“Constantly varied functional movement executed at high intensity”
Constantly Varied
You may prefer the term “randomized” or “muscle confusion”. Our workouts include everything from gymnastics style movements, Olympic style lifting, powerlifting, rowing, running, kettlebells, and LOTS of metabolic conditioning AKA “cardio”. We do not have “shoulders, chest, and tris” or “back, biceps, and legs” days. The workout of the day (WOD) is always different and will included pieces from lots of different workout methodologies and disciplines. The workouts are posted here on the website every morning so you can have an idea of how to best prepare yourself for the day. But some of our members actually prefer the WOD to be a surprise and wait until they walk in the door to know what they are doing on any given day.
The overarching goal of CrossFit is to prepare you for every day life; to be prepared for the “unknown and unknowable”. The fitness we prescribe is an overall, general fitness. Our speciality is not specializing. You may think that a triathlete may be the fittest person there is, but in reality a triathlete may really only be good at swimming, biking, running, and nothing else. They may not be very flexible or strong or even fast. On the opposite side of the spectrum, a powerlifter may be able to lift immense loads and at great speed, but is not very useful for anything else. Who would you rather be stranded in the wilderness with? Option A or Option B? I’d pick Option C for CrossFitter
Functional
Coach Ray’s Commandment #1: Thou Shalt Not Do Bicep Curls. Violators will be mocked and shunned. Just Kidding…
CrossFit focuses on multi-joint movements that you would normally find in every day life. They are natural, essential, and most importantly safe.
The squat, for instance, is the first functional movement you will be taught when you walk into the gym. It is a movement you do at least once a day. (If you don’t, then you probably need more fiber…but that’s another issue altogether.) Surprisingly, MANY, and arguably most, Americans cannot squat with full range of motion and with proper mechanics.
Toddlers can squat with ease but somewhere around age 3 humans begin adopting disfunctional movement patterns. The first goal of CrossFit is to get your natural squat back. It is the foundation of everything else we do.
Getting back to the bicep curl comment, are bicep curls bad? No, they’re not. But they aren’t very functional. We are about function over fashion. When in real life would you ever do an isolated bicep curl? You can bicep strength by doing other movements like pull ups, or ring rows. In general CrossFit places less emphasis on movements that isolate muscles. We prefer to use multi-joint movements and recruit as many muscles as possible for optimum efficiency and to teach you to use muscles you may not realize you have.
In addition to the squat, which is a movement used to pick yourself up, we also will teach you how to pick up large objects off the floor in a safe manner and also how to move objects safely and efficiently up over your head. Again, the goal is to give you a fitness that will improve your every day life.
High Intensity
First and foremost, we want to emphasize good mechanics. Form is everything. Once you are able to execute a movement with proper and save mechanics consistently, we will apply the ingredient that makes CrossFit so successful in achieving results: HIGH INTENSITY.
Not including time spent warming up, mobility, and practicing technique and skills, the bulk of our workouts last between 6-25 minutes. Many people gawk at such short workout times, but are often surprised at how much can be accomplished in such a short amount of time. When weights are incorporated, the calorie burn will continue for days to follow. This is not the case when you do a long easy jog or spend an hour on the elliptical.
At my current level of fitness, is CrossFit for me?
Yes it is, CrossFit is universally scalable. Your grandmother may not need to backsquat 315lbs but she does need to be able to get up from the toilet without the aid of a handle bar way into her twilight. We help improve your current level of fitness though gradual progression at your comfort level.
What is the difference between CrossFit and other fitness programs like P90X?
The CrossFit program has been clinically tested by military, police, coaches and athletes alike. Some people are motivated by getting that beach body. Others just want to be in better shape for their kids. While programs like P90X and Insanity focus on the beach body, their results in the realm of functional fitness are a bit lacking. CrossFit will provide results in both arenas. Workout videos also lack the human interaction with a trained coach who can help ensure that you are doing movements safely and correctly.
Most importantly, community is arguably one of the biggest draws to CrossFit. It’s human nature to be moved by camaraderie. At CrossFit Stronghold, we don’t tolerate the ego, meathead mentality. Our training atmosphere is inclusive and encouraging. Very few people like to suffer alone and if you need a little friendly competition to motivate you, we can provide that, too.
I suffer from previous injuries will I be able to do this?
Absolutely, at CrossFit we only with deal with functional movement which means compound multi joint movements like squatting/pressing/jumping running. None of the movements are isolated. Only through corrective movement can you develop better rage of motion. Other benefits are increased flexibility and progressive strength gains amongst other things.
Will I get too big (or too small) by doing barbell exercises?
Yes and no. You get from it what you put into it. The reason we do barbell exercises is because Olympic lifts elicit a response from your body parallel to no other exercise. So along with a regimented nutritional plan you can get bigger or smaller, depending on your goals.
Want the Textbook Definition straight from CrossFit?
Credit: CrossFit.com
CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.
Our program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing. Combat, survival, many sports, and life reward this kind of fitness and, on average, punish the specialist.
The CrossFit program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. We’ve used our same routines for elderly individuals with heart disease and cage fighters one month out from televised bouts. We scale load and intensity; we don’t change programs.
The needs of Olympic athletes and our grandparents differ by degree not kind. Our terrorist hunters, skiers, mountain bike riders and housewives have found their best fitness from the same regimen.