What is Crossfit?

Mr_Hat

What is cross fit. Ive seen people post about it here and on Facebook. What is it?

SanoVitae

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=What+is+Crossfit%3F

Mr_Hat

Thanks (rolls eyes)

Hanley

Mr_Hat wrote: »

Thanks (rolls eyes)

If you bothered your ar$e to click the first link you'd find out exactly what it is.

To save you having to exert yourself in such a manner, just click this one http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/what-crossfit.html

it's a form of exercise. But it requires effort. So probably not for you.

squod

Mr_Hat wrote: »

What is cross fit. Ive seen people post about it here and on Facebook. What is it?

The equivalent of honours maths in the leaving IMO. Great if it suits you mind

Transform

videos tend to give a better/quicker answer these days -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzD9BkXGJ1M

Its been the single best thing i have ever done

El Guapo!

Mr_Hat wrote: »

What is cross fit.

Expensive

InTheTrees

Its a Fitness program for cross people.

:mad:

Bicky

Ok. So I have seen crossfit mentioned here a lot. I think it is an all round challenging program of cardio, weight lifting And other forms of exercises which conditions the body by continually changing the form of the exercise.
My question is where can one participate in cross fit in Ireland and how much does it cost?
That video shows people who look like hardcore exercisers. I imagine that's not the reality?

Transform

Dean09 wrote: »

Expensive

I did crossfit just using mainsite www.crossfit.com which is totally free for a good year before training and working in www.crossfit.ie and I know of many people that follow crossfit programming without attending a crossfit gym e.g. Nick Rouse who came joint 8th in europe never trained in a crossfit box.



To the person who asked where - google it for ireland as there are 6 or 7 crossfit centres in ireland at the moment and prices vary according to the facility

Regarding most of the crossfit hardcore parts of some videos - yes most of that is competition crossfit and where competition starts can very well be where health ends. Lots of people play tag rugby because they want to get in shape, drop some fat and do something social but will NEVER play competitive rugby. This is the same. 99% of people that do crossfit will do it for the non-competition reasons.

Satanta

I started adding the crossfit workouts into my routing a couple of weeks ago and I find them very good and quite challenging.

I can also understand people's confusion about Crossfit as I had many questions before I started doing the WOD's and there is alot of terminology there that I hadn't seen before. The best advice I can give you is check out the WOD's posted and google the exercises if you dont know what they are... you will always see youtube vids of them. I also spent about 3 weeks researching and practicing these before I started to make sure I was getting the form right on them etc. I also realised that I shouldn't be doing some of the WOD's as they were, and scaled them a bit.

Right now I do weight's on Monday and Friday followed by a short metcon, and crossfit WOD's on the day's in between.

Yesterday I did Fran without scaling, and it took me just under 12 mins which is bad, but I wasn't kipping (example of terminology I hadn't heard before) the pullups which should count for something.

Zamboni

Mr_Hat wrote: »

What is cross fit. Ive seen people post about it here and on Facebook. What is it?

Crossfit is a business name.
Nothing more nothing less.

Crossfit use a form of metabollic conditioning which involves a combination of movements from Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics and various other forms of exercise such as rowing, running, bodyweight movements etc.

The people that own the business name charge small business around the world, called 'affiliates' $2,000 annually to use this name. (A recent change is that the operator must also hold a Level 1 Crossfit Coach Cert which is a course done over a weekend and costs $1,000)
There are about seven affiliates in Ireland.

As Transform pointed out, you can follow the programming from the main website for free or indeed follow any of the affiliates websites.
You will pay a premium if you join an affiliate for coaching and equipment.
Like any business/coaching service, the product will differ greatly from affiliate to affiliate.

Like most forms of exercise, metabollic conditioning is one tool from a box of tools.
The effectiveness of the that tool will ultimately be down to the person using it and making sure it's the correct tool for the desired effect.

El Guapo!

Transform wrote: »

I did crossfit just using mainsite www.crossfit.com which is totally free for a good year before training and working in www.crossfit.ie and I know of many people that follow crossfit programming without attending a crossfit gym e.g. Nick Rouse who came joint 8th in europe never trained in a crossfit box.

Cheers, I didn't know that. That's handy to know alright. I genuinely thought it was only a membership only thing and that part is expensive.

Mellor

Dean09 wrote: »

Cheers, I didn't know that. That's handy to know alright. I genuinely thought it was only a membership only thing and that part is expensive.

But how could it be?

I've done plenty of the names workouts in normal gyms, I've never been to a crossfit gym. Last week I did 7 Power Clean single, this was a mainsite WOD, but its my no means a crossfit specific thing

Reggy

I did crossfit just using mainsite www.crossfit.com which is totally free for a good year before training and working in www.crossfit.ie and I know of many people that follow crossfit programming without attending a crossfit gym e.g. Nick Rouse who came joint 8th in europe never trained in a crossfit box.

In terms of equipment, do the crossfit affiliate gyms have any equipment that your other run-of-the mill gyms dont? For example, theres not many gyms with olympic rings, and whilst that is only a small part of it, my own gym doesnt have kettlebells either... By joining crossfit north I would have to travel a fair bit, so taking this into account- is it even worth joining the affiliate gym at all if you can do most of the workouts yourself in a local gym?

