What is Cross Fit?

Over the past few months I have started to workout again. In the past, when I worked out, I found myself doing the same free weights and the same weight machines, and after awhile I was bored with the whole workout routine. I am sure I am not the only one that finds themselves in the weight room looking for that alternative workout. Well when I was out at a school in Somonauk, Illinois. I was student teaching a Lifetime Fitness class. I had a cooperating teacher that gave me insight to a whole new world off workout routines, and together we started to find more and more alternative workouts for those students. The alternative workouts I am referring to is "Cross Fit." These workouts require little to no equipment and can be done in less than a half hour. Which was great because our class was 44 minutes long. We had more and more students trying the challenging cross fit routines. The students each time walked away enjoying the challenging workout, and came back the next day checking the board for their next challenge.

Cross fit is defined as:

Creating the “quintessential athlete” is the goal of CrossFit Training. It is a fitness training method that employs strength and conditioning, and involves a combination of gymnastics, sprinting, and weightlifting. Though it is not sport-specific, it promotes both broad and general overall fitness. The programs are performed in high intensity fashion and are based on functional movement, with workouts lasting 20 minutes or less in duration. Also, the method does not employ the use of any type of weight machines.


Where standard fitness training focuses on maybe a half dozen fitness domains, CrossFit requires proficient achievement in 10, specifically:


accuracy
agility
balance
cardiovascular/respiratory endurance
coordination
flexibility
power
speed
stamina
strength

The method employs various calisthenics, free weights, gymnastic rings, kettlebells, and pull-up bars. Athletes are required to perform a variety of activities including carrying odd objects, flipping giant tires, jumping up on boxes, rope climbing, rowing, running, and skipping. Athletes have to perform at a fast and hard pace, oftentimes with no rest, and gymnasiums designated strictly as CrossFit gyms use ranking and scoring systems in order to transform the regimen into a sport.


CrossFit also certifies its own trainers and publishes its own journal. The naysayers of the methodology basically define it as an insurgent type of movement wherein conventional fitness wisdom needs to be questioned. Introductory classes are available and called either Boot Camp or Elements of CrossFit. The adaptations of CrossFit are categorized as follows:


CrossFit for Athletes
CrossFit for Kids
CrossFit for Seniors
CrossFit for Soldiers in Austere Environments
CrossFit in the Park

Fitness professionals and sportswriters are critical of CrossFit because so much intensity and technique are required, that it is felt that the participants are constantly at high risk of injuring themselves. The response to the criticism is that CrossFit cites the key element of its methodology, namely that workouts are scaled and varied on an individual basis. CrossFit also has an extremely high drop-out rate (nearly 80%) which opens the method up to even more criticism.


The common response to the critical remarks is that the competitive atmosphere and high intensity is not for everyone, claiming that the high drop-out rate is the same at conventional gyms. CrossFit also criticizes the conventional method saying that clients rely on machines, pay up front for memberships that are oftentimes abandoned early, and record minimal gains in performance.


CrossFit proponents see their training as a way to build whole-body functional fitness coupled with preparing a person for most physical challenges. This is contrary to the views of medical experts who view exercise as a habit that promotes health and nothing else. The CrossFit method involves a variety of sports and training techniques that builds functional fitness by prescribing a versatile, yet diverse exercise program. This exercise training method has become very popular, and is the technique of choice for both the US Navy Seals and decathlon training.

Above article is from: http://www.crossfitinfo.com/

So if you are looking for that alternative challenging workout try out Cross Fit. It is an intense full body workout that will challenge you every time. I enjoy a few of the following Cross Fit workouts, and perform them regularly, cross fit black jack, cross fit baseball, and my favorite... cross fit "Fran." These workouts can be modified to meet your needs and intensity. Such as altering weights and time. Then as you progress you can increase your weight or time. Other cross fit workouts challenge you to do a specific amount of rounds as you time yourself. This is the challenge that some may be looking for. The reward would be timing yourself and then the next time you do that workout try to improve upon your time. If this sounds like its for you check out http://www.crossfit.com/ and begin training today.