What is Crossfit?

CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide. From the beginning the aim of Crossfit has been to forge broad, general, and inclusive fitness. We sought to build a program that would best prepare trainees for any physical contingency- prepare them not only for the unknown but for the unknowable. Looking at all sports and physical tasks collectively, we asked what physical skills and adaptations would most universally lend themselves to performance advantage. In sum, our specialty is not specializing. Crossfit’s prescription is “constantly varied functional movements done at high intensity.” No aspect of functional movements is more important than their capacity to move large loads over long distances, and to do so quickly. In implementation, CrossFit is, quite simply, a sport—the “sport of fitness.” We’ve learned that harnessing the natural camaraderie, competition, and fun of sport or game yields an intensity that cannot be matched by other means.

CrossFit Journal: The Performance-Based Lifestyle Resource