Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Understanding CrossFit
Greg Glassman
Aims
Prescription
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functional movements for the production of high power. important value well beyond motivation.
Intensity is defined exactly as power, and intensity is the
independent variable most commonly associated with Adaptations
maximizing favorable adaptation to exercise. Recognizing
that the breadth and depth of a programs stimulus will Our commitment to evidence-based fitness, publicly
determine the breadth and depth of the adaptation it posting performance data, co-developing our program in
elicits, our prescription of functionality and intensity collaboration with other coaches, and our open-source
is constantly varied. We believe that preparation charter in general has well positioned us to garner
for random physical challengesi.e., unknown and important lessons from our programto learn precisely
unknowable eventsis at odds with fixed, predictable, and accurately, that is, about the adaptations elicited by
and routine regimens. CrossFit programming. What weve discovered is that
CrossFit increases work capacity across broad time and
Methodology modal domains. This is a discovery of great import and
has come to motivate our programming and refocus
The methodology that drives CrossFit is entirely our efforts. This far-reaching increase in work capacity
empirical. We believe that meaningful statements about supports our initially stated aims of building a broad,
safety, efficacy, and efficiency, the three most important general, and inclusive fitness program. It also explains
and interdependent facets of any fitness program, can the wide variety of sport demands met by CrossFit as
be supported only by measurable, observable, repeatable evidenced by our deep penetration among diverse sports
facts, i.e., data. We call this approach evidence-based and endeavors. Weve come to see increased work
fitness. The CrossFit methodology depends on full capacity as the holy grail of performance improvement
disclosure of methods, results, and criticisms, and weve and all other common metrics like VO2 max, lactate
employed the Internet (and various intranets) to support threshold, body composition, and even strength and
these values. Our charter is open source, making co- flexibility as being correlatesderivatives, even. Wed
developers out of participating coaches, athletes, and not trade improvements in any other fitness metric for a
trainers through a spontaneous and collaborative online decrease in work capacity.
community. CrossFit is empirically driven, clinically
tested, and community developed. Conclusions
Greg Glassman (with Lauren Glassman) is the founder of CrossFit, Inc., and the publisher
of the CrossFit Journal.
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