Zamboni

Reggy wrote: »

In terms of equipment, do the crossfit affiliate gyms have any equipment that your other run-of-the mill gyms dont? For example, theres not many gyms with olympic rings, and whilst that is only a small part of it, my own gym doesnt have kettlebells either... By joining crossfit north I would have to travel a fair bit, so taking this into account- is it even worth joining the affiliate gym at all if you can do most of the workouts yourself in a local gym?

You could buy a kettlebell, jump rope and olympic rings for less than a €100.
You can do tons of stuff with those items combined with bodyweight exercises.
Check with your gym if they'd be cool allowing you to use the stuff in their place and if not hit a park that has a good pull up bar.

Rovi

Reggy wrote: »

In terms of equipment, do the crossfit affiliate gyms have any equipment that your other run-of-the mill gyms dont? For example, theres not many gyms with olympic rings, and whilst that is only a small part of it, my own gym doesnt have kettlebells either... By joining crossfit north I would have to travel a fair bit, so taking this into account- is it even worth joining the affiliate gym at all if you can do most of the workouts yourself in a local gym?

I've never been in Crossfit North, but I'm a member of Crossfit Ireland and off the top of my head, here's the equipment they have that'd be unusual to find in a conventional gym (I'm sure Crossfit North would be similarly equipped):

• Gymnastic rings
• Kettlebells (in all known weights)
• Foam rollers
• Resistance bands
• Skipping ropes

The above is in addition to a power rack and a bunch of squat racks, a couple of dozen Olympic barbells (and several tonnes of plates), a sickening quantity of dumbbells, a wall-and-a-half's worth of pull-up bars, and a bunch of other smaller things like medicine balls, ab-mats, lacrosse balls, etc, etc.
I'm sure I'll have omitted something, so I'll add it here when/if I remember anything.

There's sufficient of ALL the above to ensure that no-one need feel left out at any time.


On a personal note, I'm very fond of the Crossfit 'thing', or at least of the variation of it I've found in Crossfit Ireland.
The 'group class' format suits me very well, as I know from previous experience that if I'm left to my own devices, I won't push myself as hard, and I'll concentrate on the stuff I like/find easiest and neglect the stuff I'm not so fond of and SHOULD be working on.
I also love the support and encouragement you get from the rest of the group, which only adds to the social aspect of the whole thing; everyone I've met there appears to be happy and motivated to be there, and there's a thriving 'community' that extends beyond the mere location of the building.
I don't particularly have any other sports that I'm 'training' for, Crossfit for me is an end in itself. I now find myself walking where I used to drive, running where I used to walk, and lifting/pulling/pushing stuff just to see if I can, all with the intention of 'improving' my performance in the WOD's or practising the techniques learned.

That's my 2c on Crossfit (specifically, Crossfit Ireland).

Hanley

Reggy wrote: »

In terms of equipment, do the crossfit affiliate gyms have any equipment that your other run-of-the mill gyms dont? For example, theres not many gyms with olympic rings, and whilst that is only a small part of it, my own gym doesnt have kettlebells either... By joining crossfit north I would have to travel a fair bit, so taking this into account- is it even worth joining the affiliate gym at all if you can do most of the workouts yourself in a local gym?

First swiss ball squats... now Crossfit...

And as an aside, I don't know why anyone would bother following the mainsite programming anymore. It's absolutely ridiclous. Seems to just be a load of weird exercises that take forever to get thru. If I was going to follow anytihng I'd be following some of the better affiliates.

Zamboni

Rovi wrote: »

That's my 2c on Crossfit (specifically, Crossfit Ireland).

That's probably all you have left after paying the membership fees

Reggy

Check with your gym if they'd be cool allowing you to use the stuff in their place and if not hit a park that has a good pull up bar.

You obviously werent following the super awesome thread I posted about over politcally correct gyms (for want of a better word)?? .... cos this has been my main contention with trying to follow a cross fit routine. there just isnt the space for it in my gym. I have my own olympic rings and I usually bring them outside and hang em off rugby posts but the nearest rugby pitch is ages away from my gym, so it cant be combined with other barbell exercises! Im not allowed bring in my own equipment either :mad:

First swiss ball squats... now Crossfit...

@Hanley.... you suck

arse..biscuits

I've been doing crossfit style workouts (and regular weights etc) in the back garden for a while now.
I gave up on gyms because they're horrible places that fill me with rage.

Anyway, I bought some essential kit,
Second hand olympic bar + 140kg weights for €180
Kettlebell 16kg - I can't remember how much that cost
Bench - spent €200 on a good quality bench, there was a cheaper one rated for 160kg but feck that.
A gymboss - about €15

Box jumps - some concrete blocks - free
Chin up bar - I hung 2 small pieces of wood with a hole in each from the rafters of a lean to and stuck a bar throug the holes. Free
Squat rack - I got 2 builders trestles and they do the job for me. Free

The one other essential piece of kit is a workout buddy. I love doing workouts outdoors, the fresh air is lovely and not having to travel to the gym is great.

Transform

Just remembered this video by one of the top crossfit guys in the world and shows what you can do in a typical gym.

Also one of the top crossfit guys around - Dan Bailey has a series of videos where he chats about the basic set up he made for home workouts e.g. pull up bar outside nailed to a tree etc.

less excuses and more work