10 Reasons Why CrossFit Works
1. CrossFit is the new definition of fitness:
Decades, and billions of dollars later, and not one "leader" of the fitness industry has been able to define fitness, until now. CrossFit has defined fitness as "an increase in work capacity across broad time and modal domains". What this means is that the fittest people on earth should be great in everything, but specialize in nothing. Read the "What is Fitness" article for more on this breakthrough idea. http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ-trial.pdf
2. CrossFit workouts are competitive events:
This friendly competition motivates people like nothing else. Whether you're competing with your own previous score, or competing with a friend in class, you will be shocked how much more fun this makes working out. This is especially true if you're a former athlete who thinks he or she has lost that competitive drive. CrossFit will awaken something inside of you, and the feeling is addictive and amazing.
3. CrossFit is not just fitness, it's a community:
Sure, it may seem intimidating at first, but you'll quickly realize how supportive the CrossFit community is and how this is just part of the thread that binds it together. You will never have to workout alone again. Not only will you benefit from expert coaching and a huge online community to discover and share stories with, but you'll also develop relationships in the gym that truly make training fun. This encourages consistency, which is extremely difficult to find in other programs. The people in your gym become your teammates, and you're likely to bond quickly with anyone you meet at the bank wearing a CrossFit tee shirt. People are passionate about this for a reason, it's up to you to find out what that is.
4. CrossFit produces MEASURABLE results:
Unlike most other fitness programs, when you do CrossFit, you will have measurable and repeatable data to prove you are getting fitter. Intensity equals POWER. And power is generated by moving a load quickly. This means you can score a workout and repeat it at a later time to measure the work produced. Not only will you see and feel improvements physically, your score will demonstrate it.
5. CrossFit prepares you for ANYTHING:
CrossFit trains multiple metabolic systems, as opposed to just one like in most sports. There are three metabolic pathways that produce the energy to perform any activity: the phosphagen, glycolytic, and the oxidative systems. Most programs focus on one or two of the systems making you a specialist, but weak in the others. CrossFit trains you to become a well rounded athlete, spending time in all three time domains and improving your work capacity in any activity that you do. Soooo... the next time you encounter a bear you'll have a choice. You could either take the bear down in one swooping lash, wrestle with it until it is too fatigued to fight back, or run away from it for hours on end... phosphagen, glycolytic, oxidative.
6. CrossFit emphasizes intensity, and intensity is what creates results:
Intensity, of course, is relative, allowing everyone to train at a level appropriate to their own physical and psychological limitations. Higher intensity exercise is better for you. Intensity is not something to be afraid of. It is the magic. It's the secret ingredient that will change your life.
7. CrossFit creates ATHLETES:
Through the emphasis of high power functional movements over low power isolation ones, you'll be training your body not to just look better, but to WORK better. The irony about that is, when you take the focus off of vanity and put it on performance, your physique responds like never before. CrossFit promotes functional exercises by emphasizing the movements which create better core strength, stamina, coordination, agility, and balance to name a few. You'll begin to focus less on trying to "look fit", and more on ACTUALLY becoming fit.
8. CrossFit promotes long term health & Aesthetics:
Functional movements are named as such for a reason. They make us more functional. They help us move more efficiently and prevent injuries in our everyday lives. Combined with a diet that promotes longevity and performance, you will feel better, perform better, and have more energy even as you get older. Though Crossfit is almost exclusively concentrates on athletic performance, a result of this training is a very lean muscled look. For instance, the actors in the movie 300 did CrossFit for 3-6 months before the movie and they were ripped! This truly is the closest thing to a fountain of youth that we have.
9. Your weaknesses can not hide from CrossFit:
The workouts will keep you honest and force you to attack your weaknesses, making you a better all around athlete. This is something that nearly everyone avoids when training on their own, which severely limits progress. In other words, don't be afraid of your weaknesses, or exercises that you "hate”, face them head on with relentless determination and you will get results you never thought possible.
10. CrossFit is life-changing:
The results you see from Crossfit transfer over to other aspects of life. The confidence that it delivers will allow you to perform activities you never thought possible. Not only will you feel better physically, but most people notice changes in their performance at work, at home, and in their relationships.
