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What is Crossfit?

CrossFit is a fitness regimen developed by Greg Glassman over several decades. Glassman, CrossFit's Founder and CEO, was the first person in history to define fitness in a meaningful, measurable way: increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains. He then created a program specifically designed to improve fitness and health.

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CrossFit is constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. All CrossFit workouts are based on functional movements, and these movements reflect the best aspects of gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing and more. These are the core movements of life. They move the largest loads the longest distances, so they are ideal for maximizing the amount of work done in the shortest time. Intensity is essential for results and is measurable as work divided by time—or power. The more work you do in less time, or the higher the power output, the more intense the effort. By employing a constantly varied approach to training, functional movements and intensity lead to dramatic gains in fitness.

CrossFit is not a specialized fitness program but a deliberate attempt to optimize physical competence in each of ten recognized fitness domains. They are as follows:

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10 General Physical Skills

  1. Cardiorespiratory Endurance

  2. Strength

  3. Flexibility

  4. Stamina

  5. Speed

  6. Power

  7. Balance

  8. Accuracy

  9. Agility

  10. Coordination

Learn the Lingo

  • AMRAP: As Many Reps (sometimes Rounds) as Possible

  • BW (or BWT): Body weight

  • WU: Warm-up

  • C&J: Clean and jerk

  • C2: Concept II rowing machine

  • DL: Deadlift

  • FS: Front squat

  • BS: Back Squat

  • OHS: Overhead Squat

  • GHD Situp: Situp done on the GHD) bench.

  • GPP: General physical preparedness, aka “fitness.”

  • GTG: Grease the Groove, a protocol of doing many sub-maximal sets of an exercise throughtout the day

  • HSPU: Hand stand push up. Kick up into a handstand (use wall for balance, if needed) bend arms until nose touches floor and push back up.

  • KB: Kettlebell

  • KTE: Knees to elbows. Similar to TTBs described below.

  • MetCon: Metabolic Conditioning workout

  • Pood: weight measure for kettlebells

  • PR: Personal record

  • PP: Push press

  • Rep: Repetition. One performance of an exercise.

  • Rx’d; as Rx’d: As prescribed; as written. WOD done without any adjustments.

  • RM: Repetition maximum. Your 1RM is your max lift for one rep. Your 10 RM is the most you can lift 10 times.

  • SDHP: Sumo deadlift high pull (see exercise section)

  • Set: A number of repetitions. e.g., 3 sets of 10 reps, often seen as 3×10, means do 10 reps, rest, repeat, rest, repeat.

  • Sub’d: Substituted. The CORRECT use of “subbed,” as in “substituted,” is, “I subbed an exercise I can do for one I can’t,” For example, if you can’t do HSPU’s, you subbed regular pushups.
    Sadly, many illiterate posters get this bass-ackward, and claim that since they can’t do HSPU, they subbed HSPU for pushups. D’oh!

  • TGU: Turkish get-up (See exercise section)

  • TTB: Toes to bar. Hang from bar. Bending only at waist raise your toes to touch the bar, slowly lower them and repeat.

  • WOD: Workout of the day

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Courtesy of CrossFit, Inc.

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