Fitness revolves around ten general skills: cardiovascular/respiratory fitness, endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. CrossFit's methodology of functional fitness, which is to train one's body/practice in these 10 skills, in efforts to perform well at any task they might encounter (The CrossFit Journal, 2002). CrossFit develops one's body to be stronger, faster, and to become better then you were yesterday. No matter what life may throw at you, CrossFit helps you become better out there. .
CrossFit was created by Greg Glassman. Glassman had found the majority of people who worked out in typical gyms where tired of the same old boring routine. Being a former gymnast, he found that certain body weight exercises, that he used, where much more effective than much of the global gym type workouts. Glassman went on looking at different ways to help improve fitness. He found certain Olympic type lifts that he believed far better then most of the other type of lifts. Glassman also knew that he could not give up the cardio aspect like running jumping, rowing, etc. Then in the late 90's, after years of research and trials, Glassman combined a gymnastic exercises, lifting, and cardio to form what is now known as CrossFit. .
CrossFit is a broad range of movements, lifts, and exercises that strays away from the concept of the one muscle isolation mentality. CrossFit often leaves one with an "empty tank" with a variety, intensity, full body, and functional movement workout. When one thinks of fitness, one often thinks of long hours spent at the gym on the treadmills, or doing lateral raises, leg extensions, incline sit-ups, and bench presses. However, CrossFit is anything but that. Most CrossFit sessions last between five minutes to 45 minutes. It depends on what the trainer has written into their programing. .
The goal is to do shorter high intensity cardiovascular workouts that hit a main body functions.
