Getting Started in CrossFit

Bri Repetto

Welcome to the world of CrossFit. A high intensity workout that will certainly make you sweat. It is designed to help push you to your limits but help make you stronger and to increase mobility in your daily life. People who do CrossFit find a community of passionate and hardworking individuals looking to improve their mind and body. If you are looking to give it a shot or want to know more than you are in the right place.  

What is CrossFit?

CrossFit can be defined as a program where participants are taken through high intensity workouts that are implemented with various types of sports and exercises. This means that some days you can be doing more cardio like running, jumping jacks, wind sprints and more, while other days you can be playing volleyball, deadlifting, and even gymnastics. It is designed to help you in many different ways. One being physical improvements, and another is the social implication. 

Physical and Social Implications

Physically, your strength is going to improve because the routine is designed to push your body to its limits. This means that you are going to see an improvement in muscle mass because the exercises you are performing are breaking down the muscle fibers in your body which go on to heal and repair back stronger. Other benefits are things like flexibility and endurance. Due to the range of sports and activities that are added into the routine, odds are you will perform exercises that cause you to stretch and move in new ways which allows your body to gain greater range of motion. 

Endurance too is an improvement you will start to notice because your body will be adapting to your more active lifestyle. This means that systems like the cardiovascular system will improve and oxygen will be able to be transported throughout your body more effectively. Due to this, you increase your VO2 max. Your VO2 max is the amount of oxygen you consume through high intensity workouts. Therefore, your muscles will start to receive and use up a greater intake of oxygen therefore they can perform longer and harder than when you initially began your fitness journey. 

Another thing that people sometimes overlook when it comes to working out and high intensity exercise is the fact that you mentally get tougher. When putting your body through so much strenuous activity, you need to stay sharp to power through to make it to the end of your workout. If you give up when the going gets tough, then you will never see improvements and it was all for nothing. Getting yourself in a strong mental standpoint is crucial to a successful workout. 

Participants also burn a lot of calories compared to other workout routines. A 195 lb man burns 15 to 18 calories per minute and a 165 lb female can burn 13 to 15 calories a minute. If you compare that to normal weightlifting, men burn 11 calories per minute and women burn 9 calories per minute.

Socially you are able to find a community in CrossFit. Group classes are offered where you could meet people who help push you to be your best as well as sharing in all the highs and lows of training with. Everyone has their good and bad days but with a community by your side to help encourage you, then you can find the support to get to the gym and push through the routine. Additionally, CrossFit. Com has a huge online community. The CrossFit website offers daily workout plans where they list what types of exercises to do, how many sets and reps, duration of time and how to build upon the routine to make it harder or easier depending on what level you are in your training. On each day they have a comment section that is filled with people sharing their feedback on the plans. Many list how they did throughout the workout and what weights they used. It gives a good online community to help engage and encourage CrossFit lovers to get started and keep going. 

CrossFit Impacts Your Daily Life

Why is it important to be strong or flexible outside the gym? This is something I think about a lot actually. In fact it was not until I was really gaining muscle mass that I started to notice how much easier it was for me to do the little movements I did on a daily basis. From lifting heavy boxes onto a counter, carrying in all the groceries at once because I live by the one trip rule, to even just opening up a tightly shut jar. I found that I was able to move with less strain on my body because my body was stronger and my endurance levels were higher. To reap the benefits you need to put in the work and CrossFit is absolutely an amazing deal to make. Put a hour aside a day and go as hard as you can, try new movements, improve on what you already know, and your body is going to reward you. You will feel better and in correlation, will look better too because your body and mind is getting confident and healthier. 

Adding in the CrossFit community, participants at the gym find friends and create relationships with one another. Your daily life can find improvement as you are meeting friends to workout with at the gym, but can make plans to also make memories outside of it too. Your social circle may expand and thus you may find yourself going out more and doing exciting things with your new friends. 

Class Layout

If you are intrigued and want to know more about what to expect, the class layouts are simple to get started in. Typically, the class lasts about one hour. The whole group of participants meet at the start around a whiteboard to go over what the workout entails. From what movements will be done, to the targeted stimulus, and even how to scale your routine to work for you. Sometimes the CrossFit gyms add in ice breakers for the groups in order for people to get to know one another and build that community feel.

Next a warm up is performed to get your body ready for your performance to come. This is so important, especially due to the high intensity nature of CrossFit. The higher the intensity, the more room there is for injury. Preparing your body right will help to reduce strain and any pain. Common injuries in Crossfit are low back pain, rotator cuff tendonitis, achilles tendonitis, knee injuries, and tennis elbow. Working with a trainer is ideal for ensuring that you are doing the exercises correctly and that you are not at risk for hurting yourself. It is always better to start slow and increase in speed and weight to prevent injury. 

Following the warmup, the trainers give you time to collect all the needed equipment for your workout. This includes dumbbells, mats, kettlebells, benches, and more. After that you are set to begin the workout plan for the rest of the duration of the hour. Once that is done, there is a cool down and clean up.  

Time To Get Started

If CrossFit is something that interests you, then reachout to the gyms around you and see if they offer any trials for you to get started and dip your toes in. Trials are a great way to see what the programs are like without having to fully commit just yet. 

There are so many benefits and plenty of happy patrons to back up the enjoyment of CrossFit. Furthermore, you do not need to be a certain age or body type to be a part of it. CrossFit is truly for everyone so swipe any fear aside and think about how this high intensity workout may benefit you. Good luck, you are going to do great!