CrossFit: Strength training, functional fitness and mobility. The results speak for themselves; when I meet someone I can usually tell by looking at them if they do CrossFit (and if I can’t, they’ll tell me within five minutes anyway — as the joke goes). CrossFit is arguably the toughest workout out there, known as the most brutal form of exercise that also helps make the biggest changes in overall physique, movement and mobility.
Still, though, entering a CrossFit gym (aka a “box” — but we’ll get to that) for the first time can be intimidating as hell. The first time I walked into Burg CrossFit I almost went into full meltdown mode. Being obviously new and awkward walking into a giant warehouse full of svelte athletes in various stages of undress, tossing barbells with hundreds of pounds loaded on them and flopping onto the ground post-workout gasping for air like fish out of water, I probably would have run for the door immediately if my wife Steph weren’t with me. But we stayed and we made it through the first workout. I’ve been hooked ever since. Here’s what I’ve learned so far.
CrossFit seems to have a language of its own. You hear questions like “Are you going to the box later?” “Have you checked the WOD?” and “You going to RX this one?” daily in a CrossFit space.
WOD. The Workout of the Day is the latest and greatest form of torture your coaches create. WODs differ at each box, but you can find them by checking the large whiteboard everyone is standing around looking at with their jaws dropped open.
Box. A CrossFit gym is referred to as a “box” because really, it’s not much more than that. A no-frills, non-air-conditioned warehouse space with rubber floors and simple rigs, barbells and weight plates stacked against the walls? Yep, it’s a just box.
RX. Used to refer to completing a workout “as prescribed.” This means you didn’t substitute any movements or reduce your weight on the barbell. Each workout is modifiable; if you’re physically unable to do the workout as written, coaches have different options for beginner and intermediate levels. Completing a workout “RX” means you’re a total badass who can climb the 15-foot rope, do walking handstand push-ups, cycle through pull-ups and lift heavy shit. Congratulations — you are a gladiator.
“Murph,” “Helen” etc. Many times, coaches name particularly brutal WODs after U.S. military veterans as a way to honor those who have served. When your coaches prescribe a “Hero WOD,” they’ll usually talk about the veteran and their service. Pretty humbling stuff.
Snatch up your clean and jerk. I have no idea who came up with the names for some of the CrossFit moves, but they have a dirty mind. With movements like “power snatch” and “clean and jerk,” sometimes the only thing that’ll get you through a workout is a little comic relief.
So. Why CrossFit?
The physical results of going to CrossFit speak for themselves. There’s an “I bet they do CrossFit” body type just as there are “Wow, they look like they do yoga/basketball/football” body types. In the new member survey, one of the questions asks the main reason for joining. One option to answer is “to look good naked.” This is funny but true. Ain’t no shame in wanting to look good!
The functional part of CrossFit is perhaps the most surprising. I practiced yoga for 18 months and couldn’t do some of the movements that I could do with ease after a few months of CrossFit. It’s also “functional fitness.” One of my coaches jokes about the need to lift heavy shit or squat with a barbell — “Do you poop? Because then you can definitely benefit from working on your squats.”
Though it’s not for the faint of heart, I’ve never felt better physically or emotionally as I do when I complete a particularly brutal workout or make progress toward a lofty goal, like handstands and rope climbs. CrossFit is crazy and motivating and painful and exhilarating all at once. You get back what you put into it and you can push yourself beyond what you may have thought possible. The workouts are excellent, the community is motivating and the sense of camaraderie is unparalleled.
Editor’s note: Resie writes a regular column for us, Confessions of an amateur athlete. She tried CrossFit as one of her assignments, and, as she later wrote, she drank the CrossFit Kool-Aid.
This article appears in Nov 1-8, 2018.