Brock Press

Issue date: 10/7/08 Section: Health

Media Credit: Dario Ayala

A revolution of fitness is coming and its name is Crossfit. If you haven't heard of it yet, you soon will as athletes of all shapes, sizes, sports and disciplines begin to realize the benefits it provides.
Crossfit is a completely radical way to think about training. It completely goes against modern theories and practices by targeting the deepest depths of human biology. Crossfit is a somewhat primal way to consider physical fitness; it attempts to mimic human evolution. Our ancestors did not drive to the grocery store to pick up their dinner; they had to walk and run and hunt in order to survive. They didn't have machinery to build things for them; they had to move everything by hand. In a time when it was survival of the fittest, our ancestors were exactly that; the fittest.
Crossfit is the brainchild of "Coach" Greg Glassman, a former gymnast. The program began in a single gym in Glassman's garage but word spread quickly after the launch of his Web site, crossfit.com in 2001. Coach Glassman, or simply Coach, prescribes a Workout of the Day (WOD) on the Crossfit Web site.
Mark Gleason, owner of Crossfit Niagara, met Coach Glassman while earning a Crossfit certification.
"He is a very intelligent, well spoken guy. He is very passionate about Crossfit. We spoke briefly as I recovered from Fran (21-15-9 reps of 95 pound barbell thruster and pullups). I didn't have much to say except, 'Should I be this exhausted?' His answer was, 'Yes, it's called hard work!'"
Many followers will perform the WOD without ever visiting a Crossfit gym, but gyms specifically for Crossfit are available. Gleason owns Crossfit Niagara, a gym specifically designed for Crossfit workouts.
"I found something called 'CrossShit' on a well known bodybuilding forum and was interested, so looked at the Web site," said Gleason. "I was on Christmas vacation and sleep wasn't all that important at the time, so I was up most of the night surfing crossfit.com, watching videos, reading any free journal articles (journal.crossfit.com) I could download and was hooked instantly."
"Before starting Crossfit, I was 210 pounds and in terrible shape by my present standards. In three months of solid training and slowly improved nutrition, I dropped to 185 and presently weigh between 165-170."

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