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CrossFit 101

CrossFit is one of the fastest growing strength and conditioning programs today and is now being offered at Los Gatos Swim & Racquet Club as CrossFit LGSRC. It’s not a traditional, specialized training program like doing isolated weight training for a certain muscle or aerobics, its a very tough workout. Here’s what you should know before you get started.

CrossFit combines strength training, explosive plyometrics, speed training, Olympic- and power-style weight lifting, kettle bells, body weight exercises, gymnastics, and endurance exercise. By doing this, CrossFit targets what it calls the major components of physical fitness: cardiorespiratory fitness, stamina, muscular strength endurance, flexibility, power, speed, agility, balance, coordination, and accuracy.

Training the CrossFit way requires you to work out 3 to 5 days per week. The workouts are highly intense and short, taking about 5 to 15 minutes to complete. CrossFit workouts typically combine explosive exercises done in a circuit format: One exercise follows right after the next, with very little rest in between. The main CrossFit exercises involve the whole body and include pushing, pulling, running, rowing, and squatting.

CrossFit LGSRC posts a Workout of the Day (WOD) on its web site. Some of the WOD are specially named after women or military heroes. The WOD changes each day and there are a lot of them. And they can be quite demanding.

CrossFit LGSRC is not your typical fitness gym. You will not see the endless supply of cardio equipment or resistance machines, and members don’t perform their own personal routines.
Instead, it’s a warehouse-like facility where the exercise equipment consists of a bunch of bumper-plated Olympic weights, plyometric boxes, medicine balls, dumbbells, and kettlebells. Pull-up bars, climbing ropes, gymnastics rings hang from the pull up rig. The only cardio equipment you’ll see are rowing machines. If you want to run, hit the road of the surrounding area. The workouts are completed in a group setting. Everyone does the same WOD and it’s a different WOD every day.

CrossFit workouts are highly intense and do not take a long time to complete. You can get a great workout in a short period of time. Athletes and ex-athletes will enjoy the challenges of each WOD, as they are similar to sports conditioning.

There are a large number of WOD routines and they are always changing. This adds to the excitement of each CrossFit workout and decreases the risk of becoming bored.

Marathoners, triathletes, cyclists, and long-distance swimmers should dedicate most of their training time on their sport’s specific needs. However, CrossFit is a good way endurance athletes can train with weights and not interfere with their main objectives, due to the short amount of time needed to complete each WOD. Also, there are alternative CrossFit programs dedicated to endurance sports, football, and gymnastics. CrossFit is a good way for mixing up the common exercise routine by providing variety.

Like most other exercise routines, CrossFit has advantages and concerns. The workouts are fast-paced, challenging, and constantly varied. If you are healthy and can endure grueling workouts, then give it a try. You will probably enjoy it, just like most “Crossfitters.”