Please explain Crossfit to me

[longtallsally05]

Briefly, if possible. I see lots of people mention Crossfit on Facebook, but how is it any different than going to see a personal trainer? Also, it seems there are some weird terms relating to food (paleo?) I heard my neighbor is running a Crossfit business out of his garage. Anyone?

[brittone2]

Think big, functional movements and large muscle exercise vs. spending 45 mins on an elliptical ;) A crossfit gym isn't going to have ellipticals and stairmaster types of equipment, and most of them would laugh at that type of thing. They do their workouts through things like squats, pushups, kettlebell exercises, box hopping, planks, sprints, medicine ball stuff, etc.

My friend owns a big Crossfit gym. She started by renting a very small space and now owns a pretty large gym with a staff. I don't do Crossfit, but like a lot of the concepts. I'm a big fan of LC/paleo type stuff anyway, which has pretty good evidence supporting it.

[hillview]

welllll DH has been doing cross fit for about 7 months -- I am thinking of giving it a try. They post a workout every day -- today he had to weights quite a lot. Sometimes it is box jumps and a run -- every day is different. It seems to focus a bit on lifting /strength and less on conditioning (I do a bootcamp which is more focused on conditioning with some strength). It seems pretty friendly competitive (post your times, post your max weight lifted). While DH says that there is a wide range of fitness folks there all the people I've met are quite fit. I have seen some less fit folks there.

Personal training could be similar but might focus a bit more on conditioning and should also be more focused on your personal goals or fitness needs (vs cross fit being a group thing).

Paleo is eating like a caveman -- NOTHING processed. Lots of folks who do cross fit also embrace this diet. DH does not. Here is a good website about primal/paleo
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz1znTvH4ZW

[waitingforgrace]

Think big, functional movements and large muscle exercise vs. spending 45 mins on an elliptical ;) A crossfit gym isn't going to have ellipticals and stairmaster types of equipment, and most of them would laugh at that type of thing. They do their workouts through things like squats, pushups, kettlebell exercises, box hopping, planks, sprints, medicine ball stuff, etc.

:yeahthat:

My DH and brother both go to different crossfit gyms. They have both been very happy with it and the results although neither eat paleo style all the time.

Crossfit gyms have a workout of the day, so everyone is doing the same workout, it is just scaled to your ability level. When you start going most gyms have an on ramp class where you learn some of the basics. At DH's gym they have everyone from high school athletes to 70 yr old grandma. Crossfit is also known for being a really supportive atmosphere for all fitness levels. I'm looking forward to starting this fall once DD2 is a little older.

DH's gym is nothing fancy, just a bare bones warehouse space but it's also really affordable.