CrossFit’s Code for Fitness: Constantly Varied Functional Movements performed at High Intensity.
That is the recipe by which we produce the greatest fitness results across broad populations.
There are many great fitness programs out there that address one or two of these pieces but very few that nail all three.
Yoga and walking are functional and I believe both are valuable to a fully rounded fitness program. Neither are intense.
P90X and sprinting are both functional and intense. Neither program is constantly varied (P90X is a 90 day cycle).
So what does constantly varied mean? Not just that we have a lot of different varieties of movements and time domains but an infinite set. Most fitness professionals cannot wrap their heads around this concept. Even most CrossFit affiliates tend to program from a very broad but finite set of skills. One of the things I love about CrossFit HQ programming is that they manage to regularly introduce new skills that even after 10 years of this stuff are totally alien to me.
Infinite set, means an infinite set. Anything can come up. Sometimes people say that CrossFit does not include “x” usually they are incorrect but if I haven’t seen it before I will answer “They have not programmed it yet.” But just because it hasn’t come up does not mean that it won’t.
In 2005 when I was new to CrossFit I struggled through an inverted burpee WOD. For years no one at CrossFit Vancouver believed me. No one knew what an inverted burpee was. They hadn’t heard of it, have you? It wasn’t until after we opened CrossFit Empower on Dunbar Street in 2013 that they showed up again in a workout. 8 years later I was vindicated!
Ever seen a bailing muscle up? A hanging side touch? A freestanding handstand hold? Ring handstand push ups? Burpee Bar Overs?
In CrossFit anything can show up, you just never know. It is exciting. It means as athletes we are always being forced to learn new things. It means we can never get too comfortable.
When you practice a movement regularly you become efficient but your best fitness results are produced when you are inefficient. For me swimming is a great example. In a recent post I wrote about the functionality of swimming from a survival stand point on a world largely covered by water. Today I just want to point out what a tough workout swimming is if you are not good at it and don’t do it often.
If you can get to a pool give this a try:
5 Rounds:
100m Swim
30 Push Ups
If no pool try this one:
The Hawk
20 min AMRAP
Push Ups
400m Run
Do as many consecutive push ups as you are able, every time you must rest, run 400m. Your score is how many push ups you complete in the 20 minutes.
Remember in fitness routine is the enemy!
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