Crossfit is not for the faint of heart

A revolution of fitness is coming and its name is Crossfit. If you haven't heard of it yet, you soon will as athletes of all shapes, sizes, sports and disciplines begin to realize the benefits it provides.
Crossfit is a completely radical way to think about training. It completely goes against modern theories and practices by targeting the deepest depths of human biology. Crossfit is a somewhat primal way to consider physical fitness; it attempts to mimic human evolution. Our ancestors did not drive to the grocery store to pick up their dinner; they had to walk and run and hunt in order to survive. They didn't have machinery to build things for them; they had to move everything by hand. In a time when it was survival of the fittest, our ancestors were exactly that; the fittest.
Crossfit is the brainchild of "Coach" Greg Glassman, a former gymnast. The program began in a single gym in Glassman's garage but word spread quickly after the launch of his Web site, crossfit.com in 2001. Coach Glassman, or simply Coach, prescribes a Workout of the Day (WOD) on the Crossfit Web site.
Mark Gleason, owner of Crossfit Niagara, met Coach Glassman while earning a Crossfit certification.
"He is a very intelligent, well spoken guy. He is very passionate about Crossfit. We spoke briefly as I recovered from Fran (21-15-9 reps of 95 pound barbell thruster and pullups). I didn't have much to say except, 'Should I be this exhausted?' His answer was, 'Yes, it's called hard work!'"
Many followers will perform the WOD without ever visiting a Crossfit gym, but gyms specifically for Crossfit are available. Gleason owns Crossfit Niagara, a gym specifically designed for Crossfit workouts.
"I found something called 'CrossShit' on a well known bodybuilding forum and was interested, so looked at the Web site," said Gleason. "I was on Christmas vacation and sleep wasn't all that important at the time, so I was up most of the night surfing crossfit.com, watching videos, reading any free journal articles (journal.crossfit.com) I could download and was hooked instantly."
"Before starting Crossfit, I was 210 pounds and in terrible shape by my present standards. In three months of solid training and slowly improved nutrition, I dropped to 185 and presently weigh between 165-170."
"I am 35 years old and am in the best shape of my life. My cardio is better even though I rarely get on a "cardio" machine", Gleason said. "I have more stamina. I am stronger and more flexible. Olympic lifting is also a big part of Crossfit, and because of this I am faster, more powerful and coordinated. My agility, balance and accuracy are better than when I was a teenager. Incidentally, these 10 physical skills are how we gauge fitness - not by the size of our biceps."
A Crossfit workout tries to replicate the actions that made our ancestors strong enough to survive. You may find yourself running a kilometre and then immediately getting on the barbell for a set of 20 deadlifts, then jumping on a set of rings to perform a set of muscle-ups . then repeating the process five times. You might find yourself jumping on chairs, doing pushups and throwing a medicine ball; or maybe simply 50 pullups for time. Almost everything is done as fast as possible.
A Crossfit workout doesn't try to isolate muscles; our ancestors didn't spend an hour doing biceps curls. Instead it takes advantage of full body movements like Olympic lifts, pull-ups and kettle ball swings. It works your muscles hard and keeps your heartbeat up at the same time; taking in the benefits of both aerobic and anaerobic training.
Crossfit workouts rarely target a specific body part. In fact, most workouts exercise the entire body simultaneously. The workouts are also designed to put the most strain possible on your body. For example, a workout may prescribe 15 pullups and then immediately call for 50 squats. The squats will be considerably more difficult after the pull-ups than they would be at rest, because the pull-ups forced all the body's blood to the arms and upper body. The point is to take advantage of the body's weaknesses and make it stronger as a whole.
The order of the workouts is not arbitrary. Don't be surprised if you're asked to run 10 kilometres the day after you performed 250 squats. It's all about teaching your body to adapt.
"The best attribute of Crossfit is its universal scalability. Crossfit is for everyone, the elite athlete or your grandmother," said Gleason. "Our program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing and using functional movements at a high intensity and working all aspects of fitness."
When asked what Crossfit has taught him about himself, Gleason had a simple answer.
"I am capable of twice as much as I think."
If you are interested in trying Crossfit, you can contact Mark Gleason by email at crossfitniagara@hotmail.com or by logging on to crossfitniagara.blogspot.com.