Crossfit essay

I was exposed to Crossfit while I was stationed at Ramstein AB, Germany. Most people take a look at a posted workout or video, of elite Crossfit athletes and get intimidated or scared. They shouldn’t! The workouts that get posted to these sites are made for the more advanced, elite athletes. Crossfit is a new idea and like all new things, you either love it or you hate it. However, Crossfit brings something new to the table which is why many believe it is the better way of life and physical fitness.

First, we will look at who started Crossfit and what it means. Then I will describe what the community is and lastly we will talk about competitions. Crossfit is many things, but the main thing is, it’s a fitness regimen developed by coach Greg Glassman over several decades(Crossfit. com, 1). He was the first person to actually define fitness in a meaningful way, Increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains. (Crossfit. com, 1) Crossfit itself is defined as constantly varied functional movements performed at relatively high intensity.

(Dynamax) Capacity is the ability to do real work, which is measured using force, distance and time. Life is so unpredictable and can throw so many things at you unexpectedly. It will prepare people for anything and everything that may come there way. The Aim for Crossfit is to forge elite fitness. Glassman recognized most athletes were one dimensional but were lacking comprehensive fitness. There for he emphasized and focused on 10 key physical qualities- cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy. (Crossfit.

com, 7) These physical qualities are incorporated with a variety of movements at high intensity. So Crossfit punishes the specialist while looking for a broad, general fitness. Crossfit is all about the community, getting out there and suffering through the most intense workouts together. Athletes love that no matter what place you finish in, people will cheer for you. They will be by your side pushing you until very end, because they know what you are going through. The community is growing everyday. Right now there are 4, 500 gyms worldwide. (Crossfit.

com, 1) They are all small businesses that share the philosophies of Crossfit and license the Crossfit name. Community means something to a lot of athletes, thats what drives them and keeps them coming back for more everyday. According to VPX sports, Cossfit’s first competition was held in 2007 with 70 athletes and a grand prize of $500 dollars. By 2013 the games had grown to more than 100, 000 athletes from 12 different regions of the world, with a grand prize of $250, 000. It all starts with the Crossfit open, a 5 week competition that anyone can participate in. Once a week they release a workout that gets scored and judged, then you compare your scores with everyone that is in your region. After the 5 weeks and 5 workouts you have to be in the top 48 in your region to move on to what they call regionals.

This is where you compete on a bigger stage, usually in some type of sports complex. Seoul, Korea actually holds the regionals for the Asia region. During regionals you complete multiple workouts over the course of 3 days. After the 3 days, depending on what region you are in, the top 3 men, women, and teams move on to the Crossfit Games and get to compete to see who is the fittest person in the world. The growth of Crossfit has been huge and the fitness world is feeling it’s impact. Professional athletes, movie stars, and just the regular person are constantly tweeting and talking about how much they love it.

Once you begin the journey into Crossfit you will become addicted. The community and people are so amazing and so driven to be fit and healthy. So I challenge anyone to get out there and give it a shot. I promise you it will be hard, but once you get the taste of it you will be hooked!