Marion Freijsen A blog about Sports, Fitness & Health

Cross-Fit

I am just discovering a whole new way of training… or maybe I shouldn’t call it new, since it is a natural progression in many ways from all the “old” philosophies about training. But new or not, I am loving it! My trainer at Equinox, Caleb Chiu, is taking my through my paces, and despite the injuries I still have (read my prior blogs) I am finding that after a couple of sessions those are becoming less even though I have done some pretty nice workouts. Feeling GOOD!!

So what is Cross-Fit, well, it takes the body’s natural movement as its foundation. So whatever you do in normal life, you look to do in your exercises. I asked this morning about doing some abdominal work, and was quickly pointed to the fact that if you do push-ups or pull-ups or anything else that requires a strong stance, you naturally also use your core and therefore train those abdominals in a natural way. It sounds logical, and more importantly, it feels natural.

Looking at sites that explain the principles of Crossfit, you more or less get this summary: CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide. (I liked the last bit, made me feel part of an elite team , vain though that may be – it’s still a motivating factor)

CrossFit maintains that proficiency is required in each of 10 fitness domains: cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, agility, balance, coordination, and accuracy. The program’s weightlifting component includes complex, compound movements with heavy loads.. CrossFit may call on athletes to run, row, climb ropes, jump up on boxes, flip giant tires, and carry odd objects.  CrossFit workouts typically call for athletes to work hard and fast, often with no rest. Many CrossFit gyms use scoring and ranking systems, transforming workouts into sport.

And that is just what it is… it seems fun, and is based on technique and good form, which I have always strived for. And it makes me sweat, even when doing relatively simple things because they are done as part of a rotation of exercises interspersed with ropeskipping or sprints. Definitely recommend you looking for a trainer near you and giving it a go!