We all want to live a healthy, long life enjoying the people and activities that we love. Whether you see yourself chasing your grand kids around a theme park or swimming in a lagoon in Fiji in your golden years, we all have long-term goals that require us to be healthy now. Which is probably the reason why you’ve decided to take up CrossFit, eat clean and pay more attention to doing activities that will improve, rather than diminish your health.
Nearly two decades ago, Coach Greg Glassman sparked a new approach to fitness for the masses when he formally established CrossFit. The idea behind his approach seemed simple, but very complex at the same time. Eventually, he defined fitness in a short 100-word definition:
World-Class Fitness in 100 Words
- Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.
- Practice and train major lifts: deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc., hard and fast.
- Five or six days per week, mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense.
- Regularly learn and play new sports.
—Greg Glassman, CrossFit Founder
Pretty cool, huh? To me, this is an all-encompassing view of how to get and stay fit. Looking closer at each of these statements, here’s what I came up with:
“Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.”
– This seems fairly close to the Paleo diet, but it makes sense. Don’t fill your diet with processed foods that contain unhealthy additives. Pay attention and measure your food intake, which is similar to counting macronutrient intake. Being aware of what you put into your body will dramatically effect your performance and long-term health.
“Practice and train major lifts: deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc., hard and fast.”
– These are the modalities that create the framework of CrossFit workouts. Developing strength, competency and confidence in these activities will improve overall health and capability, as well as helping individuals mold a wide variety of skills. Gymnastic work improves body control and can strengthen common core activities. Lastly, do activities that will strengthen your heart! Cardiovascular development is the core of fitness.
“Five or six days per week, mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense.”
– Life is filled with unexpected challenges, both physical and mental. Being able to effectively manage the challenges as they arise can be developed in the box! In addition to that, the monotony of working out is avoided. Doing treadmill runs or standing in front of a mirror doing bicep curls each day is mind numbing, but coming in to different movements and time constraints helps keep people engaged in their fitness.
“Regularly learn and play new sports.”
– Use your fitness. This statement is one of the main reasons why I love CrossFit. We spend our time in the box doing amazing things with our bodies. I love being able to translate those efforts to the outside world. As we develop our coordination, strength, endurance, etc., we should find ways to use them in new activities, as well as everyday life! Live better!
Ultimately, our goal in fitness is to improve our lives through eating nutrient dense foods and performing physical activities that promote muscle growth and development. We can do this while having fun and building community closeness! World Class Fitness in 100 Words helps us better understand how to get there and to live long happy lives.
Stay on the Grind, Team Manta Ray and remember that Ability is Limitless!