Crossfit: it aint your grandaddy's workout

A little over a year ago I was watching a bunch of shirtless, sweaty, out-of-breath dudes doing handstand pushups, power cleans, and pushing prowler sleds and I fell in love………….with the sport of Crossfit lol. It was the 2011 Crossfit games on ESPN, presented by Reebok that introduced me to the fastest growing fitness trend in the world.

Despite the growing popularity in the fitness community, and its spotlight on ESPN, much of the world is still in the dark as to what Crossfit actually is. I've decided to take it upon myself to help bring it to the masses, and explain just what Crossfit is to you, my ever loyal (lol) blog readers. However, since most of you have NO idea what I’m talking about half the time, I’m gonna keep it as short and simple as possible while still being informative.

Crossfit is a workout program and sport that integrates aspects of Olympic weightlifting, calisthenics, power lifting, plyometrics, and gymnastics into a short, intense session of energy depleting, sweat dripping madness. In any one workout one can be forced to run 400 meters, then pick up a barbell and do overhead squats, then immediately do 30 box jumps, and finally push a 250 pound prowler sled 30 meters across a finish line without stopping in between.

Each workout is given a set number of reps and then circuits, or time limits to motivate the athlete and give them a goal to reach.

Workouts of the day or WODs as they are referred to are given names like Cindy, Helen, and Mary which are synonymous throughout the Crossfit community.

The movement became so popular that it was eventually turned into a competition and now has a yearly competition that is featured on ESPN, sponsored by Reebok, with a prize of half a million dollars.

All throughout the world, the US and Australia particularly, Crossfit gyms or “Boxes” are popping up month after month. There are even certifications trainers can earn to become Crossfit instructors.

The benefit of Crossfit from a workout perspective is the intensity of the workout enables one to get the same calorie burn as a standard workout in half the time, usually around a half hour or so. This is one of the reasons I love it so much, with a jam packed schedule of school, work and a dwindling social life, this allows me to get my much needed workout in without taking up too much of my time.

Ok that’s enough of be blabbering on, now that you have a basic knowledge of the sport, here’s a video so you really get the idea behind it....

Insane right? and look at those dudes, they're build like machines. If that's what I can look like from doing Crossfit I'll gladly the 150 bucks a month average it costs to join a box. Theres a number of them here in MI, closest to me is Bloomfield Crossfit, go ahead Google it. 

It has become so popular in fact, that Groupon even had an offer for $125 off a one month membership at Bloomfield Crossfit, which I most definitely bought.

Now Crossfit isnt for everyone, if you have bad knees or a bad back its definitely not the way to go. If you cant find the motivation to push yourself to exhaustion, beyond any limits you've ever reached before and really unleash your inner beast, then stick to your Jane Fonda tapes and your Thigh Master

But regardless of how you choose to workout, just remember, if it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you...