Even if you are a champion couch potato, chances are you would have heard of CrossFit. You may not know exactly what happens in a CrossFit gym (or boxes, as they are called in CrossFit language!) but you know it’s no walk in the park.

CrossFit workouts are based on functional movements and combine gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing and mono-structural endurance ie the exercises are performed for time or number of sets, with some going up to 100 repetitions.Termed as Workout of the Day (WOD), each session is usually done in a group of about 10 to 15 people for an hour and it includes a warming up and cooling down period.An example of a WOD would consist of running 800 metres, 100 reps push-ups, pull-ups, deadlifts, 50 squats and, of course, not forgetting plenty of burpees .Yes, definitely not for the faint-hearted. Since its introduction into Malaysia in early 2010, it has undoubtedly created a new and separate fitness community within the industry.

The CrossFit programme was developed by former gymnast Greg Glassman in 2000 and such workouts have since been adopted by the US Navy Seals, Canadian Army, police and special forces units worldwide.Today, there are millions in the CrossFit community with more than 13,000 CrossFit affiliates worldwide.

“CrossFit is not just about completing the workout and leaving but about meeting new people, helping each other out and having breakfast or drinks together after a session,” Like running for some runners, Jub said doing a CrossFit workout will eventually become “therapeutic”, adding that Crossfitters would also enjoy doing such workouts in the long run.

In Shah Alam, Fuel Athletics CrossFit head coach Matin Fayzal said CrossFit is different from other group workouts in the sense that it forces a member to learn the anatomy of a human body.
“So when you are doing a deadlift, to some, it may be just picking up the barbell from the floor, but in CrossFit, we teach why you do it and tell you which muscles or muscle groups are being used. As for Mohd Rasyid, who has been practising CrossFit for nine months now, the intense workout has improved his stamina and physique tremendously.

“I have done bootcamps and some kickboxing classes, but CrossFit has seriously transformed my stamina and strength to a whole new level,” he said.

While CrossFit has garnered much hype in the industry, it however has also received its fair share of negative comments; some say that such workouts do not emphasise on form and that continuously lifting in bad form would lead to injuries.

“I beg to differ as for the ordinary Crossfitter, we do emphasise on strict form every session, but it is up to them how they lift during a competition,” Jub said.During a CrossFit competition, Jub pointed that it is time-based, hence, most competitors usually aim at completing the course as soon as possible without focusing on form.

In terms of setting up a CrossFit box, a typical CrossFit box comprises several pull-up stations, ropes, barbells, plates, medicine balls, dumbbells, the cost of each equipment,it is far more expensive than those at a conventional gym.Crossfitters tend to drop their loaded barbells on the floor, our flooring, barbell and plates have to be durable, hence, the cost of each equipment, according to Matin, is far more expensive than those at a conventional gym.

Jub,said that to open a CrossFit gym here, one would need to pay a royalty of about US$1,000 to CrossFit’s headquarters in the US.Also among the criteria, Jub said, trainers must possess at least a Level 1 certificate with CrossFit.Without these, he said, the CrossFit headquarters can sue a gym owner that uses words such as WOD or functional workouts or simply using the word “CrossFit” in any part of his or her establishment.