PURPOSE

"any physical activity is better than no physical activity"

sounds logical enough.  walking around the block is better than laying on the couch watching infomercials on the shakeweight.  but as with everything in life, there are more efficient means of achieving an end state with goals in any program.  sure we can just do more than what we are currently doing and it's better than doing nothing at all. 

"but is there a better way?"  and if we ask that question, surely the next question would have to be, "what is the better way?"

well, one would first have to address the first question.  there is a better way of doing things in order to minimize effort and save energy while accomplishing and completing a task in a short amount of time.  hence, working smarter not harder.  but even then, we would have to dig deeper into understanding what it is we are after in CrossFit.  CF is, and always will be a general physically prepared program.  general physical preparedness (GPP) is broad in nature, encompassing a wide variety of movements and exercises.  by saying that it is broad and general, we are also saying that it is not a specialized program specific to anything in particular.  there is nothing wrong with just getting stronger, bigger, or faster.  if your goal is to get stronger, then your workouts will tailor to that goal.  but by CF definition, this is biasing towards a certain skill, hence specializing in it.  therefore, you are biasing towards a skill at the expense of your overall level of GPP.  being biased towards any one particular skill is not CF.  like i said though, there is nothing wrong with that what so ever, it's just a matter of what your goals are.  if you say you want to get faster, stronger, powerful and have more stamina all at the same time, well...now your speaking our language!  our goal in CF is to maximize our GPP by exposing ourselves to a wide array of varied movements, methods of training, time durations and levels of intensity.  the mission/goal of our program is important to keep in mind because it will guide our training and workouts so that we can achieve the goal of maximizing our GPP.

"the magic is in the movements" - Greg Glassman.
having understood the variance piece of the formula and knowing that variety is what will keep us 'generalized', we must now look at the movements and exercises to be used in variance.  the term 'functional movement' has different definitions, depending on who or what group of people you ask.  CF deems a movement functional if/when it is found in everyday life, not just confined to the gym.  doing the things our bodies were meant to do:  sitting, standing, lifting, pushing, pulling, jumping, throwing, running, climbing etc.  having said that, we as human beings naturally use our bodies in conjunction and in combination, rarely if ever in isolation.  our trunk/torso/body move first then our limbs follow.  this is why the majority, if not all, of the movements you see in CF are multi-joint and compound.  but if we are saying that CF movements are natural in this sense and that we were born to do them, then we can also say that they are safe to practice.  CF basically keeps this notion in mind and looked at various sports and took movements from them to be used in exercise with the goal of achieving a certain level of fitness.  weightlifting is the obvious, borrowing from the olympic lifts and powerlifting to focus on power and strength, respectively.  now obviously we won't find anyone snatching their groceries in the parking lot or their cleaning bags in the airport (although that would be cool), but these particular movements have so much benefit to our GPP that it would be foolish to ignore them.  the endurance community filled with its runners, swimmers, cyclists, rowers and the like provided us an avenue for exercising our endurance, speed and stamina.  and we can't leave out the gymnasts, who are masters of controlling their bodies through different planes and angles which provides flexibility, agility and coordination.  it is in these three models, that you will find multi-joint and compound movements that utilize our bodies in the way they were meant to be used.  coincidentally, these movements also have the ability to produce a heck of a lot of power!  we define power as force x distance over time.  when it comes to these type of movements, there are no comparisons.

the execution of these movements is where the rubber meets the road.  we strive for virtuosity, or doing these common movements uncommonly well.  our prescription for performing safe, effective and efficient movement is always in this order of priority:  mechanics, consistency and then finally intensity.  mechanics teach us fundamentally how to move our bodies in a range of motion that will keep us safe.  it allows for us to be effective in performing these movement patterns regardless of the object being moved.  it is these mechanics that by nature, will make us move efficiently.  we must then teach our bodies to be consistent in those mechanics so that we can gradually increase the speed and weight of the object being moved, whether it is an external object (weightlifting) or our own body mass (gymnastics).


to summarize thus far:  functional movements have the unique capability of getting us in shape for all the right reasons.  variance is the key in achieving a GPP program so that we can be 'in shape' for anything and everything, to include the unknown and unknowable, if need be.  so what is the missing ingredient to get us there?  what is the shortcut?


what we've found is that one key ingredient that gets us the results we want quickly, is intensity.  intensity is the shortcut to getting all the results you want in CF.  intensity is the shortcut to achieving anything you desire in life, period.  the harder you work, the faster it takes to get there, the more focused and concentrated you are on doing so, the quicker you'll get and achieve the goals you seek.  this, for us, is what we mean by intensity.  unfortunately for all of us, intensity sucks because it is relatively painful to the individual.  no pain, really is, no gain.  when we say it's relative, we mean that the level of intensity produced by a healthy 20 year old will be of a much higher output than that of a 67 year old grandmother.  what you can do might be more/less than what someone else is capable of doing.  but here in lies the beauty of the CF program - they both can do the same movements and do the same workout.  we use the term 'scale' to adjust the levels of intensity for each individual.  what CF does not do, is change the program or workout to accommodate the individual.  scalability will afford the injured, handicapped, non-athlete, overweight and every other individual the ability to do CF.  we scale the weight of the equipment being used so that you are able to lift the weight in exercise while using functional movement.  this will keep the movement safe.  we scale the level of intensity so that you don't push yourself beyond your ability and capacity.  by doing this, you will live to see another day.  as intimidating as the program is, your approach to the program and the level of intensity you begin with is what will set yourself up for success in CF.  bite off more than you can chew, and you will hurt yourself.  take it easy and let your body adapt to the stimulus you are putting it through.  you will know when to take it up a notch, but judging yourself and comparing yourself to others has no bearing on this what so ever.  remember, intensity is relative to each individual.  once you've reached a level of performing consistent mechanics within the movements, then you can start to have fun by competing against yourself and others!


i am biased in saying that the best program in achieving a high level of GPP, is CrossFit.  what started out as a grass-roots movement, known only to a select few, has branched out to the masses and is now a full-blown sport of its own.  just like with anything of worthy quality, we naturally wanted to share it with others.  i can remember when i started out in CF back in 2005.  i wondered why no one else was doing it or even heard of it, since it was obviously a revolution in fitness and in working out.  its safe to say that its exposure and efficacy will have people doing CF regardless of what happens in the future.  far too many have been shown that constantly varied functional movements done at high intensity actually works.  it has changed lives for the better, and there is nothing wrong with that.


the last thing i want to share with you is this:  what we do is downright fun.  we have a place to call our playground, we have our friends to play with and we have strict "PE teachers" to make sure we are playing safe, ensuring we play to the best of our individual abilities.  but don't geek out on this stuff.  being in shape and staying healthy is important, of course, but it isn't the sole meaning of life.  simplicity is what will get you through, in every aspect.  keep things simple and avoid being caught up too much into it.  show up and do the best you can for that day.  there is far more to life than being the best at being in shape and losing sleep over it.  live, love and laugh.  it's hard to do all three if you have no one special to share all three with.  if you don't know what the meaning of life is, it's simple:  value its worth by having morals in order to live for something.  we only have one life and its how we choose to live it and who we choose to share it with that will dictate our legacy.