Sunday, 08 February 2009

• How Crossfit Works

  Crossfit is a workout concept designed by a former Navy Seal, based on traditional lifting, High Intensity Interval Training, lifting, gymnastics, callisthenics, and low tech workouts using tires, pails of sand, kettlebells and things of that nature. I've been crossfitting for quite some time, and before that I've lifted for six years, done army PT for six years, been in martial arts, and have recently taken up swimming, olympic/power lifting, and Russian Kettlebell.

  Crossfit works on the principle of preparing for the unknowable. In typical exercise programs you continue to perform the same exercise in the same sequence for long periods of time. You make improvements for a while, and then you plateau. Crossfit continually changes everything, you never know what will come next, and your body can not adapt to any one routine, so you continue to make gains. Typical cardio routines work with 55%-65% maximum heart rate for an extended period of time, usually at least thirty minutes, though fat burning programs typically run up to an hour. Crossfit requires you to reach 75-85% for a much shorter period of time, typically no more than twenty minutes, and often, (as in the case of tabata sets) for as little as four minutes.

   I am not a physical fitness professional or certified trainer. I am quite strong and in decent shape, and those who work out with me for any length of time get stronger, but I am not a professional. Which means I accept no responsibility for anyone who wants to try anything I post here and goes too hard too fast and hurts themselves.

  The concept behind this site is simple. I post one or two WOD's (Workout of the Day) per day. Each one will be designed to take no more than twenty minutes, but to be performed at high intensity. There are three basic types of WOD's

  1) AMRAP's: An AMRAP is one in which you do As Many Rounds As Possible in the given time (twenty minutes.) Each round will consist of a given number of sets, each set of a different exercise. You do each round, start to finish, then you go on to the next one. Rest as you need to. In order to keep track of your progress (I will periodically repost certain workouts to be retried to give you an idea of how much you are improving) post a comment on the workout with the date and number of rounds completed.

  2) HIIT. High Intensity Interval Training involves a given length of time, and a given number of rounds in that length of time. For example, I may schedule four rounds in a twenty minute WOD. Each round is five minutes long, with four minutes of exercise and one minute of rest. The goal is to keep performing the exercise at the highest intensity possible during the exercise periods and rest during the rest periods. You can post your final number of reps to comments, but I will not be reposting HIIT workouts.

  3) Timed Event: The timed event will be my preferred testing method. In a timed event I will post a series of exercise to be performed in sequence to complete one round, and a required number of rounds. Complete the number of rounds in the shortest amount of time possible and post time and date to comments.

   

  The exercises on this site are low-tech, meaning that I will not post anything that requires a gym. What you will require are:

  1) A spot on the ground that you won't mind soaking with sweat.

  2) A pullup bar.

  3) Running shoes and a place to run. You can run on a treadmill if oyu like, but it will be awkward for speed intervals. Your best bet is to do it the old fashioned way, out on the street. Stairs work well. If you don't want to run, you can substitute Jump rope. For distance running, you can substitute swimming.

  The key to improvement is to keep your eye on the clock. Every workout is timed, try to get as much work as you can into that short twenty minute segment. Having a workout buddy going with you, or holding the clock for you is the most effective way to motivate yourself to push it out.

   

  So, let's get down to business. It's game time.

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