Insight Of What To Expect In CrossFit

Scared you’re going to be left alone? Here’s what to expect during a CrossFit session:

1. An introduction to CrossFit- via a 1 on 1 to go over the fundamental movements of CrossFit and introduce you to the world of CrossFit terminology is a compulsory part of trying CrossFit.

2. Every class is a group session where there will always be a brief on the workout, describing how the session will run for that day and a demo of the movements for the workout.

3. A group directed warm-up designed to warm up the muscles for the movements and range of motion to come.

4. Set up time- allocated time for members to get their equipment ready and a chance to sort out a ‘scaling’ option with a coach before the workout starts. Also, time for coaches to check movements and chosen weights for the members to make sure everyone is moving.

5. Workout time! The timer is set and everyone moves through the workout together all at their own pace. During this time, coaches are double checking weights, movement, safety, motivating and encouraging the members.

6. Warm down is another important part of the session where once all equipment is put away and everyone has had a chance to catch their breath, a coach runs a series of stretches targeting the muscles used in that session. This time is also used to write up results from the workout which are used for tracking progression in the future.

Sometimes the movements can be daunting. Don’t worry, we don’t chuck you in the deep end! What is scaling and how does it work in CrossFit?

Every workout has an Rx, which is the recommended weight or movement to be used. Every workout, yet, has many options to scale back, also called “scaling”, the workout until you are comfortable doing more and ready to progress. Our goal is to help you achieve your goal.

Scaling allows any athlete to complete the same workout, regardless of ability, by altering the weights and movements to produce the same level of intensity.

Even CrossFitters that have been doing the sport for a longer time have to scale. Perhaps due to injury, or they don’t have enough strength in them that day to keep that weight for a whole workout. Some of the benchmark workouts have heavy loads that not everyone can handle.

Scaling can also mean that you do fewer rounds with the same intensity and weights, or fewer reps of that particular exercise that you have not mastered yet. The reps for double unders in the workout is 50, but you cannot string together more than two, instead of scaling down to single unders, which is also an option, you can still practice your double unders but scale the reps down to 25 or to doing double unders for 90 seconds.

Gymnastics- Ever wondered why the combination of gymnastics in a fitness session? Why the need? What are the benefits?

Foundational, body awareness, coordination, balance, flexibility, body strength, power and the list goes on… Gymnastics is a type of skill based exercise that has so many benefits to every sport. Imagine the confidence and power you would feel when you have trained specific movements to create such strength to hold yourself upside down, pull yourself up on a bar, push yourself away from the ground, lift your legs up and down controlled by your core. Now imagine how this could translate over to becoming stronger and fitter? This is why gymnastics is an important part of CrossFit training to become a stronger and more powerful athlete.

Olympic lifting- Ever wondered why the combination of Olympic lifting in a fitness session? Why the need? What are the benefits?

The benefits of Olympic weightlifting are being discovered by more and more coaches, athletes and the general population. Whether its for improving sports performance or changing body composition, snatches and clean and jerks are great exercises for more than weightlifters. Integrating Olympic lifting into workouts and strength sets not only increases strength and power but also jumping ability, explosiveness, sprinting speed, flexibility and body composition. High rep, low weight. Low rep, high weight. Moderate rep, moderate weight. So many different combinations of lifts are used in workouts and strength sets to reap all the benefits, plus more when paired with cardio movements and gymnastics.

Conclusion

CrossFit is exactly that, a cross of different training types and styles used to create a program to increase strength, power, stamina, endurance, flexibility, agility, balance, coordination, accuracy and cardiovascular endurance. There are countless amounts of scaling options to make sure everyone achieves the same intent for the day and plenty of guidance along the way!