What is CrossFit?
CrossFit is a training philosophy that is composed of constantly varied, high-intensity functional movements. Now, what does that even mean?
- Constantly Varied. We have all been to the regular gym and know how boring routines can be. Doing the same thing over and over again will eventually become boring and you will also only be good at what you always do. Therefore, we mix it up every day. Each day is composed of different exercises, movements or skills. Your body will just be as surprised as you and, therefore, become fitter and healthier than before. CrossFit will allow you to do anything and everything inside as well as outside the gym.
- High Intensity. Would you agree that there is a difference in intensity in running 100 m as fast as you can or running a 100 m slowly and maybe stopping two times while doing it? If yes , then you know what we mean with intensity. We believe that by timing workouts and create and atmosphere of a friendly competition, we can help our body to not get lazy and constantly improve.
- Functional Movements. Those are movements that work your entire body. We don't focus on muscle groups for the sake of looks or aesthetics for a simple reason because it doesn't help us when we play other sports, have to carry luggage when we travel or climb four flights of stairs. The fitness that you will build up through CrossFit is real. You will experience how everyday things like carrying objects or walking up stairs becomes easier because you learned how to move your body as a unit.
Our goal is to help you to be proficient in the ten general physical skills: cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, agility, balance, coordination, and accuracy.
Who is CrossFit for?
CrossFit can be for everybody, but we have seen that our members share some characteristics. Check if those also apply to you and then you have a better understanding whether or not CrossFit could be for you. If you agree to two out of three, you should give CrossFit definitely a try!
- You don't mind working hard for your goals and are okay with the fact that this sometimes isn't easy.
- You enjoy being part of a supportive, international community that will support you in the pursuits of your goals.
- You don't mind abandoning your comfort zone in order to learn something new or push you to a new level.
If you can agree to this, you are ready to go. You will probably think, but everyone will probably so much better than me, what should I do? Generally, CrossFit is universally scalable. This means that regardless of age, body composition or fitness background we will find the way to challenge you in the most suitable way.
An Example: A 20-year-old, former professional heptathlete and a 45-year-old mom of 3, which hasn't done sports in over 10 years are in the same class. The Workout of the Day (WoD) requires them to run 800 m, do 100 Push Ups and then run 800 m again. Now how do we make sure that both the 20-year-old and the 45-year-old get a great workout suitable for their fitness level?
The 20-year-old former athlete
He will probably do the workout as prescribed i.e. he will run 800 m, do 100 push ups and run again 800 m. In certain cases, we can even make the push-ups more difficult and elevate his feet so that he performs the push-ups from a deficit.
The 45-year-old mom
For our mom, we would scale the workout as follows. She will only run 400 m or maybe walk 800 m as fast as she can in case her knees hurt or she doesn't feel confident enough to run. We can also scale the push-ups and give her a 70 cm box so that she can do the push ups leaning against the box.
We haven taken this into account by providing different programs that are suitable for different fitness levels. Many of our members have actually started out by attending
Is it dangerous?
CrossFit, just like any other sport, can be dangerous but if you pay attention to these three things you will have the best time of your life:
- Listen to your coach and don't let your ego get into your way. Unfortunately, this simple rule is violated more often than you think. Every time you have seen somebody go heavier or faster than he/she should, they probably rather listened to their ego than to their coach. It will be alright for a while but like so many things in life, nothing is free. Eventually, your knees will start hurting or lower back is constantly aching, all this most of the time is related to the improper execution of any movement. For us, fitness and health are a long-term journey rather than a short-term goal.
- It's you against you. Don't try to compete with everyone in the class but rather challenge yourself. Use the energy of the room to motivate you but don't try to beat someone else that might be on a different level. Pay attention to how you move and what you can improve so that you can be reaping the rewards of your hard work instead of seeing your doctor more often than us.
- Take it easy in the beginning! This applies to all regardless if you just started CrossFit or if you are a former athlete, take it easy in the beginning. Allow your body to get used to CrossFit and its higher intensity. It will only take a couple of weeks but your body will thank you for this forever.
With all of this in mind, you will have a great time and feel safe.
What's a CrossFit class like?
Now you know everything you need to know about CrossFit if it's for you and what can make it dangerous but also which rules will help you to be safe. But how does a class look like? What can you expect? Generally, all classes look most of the time like this:
- Warm Up
- Technique / Skills / Strength
- Workout of the Day (WoD)
- Cool Down
Beginner's Class
During our four-week Beginner's Program, we focus on the foundational movements of CrossFit and teach you the proper technique, the reason why those are so important and how to execute them safely.
During those classes, a higher emphasis is placed on learning the techniques correctly. Of course, we will also perform short WoD or Partner workouts but the main goal is to prepare you ideally for the regular classes later on.
Regular Class
Our regular class are traditional CrossFit classes. During those, you will find exactly what we described earlier - Variance, Intensity and Functional Movements.
Every day will have a new challenge for you and after a while you will be proficient in any of the weightlifting movements (squat, deadlift, press, clean, snatch etc.), the gymnastics movements (push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, ring dips etc.) and have a great fitness level in terms of endurance and stamina.
Speciality Class
Our Specialty Classes focus on specific areas of CrossFit.
- Olympic Weightlifting - During this class, we focus primarily on strength and lifting proficiency. This class is always very busy because people love to drop heavy barbells.
- Gymnastics Course - We run our gymnastics program is small-group private classes with maximally 8-10 people per class so that the participants receive enough individual attention from the coach. The main focus is on improving your core strength, mobility and working towards more advanced bodyweight skills such as strict muscle ups and handstand walks.
- Endurance - Our Endurance Program focus primarily on building Stamina (in CrossFit lingo "Engine"). At the beginning of the program, you will test your 400 m and 1 Mile running time, which allows us to calculate your fatigue factor - essentially by how much your mile time slows down compared to your 400 m time.
- Accessory / Mobility - During these classes, we pay more attention to aspects that normally don't receive enough attention during our regular classes. You can expect a lot of bodybuilding type exercises that try to improve potential imbalances and keep you healthy. At the end of the session, we have a short 20-25 minute yoga session to help you recover and relax.