Who is the fittest? How do you know? Since 2007, the CrossFit Games have evolved to answer these questions. Each year the event is a more comprehensive test of fitness, and the athletes raise the level of competition to unprecedented heights. The average Games athlete in 2012 will be dramatically more capable than the world’s best in 2007.
(http://games.crossfit.com/about-the-games/history)
What is CrossFit?
CrossFit, Inc. is a fitness company founded by Greg Glassman in 2000. Crossfit’s exercise program is practiced by members of (as of 2012) approximately 3400 affiliated gyms, most of which are located in the United States, and by individuals who complete daily workouts posted on the company’s website.
Programming and usage
CrossFit describes its strength and conditioning program as “constantly varied, high intensity, functional movement,” with the stated goal of improving fitness (and therefore general physical preparedness), which it defines as “work capacity across broad time and modal domains.”Workouts are typically short—20 minutes or less—and intense, demanding all-out physical exertion. They combine movements such as sprinting, rowing, jumping, jumping rope, climbing rope, weightlifiting, olympic weightlifting and carrying odd objects; they use barbells, dumbbells, gymnastic rings, pull up bars, kettlebells, medicine balls, and bodyweight exercises.
These elements are mixed in numerous combinations to form prescribed “Workouts of the Day” or “WODs”. Hour-long classes at affiliated gyms, or “boxes,” typically include a warm-up, a skill development segment, the high-intensity WOD, and a period of individual or group stretching. Performance on each WOD is often scored and/or ranked to encourage competition and to track individual progress. Some affiliates offer additional classes, such as Olympic weightlifting, which are not centered around a WOD.
CrossFit programming is used by a few thousand private affiliated gyms and many fire departments, law enforcement agencies, and military organizations including the Canadian Special Forces and the Royal Danish Life Guards, as well as by some U.S. and Canadian high school physical education teachers, high school and college sports teams, and the Florida Marlins, MLB. In addition, there are a number of gyms that use CrossFit-style exercises and workouts but are not officially affiliated with CrossFit, Inc. Many people who do CrossFit workouts on their own often post their results on CrossFit’s website.
Business model and CrossFit culture
CrossFit, Inc. licenses the CrossFit name to gyms for an annual fee and certifies trainers. Besides the standard two-day “Level 1″ certification course, there are as yet uncertified speciality seminars including CrossFit Level 2, gymnastics, Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, running and endurance, kettlebells, mobility and recovery, jump rope (discontinued), CrossFit Kids, and CrossFit Football (developed by former NFL player John Welbourn). Other specialized adaptations include programs for pregnant women, seniors, and military special forces candidates. Affiliates develop their own programming, pricing, and instructional methods, though most adhere closely to the recommendations of CrossFit headquarters, or “HQ”. Many athletes and trainers see themselves as part of a contrarian, insurgent movement that questions conventional fitness wisdom; besides performing prescribed workouts, they follow CrossFit’s nutrition recommendations (adopting a paleo and/or zone diet), and favor minimalist footware.
CrossFit is noteworthy for its use of a virtual community Internet model. The company says this de-centralized approach shares some common features with open sourcesoftware projects and allows best practices to emerge from a variety of approaches, a contention that is disputed by some subject matter experts, competitors, and former affiliates.
CrossFit Games
The “CrossFit Games” have been held every summer since 2007. Participation and sponsorship have grown rapidly; the prize money awarded to each first-place male and female increased from $500 at the inaugural Games[26] to $250,000 in 2011 and 2012.[27] Athletes at the Games compete in workouts they learn about only hours beforehand, sometimes including surprise elements that are not part of the typical CrossFit regimen; past examples include a rough-water swim and a softball throw. The Games are styled as a venue for determining the “Fittest on Earth,” where competitors should be “ready for anything.”
Several unique characteristics define the CrossFit Games. The Games change every year, and the details are not announced until right before each event. Athletes train year-round for a competition that is almost completely a mystery. When they reach the Home Depot Center, they put their training and mental fortitude to the test and take on a rigorous, broad-ranging test of overall physical capacity. After three days, the Fittest on Earth will have clearly distinguished themselves.
In 2011, the Games adopted an online format for the sectional event, facilitating participation by athletes worldwide. During the “CrossFit Open”, a new workout is released each week. Athletes have several days to complete the workout and submit their scores online, with either a video or validation by a CrossFit affiliate. The top CrossFit Open performers in each region advance to the regional events, held over the following two months. As of 2012 there are 17 regional divisions, including 12 in North America (North West, Canada West, Canada East, North Central, Central East, North East, Mid Atlantic, South East, South Central, South West, Southern California, and Northern California), and five in the rest of the world (Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Australia). The top athletes (up to 3 of each gender) from each region are eligible to compete in the CrossFit Games.
The Games include divisions for individuals of each gender, and for a number of Masters age groups: 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, and 60+, as well as for co-ed teams comprising 3 men and 3 women. Masters competitors qualify for the Games based on performance in the CrossFit Open–there are no Masters regional events.
History and contributors
Greg Glassman founded CrossFit, Inc. in 2000. The first affiliated gym was CrossFit North in Seattle, Washington; there were 13 by 2005 and more than 3,400 today. Coaches associated with CrossFit include Louie Simmons, Bob Harper and Mike Burgener. Another CrossFit subject matter expert is Dr. Nicholas Romanov, inventor of the Pose Method of running. Fitness experts formerly associated with CrossFit include Mark Twight, Mark Rippetoe and Robb Wolf.
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