Quick, fast, and sometimes painful, Garrett Hoelscher says that CrossFit mimics life’s endless physical challenges. CrossFit, an exercise regime and chain of gyms across the US, was founded in 2000 by the personal trainer of the Santa Cruz Police department, Gregg Glassman. According to Garrett Hoelscher, one of the main selling points of the CrossFit methodology is that participants have the ability to actually compete with one another and assign a value to their workout. This friendly competition makes people more likely to put forth 100% of their ability, since coming in last isn’t what most athletes – or even those just starting out – want.
But, what exactly is CrossFit? Garrett Hoelscher explains that CrossFit is an idea that is so simple it’s genius. It combines highly intense and physically demanding movements with continual diversity to create a relatively short daily workout, reports Garrett Hoelscher. The Workout of the Days, or WOD’s as the CrossFit generation calls them, are a specific series of exercises that push the follower to his or her limit, notes Garrett Hoelscher. Individuals may perform any combination of the regimen’s numerous actions, the sequence of which is laid out on the CrossFit website where users worldwide can “compete” with one another on their time and intensity.
Predominately, Garrett Hoelscher notes, CrossFit employs body weight exercises. Included in CrossFit’s list of approved movements are the Air Squat, the Burpee, and the Lunge. Garrett Hoelscher says that most people are familiar with a lunge, but few people outside of hardcore fitness enthusiasts understand many of the additional exercises utilized in CrossFit. Incidentally, an Air Squat has the athlete standing, squatting, and standing again in a rapid succession; a Burpee is a little more exciting, says Garrett Hoelscher, as the individual must drop to the ground, touch it with their chest, and then get up quickly by pushing the legs into a squatting position and returning upright with a little jump.
Garrett Hoelscher says that the CrossFit program is something most anyone can enjoy and endure. He notes that, since the goal is to perform the movements, even the elderly and many disabled people can participate at a lower intensity. He points out that what an average person might consider physically demanding, an experienced CrossFit trainee might need to step up a level or two. Because each individual is different, Garrett Hoelscher believes that the customizable nature of the program is indeed a Fit. The important thing isn’t so much the movements or the intensity as the desire to make a change and to lead a healthy and active life, concludes Garrett Hoelscher.