A word on fitness

One of the readerrs had asked about information regarding crossfit.

While it is not for everybody (because nothing ever is), I have been pretty impressed with what I have seen and experienced through it. 

Now, to declare my ignorance on the subject, let me first say that I am not certified by, affiliated with, or trained in the particulars of crossift. I came across it by accident while going through a tactical medicine course. If there are any readers out there who are, and would like to have me publish something more accurate or detailed on the program, then feel free to post something to comments (I am lousy about checking my messages), and I would be more than happy to allow the use of this site for further education on the subject.

One of the subjects covered was the health and fitness of tactical teams, and what kind of programs you should consider to help your team to be physically prepared for the demands of the profession, especially including how to avoid training injuries, which are a constant -and I mean constant- danger to operators.

Well, as it would turn out, the guy sitting next to me was a former Corpsman with Force Recon and in absolutely incredible shape. We ended up talking about fitness routines, and he *is* a certified trainer, and after hearing him describe things, I decided to give it a try, and I have been pretty impressed with the results.

Like all fitness programs, you will only get out of it what you put into it. 

This should definitely not be a suprise.

Generally speaking, Crossfit starts with the understanding that fitness entails a wided number of attributes, like strentgh, endurance, flexibility, balance, etc., etc. The way that you improve all of these elementsis not through muscle regimens which "isolate" and "target" muscles, but use more complex motions to produce work. Large body movements are the norm. There is also a lot of body weight exercises like push-ups and pull-ups.

What is most remarkable, IMHO, though, is the variation. During a session, you will often be doing multiple different tasks, at speed in a circuit. Not always, but often. There are a modest number of "maximum effort" sessions, but most routines are set up where you will do a circuit of three to five complex  exercises, of varying reptitions. the number of reps is usually influenced by you roverall fitness level. SO, you will do 5 of exercise A, 10 of exercise B, ten of exercise C, and 15 of exercise D, and you will repeat thisthree to five times.

So, what I have found is that first, you do not get bored. This is probably the greatest advantage of crossfit. There is such variabilty that each day is a challenge, and not a routine. 

You also will always be sore since the variation impairs your body's ability to develop a tolerance to specific tasks.

But it's agood kind of hurt.

The exercises are also scalable, so that by increasing the complexity, resistance or repitions involved, you will get a workout without being defeated by an insurmountable obstacle. btw, the exercises for beginners may look like childs play, but then you get this funny look on your face about a third of the way through it when you realize that it is *not* as easy as you had imagined it in your mind. This look turns into something like panic when you are two thirds done, and you are realizing that this workout you took so nonchalantly is going to *waste* you.

So, Here are a couple of links.

First there is a link to what is a forum for daily workouts:

In it, you will see the daily workout posted. I recommend that you wait a couple of days to see what the scalings are, and to get a fee for the points of the workout by seeing what others posted. Please remember that this is a free forum to access, and the people who are putting it up are doing so out of the goodness of their heart, and their desire to see the program succeed.

Here is the main crossft site .
  This has a lot of information, but most useful is the list of "exercises and demos " which comes in real handy when you do not know what a sumo deadlift high pull is.

I use this in conjunction with Krav Maga (also known for it's emphasis on physical fitness).

Together, these two things form the foundation of my physical fitness routine.

As always, YMMV.

Respectfully Submitted,
-doc Russia