CrossFit?... What is CrossFit?

What is CrossFit?

CrossFit Games 2012

I first heard about CrossFit in October or November 2011 from Brenton, my personal trainer at the time, while discussing training possibilities for the days that I wasn't seeing him. He mentioned that he thought CrossFit would be a good fit for me.

"CrossFit? ... What is CrossFit?"

Brenton described the CrossFit games as a series of insane gymnastic and weightlifting events given to the fittest people on the planet without any prior warning about the workouts and movements that they would have to perform in each event.

He was right, that sounded like just the sort of event I would enjoy!

CrossFit online and in my garage

Leaving it all on the garage floor

After being shown some YouTube videos on Brenton's phone at the gym that morning I was hooked. I spent a number of hours learning about WODs (Workouts Of the Day). Just like at the CrossFit Games I was surprised to find that these workouts were handed out to regular CrossFitters online, and in CrossFit Boxes all around the world without any warning, and could quite literally be anything! Now that was exciting... and a little scary. Challenge accepted!

After that I changed my morning workouts from what was an assortment of boxing, body weight exercises and traditional basic weight lifting movements like bench press, back squat and dead lift to a more CrossFit inspired selection of movements. My new workouts introduced the idea of an AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) workout. These timed workouts gave me something to measure my performance against, they gave me the ability to set a performance level bench mark, allowing me to gauge any improvements made in subsequent workouts.

As a person who likes logical things like numbers that can easily be quantified, measured and compared I find keeping track of my workout performance is exactly what I needed to help me push myself each and every time I am in the gym. For me the desire to better myself, to beat my personal best on a workout is a powerful motivator that has me leaving sweaty puddles on my garage floor.

Finding my CrossFit home - CrossFitCBD

CrossFitCBD

It seemed so straight forward. From their online presence the CrossFit community appears to be huge! I will just find my closest CrossFit box and head along to a WOD, right? Sadly in Melbourne Australia it is not that easy. There are currently only a few of CrossFit boxes in all of regional Melbourne, and none of them are in my side of the city.

As a husband and a dad with a full time job I spend most of my time in the gym between 5 and 6 AM, and from what I could see it seems that even the most hardcore CrossFit box is not running classes at that time of the morning. With my family's current work/life configuration I have one flexible morning thanks to the fact that my beautiful wife stays home with our daughter on Wednesdays. If I was going to make this work I would have to find a box that could cater to my very limited availability.

CrossFitCBD was precisely what I was looking for; located in Melbourne's CBD, no need to sign up to costly or lengthy gym memberships and they run a 6.45AM WOD every weekday. So every Wednesday morning CrossFitCBD owner and instructor Chris tortures us with "the unknown and the unknowable", but that is exactly why my fellow CrossFitters are there!

CrossFit vs Obstacle Courses
I find that I question my training regime constantly. I am always looking to improve or change things up to maximize the performance increases the training delivers. After falling in love with CrossFit as a workout methodology it brings up a question for me - "Is simultaneously training for CrossFit and obstacle course racing a good idea?".

Obstacle course racing is an endurance sport, there is a lot of distance running with an obstacle every so often. CrossFit is all about functional movements and general fitness. If you look at the 2012 CrossFit games it is abundantly clear that the level of overall fitness you can reach with CrossFit is extreme, but is that a level I can obtain while working and continuing to be a "family man"?

Should CrossFit training and Obstacle Course running be mutually exclusive?

Call me naive if you will, but I am going to try and do it all at once.

Hold on to your butts it might be an interesting ride!