I'd love to phoenix, but I don't want to sound like I'm advertising it or anything - I just love it so much! :lol:
It's basically a mix of olympic weightlifting, circuit training and gymnastics. It's designed for elite forces and top athletes but is easily scaled down for the likes of me by using lighter weights or less repetitions. We use bodyweight, dumbbells, kettlebells, skip ropes, climbing frames, tractor tyres and loads of other things to exercise with but the main weapon of choice is the olympic barbell.
After your induction that takes you through all the technique and safety you never know what you're going to get thrown at you until you get through the door and the coach writes it on the whiteboard. It's usually some kind of warm-up followed by a weights-related or bodyweight technique practice after which you get to try to break your previous personal best. The workout of the day follows this and it's a hellish mix of lifting and aerobic exercise in a circuit style, whether it be a number of rounds timed, as many rounds as possible in a set time or something completely random!
There are a number of benchmark workouts named after hurricanes, the most famous of which is Fran. I'll come back to that at the end. There are also many 'hero' workouts named after fallen soldiers. You don't want to see one of those on the board!
It's designed by Greg Glassman and it centres around strength coming from the hips and the techniques nearly all revolve around this, especially when lifting heavy. There are some really strong girls that are just little slips of things, disproving the myth about lifting making women bulky! Of course blokes are more disposed to building muscle and this is an excellent way of going about it. I've been back a few weeks after a long break and my triceps are starting to pop nicely.
Many of the lifts are designed to strengthen and condition the core muscles and any weakness in this area is soon highlighted when you start to squat with a heavy barbell over your head. You want strong, firm abs? Heavy squats are the way to go!
There's no lycra, mirrors or TV's in the gym (box) and it's all about getting the best out of yourself and helping others to do the same. Whatever your fitness level you'll get your donkey kicked
every time. The sense of community is fantastic and it's really encouraging to be cheered on by totally ripped firebreathers, mid-rangers and fat beginners like myself.
That's a rough personal overview but I'm happy to answer anything else about it in my limited experience. There's also
http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/faq.html in case you want more info.
My current dream goal is to do
one of these at the prescribed weight in under 10 minutes! :lol: