By now you’ve probably heard about CrossFit, the explosive exercise trend some call “the sport of fitness.” It occurs in sparse training facilities called “boxes,” equipped only with items absolutely necessary to getting in great shape: kettlebells and gymnastics rings, plyometric boxes, climbing ropes and Olympic weights. No TVs. No endless rows of treadmills. It works.
“The changes I’ve seen in people who get hooked on CrossFit is truly incredible,” says Susanne Duato, an instructor at CrossFit 110 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. “CrossFit celebrates being strong and being healthy in whatever shape that manifests itself in your body. I think it’s a really positive message.”
Expect to do something different for almost every class at CrossFit, as workouts are designed for variation. One day could be heavy lifting, the next a longer cardio workout, another: agility and speed.
Duato says, “It’s functional fitness – multi-jointed movements that your body is built to do: running, jumping, kicking, picking things up, pulling yourself up and over obstacles. You’re not doing isolated movements like bicep curls. There’s no sitting at a machine and doing the same movement over and over.”
CrossFit can be intimidating initially. I mean, there are freak-strong fitness buffs lifting Olympic weights overhead and then slamming them down, for example. Duato suggests starting with CrossFit boot camp – “it’s sort of a CrossFit Light” – as an introduction, and all but guarantees you’ll get hooked.
It’s not limited to physical benefits, either. “When you come to CrossFit, it’s like cheers,” says Duato. “You walk in the door and the people in class know you. If you don’t show up, they miss you. You sweat together, you’re not putting on your headphones and zoning out watching TV while you run on the treadmill. It’s intense, but when you do that together, it’s really powerful.”
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