olympic lifts are an important part of CrossFit because they are highly functional complex movements that produce a fantastic training effect. The lifts are safe providing that they are taught and learnt in a progressive and scaled manner, so that the technique is drilled and understood prior to adding any weight. For beginners we use plastic pvc pipes as a substitute for the bar, and only once correct form is consistently demonstrated do we start adding weight. This is an effective and safe way to learn the Olympic lifts. If you have never done weightlifting before that is totally fine. We simply scale the CrossFit workout for you and substitute alternative exercises using pvc pipes and dumbbells.
CrossFit combines the best parts of weightlifting, sprinting, calisthenics and kettlebells. Plus, we do a little bit of basic gymnastics. By sticking to the most effective exercises from each we can complete really efficient workouts in about 30 minutes. They’re hard, but they have to be. It takes a couple of years to be really great at CrossFit, but you can be good in a few months.
What’s the WOD?
Workout Of the Day. Most of our members do CrossFit and that’s part of the language.
What happens at a CrossFit group class?
We start with group warmup and some mobility work to prepare us for the work ahead. Then we move into skill development: one day, we’ll spend time perfecting your squat; another, we’ll work on your split jerk; another, we’ll teach you to do a handstand (yes, you can.)
The core of the class though is the main WOD. You’ll all start the 'WOD' at the same time in an enthusiastic and supportive atmosphere.
I do Functional Training / Circuits / BootCamps / Group Training at my non-CrossFit gym. Isn’t that more or less the same thing?
A lot of people do circuits or group classes using similar type movements in classes that are described as 'functional' or 'x-fit'. But the differences are huge: we don’t split the body up into its component parts, because the whole is far more than their sum. We use technical lifts, which require good coaching but also remove the ceiling effect that boredom creates through repeating the same program forever.
We measure our progress objectively – am I faster today? Leaner? Stronger? Better? – instead of just going until we feel like we’ve put in enough time. Plus, if you are not being coached in an affiliate by a qualified CrossFit Trainer then it isn't CrossFit.
The training sessions look too hard, is CrossFit just for elite athletes?
One of the great things about CrossFit is that the training can be “scaled” to suit everyone, regardless of their skill or fitness level. Scaling means that the same workout can be adjusted for different individuals by keeping the same format but substituting different exercises, changing the intensity, reducing or increasing the volume (number of reps or rounds), or changing the amount of rest.
Can I do CrossFit if I don’t know how to do Olympic weightlifting? Lifts like the Clean and Jerk and the Snatch look dangerous?
CrossFit is for everyone, not just elite athletes that already know how to do Olympic lifting. We say that a lot because it is an important message. Olympic lifts are an important part of CrossFit because they are highly functional complex movements that produce a fantastic training effect. The lifts are safe providing that they are taught and learnt in a progressive and scaled manner, so that the technique is drilled and understood prior to adding any weight. For beginners we use plastic pvc pipes as a substitute for the bar, and only once correct form is consistently demonstrated do we start adding weight. This is an effective and safe way to learn the Olympic lifts. If you have never done weightlifting before that is totally fine. We simply scale the CrossFit workout for you and substitute alternative exercises using pvc pipes and dumbbells.