“I’m a rabid libertarian,” says Greg Glassman, 56-year old founder of the worldwide fitness phenomenon called CrossFit. Glassman opened the first CrossFit gym (or “box” in CrossFit lingo) in the mid-1990s in Santa Cruz, California. Today, there are more than 7,000 CrossFit affiliates around the world. These affiliates are not franchises, they’re independently operated boxes owned by entrepreneurs who pay $1,000 to get certified as a CrossFit trainer and then pay $500-$3000 annually for the right to use the CrossFit brand. Each affiliate is free to innovate, which makes CrossFit a kind of open-source fitness community. Despite – or because of – its unconventional approach, CrossFit is projected to generate $100 million in revenue this year. As independent in his exercising as he is in his politics, Glassman’s relentless focus on results has created an army of athletes who have left conventional gyms for the allure of the “WOD” (CrossFit’s “workout of the day”). Every day a new WOD is posted on the CrossFit website, and all around the world people compete against each other to complete a series of constantly varied, high intensity, functional movements (squats, sprints, pull-ups, dead lifts, and more). WODs aren’t easy, and it’s not uncommon for “CrossFitters” to vomit after a particularly difficult workout (they call it “meeting Pukie,” Crossfit’s puking clown mascot). CrossFitting is not just about difficult competitive workouts, though. It’s also about being a member of a supportive community. A Green Beret told Glassman that doing CrossFit helped him realize that the secret to developing the camaraderie necessary for special-forces units is to combine agony with laughter. CrossFitters are also unconventional when it comes to diet. Instead of the grain-based dietary recommendations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, CrossFitters tend to eat a paleo-style diet heavy on meat and unprocessed foods. “Our view,” says Glassman, “is that grains are best consumed by livestock, and what homo sapiens need is a diet of meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.” CrossFit is not without its critics. Many conventionally minded trainers believe that the intensity of CrossFit workouts increases the chances of injury. Others, noting the paleo diet, the functional movements and the extraordinary enthusiasm common among CrossFitters, liken CrossFit to a kind of caveman cult. Glassman’s response? “The caveman thing? Yeah, I’ll tell you what. I don’t think it’s an insult to any CrossFitter.” 08/26/2013 Buy-In: 3 Rounds: 3,2,1 Back Squat *5lbs heavier than last week WoD: "Tabata This!" Tabata Intervals ( 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest repeated 8 times) is applied in turn to the Squat, Rower, Pullups, Sit-ups, and Push-ups with a one minute rotation break between exercises. Each exercise is scored by the weakest number of reps (calories on the rower) in each of the eight intervals. During the one minute rotation time allowed the clock is not stopped but kept running. The score is the total of the scores from the five stations. Some performance insights and a scoring example from Mark Twight: Lying down between exercises lowers HR faster than standing, sitting or walking, indicating better recovery in the short 60 second rest. Alternating upright exercise (squat, pull-up) with prone or seated exercises produces lower heart rates, and allows greater overall level of work High number of reps may be maintained for greater number of sets as fitness improves. Rep totals do not necessarily improve per set, but now I can do 6 sets of 7 pull-ups rather than doing 11, 8, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, etc. which suggests that local area endurance and lactic acid tolerance improve with this protocol. Scoring Example: A total score of 53 (Excellent score, BTW) is determined by adding up the lowest number of reps in any set of each exercise. 18 squats 4 pull-up 6 push-up 13 sit-up 12 row (use the calorie counter and call each calorie a rep) This score is a 53.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 00:50:47 +0000
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