A beginner’s guide
CrossFit
What CrossFit is, how to read the WOD on the whiteboard and why the same class works at every level. Here’s everything you need to know before your first class.
Functional, constantly varied, high intensity
CrossFit is a way of training that builds strength, stamina and mobility at the same time, with the movements your body uses in everyday life.
Functional
You pick something up off the floor, sit down and stand up, push, pull, run and jump. You make these movements outside the gym too.
Constantly varied
The workout changes every day, with new movements, loads and times. That way your body never settles into a routine.
Intensity
You work as hard as your level allows today. Intensity brings the results, but technique always comes first.
Greg Glassman started CrossFit in California in 2000. Today there are affiliate gyms around the world, and Illyrian Gym is the official affiliate in Ferizaj.
Start with CrossFit 101Weight, bodyweight, engine
Every WOD mixes movements of three kinds. Together they make CrossFit complete.
Weightlifting
You work with barbells, kettlebells and dumbbells. You lift the weight from the floor, onto your shoulders and overhead. You start light and add weight as your technique improves.
Examples
- Deadlift
- Clean
- Snatch
- Front squat
- Kettlebell swing
Gymnastics
You work with your own bodyweight, in pull-ups, push-ups, rope climbs and box jumps. This builds control, strength and mobility.
Examples
- Pull-up
- Push-up
- Rope climb
- Box jump
- Handstand
Conditioning
These are movements you repeat without stopping, like rowing, running, the air bike and the jump rope. They build your breathing and your heart.
Examples
- Row
- Run
- Air bike
- Double-unders
How to read the WOD
The WOD, the workout of the day, goes up on the whiteboard every day. Its format tells you how the clock counts.
AMRAP
As many rounds as possible means as many rounds as you can fit in the time. The clock keeps the time, and you count the rounds.
EMOM
Every minute on the minute means you do the set work at the start of each minute. The faster you finish, the more rest you get.
For time
You finish the work on the board as fast as you can, and the clock records your time. There’s often a time limit too, called a time cap.
Tabata
You do eight rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. It’s only four minutes, but it feels a lot longer.
Other words you’ll hear
- WOD
- Workout of the Day, the day’s training. It’s the same for the whole class.
- Box
- What a CrossFit gym is called.
- RX
- It means you do the WOD as written, with the full weights and movements.
- Scaled
- It means the WOD is adapted to your level, with less weight, fewer reps or a simpler movement.
- PR
- Personal record, your best result so far. In the gym we celebrate it out loud.
- Metcon
- Metabolic conditioning is the fast part of the class, when your heart works hardest.
Same WOD, your weight
The competitor and the first-timer do the same WOD in the same class. The coach changes the load, the reps or the movement, so everyone works hard and stays safe.
| RX | Scaled |
|---|---|
| Pull-up | Ring row or banded pull-up |
| Rope climb | Rope pulls from the floor |
| Box jump 60 cm | Step-up onto a lower box |
| Thruster 43 kg | Thruster 20 kg |
Nobody finishes alone. When the last person is finishing the WOD, the whole room cheers them on.
Before your first class
Do I need to be fit before I start?
No. You come to the gym to get fit, not once you are. Every movement scales to your level, and you take your first steps in CrossFit 101 with a coach.
Is CrossFit dangerous?
As in any sport, the risk comes when rushing takes the place of technique. That’s why the coach teaches each movement with a light load and adds weight only once the movement is clean.
How many times a week should I come?
Two or three times a week is enough to start, with a rest day in between. Later on, many members come three to five times.
Is it only for young people and athletes?
No. Students, parents and people who have never played a sport do the same movements. Only the weight and the pace change.
What is the CrossFit Open?
It’s CrossFit’s yearly online competition. It runs for a few weeks, a new WOD comes out each week, and people around the world do it in their own gyms. There’s a version for every level.
Your first class starts with a message.
Message us on WhatsApp, pick a day and come in. The coach meets you at the door and shows you everything.