In the past few years CrossFit has been capturing the eyes of many individuals from around the world. With their affiliate gyms popping up everywhere, it seems that CrossFit is carving out its own unique niche within the fitness industry. If you were to log on to any social media site, there are many CrossFit fan pages, videos, and advertisements on where you can do this type of physical training. The question to be asked: Is CrossFit for everyone? And with popularity and large masses of people doing it, what are the pros and cons?
The CrossFit corporation is not a franchise, but you can buy into their affiliate program, which costs $3000 and you must take and pass their Level 1 Certificate Course, which cost $1000. Once you take and pass this course, you are now eligible to apply to be an affiliate of CrossFit.
This is where some of the bad publicity comes into play with CrossFit, and it has been getting a lot of press in the health and fitness industry. Are the individuals who are becoming business owners of affiliate CrossFit gyms experienced enough to run such a facility, and do they have enough training experience? We know that CrossFit is an excellent system if the right trainers are in place to teach these methods. If the wrong instructors/trainers are not qualified and the only training they have taken is the Level 1 Certification Course, then this is not a good sign. This is when CrossFit needs to focus their attention on due diligence and really qualify individuals before granting a CrossFit affiliate license. If the qualifications are stricter, it will create more credibility within the health and fitness industry.
For the CrossFit Affiliate gym who has well-qualified trainers and coaches, this is an amazing experience that all individuals can benefit from. These CrossFit gyms are able to work with the novice and the super advanced athlete, and have a progression system in place. They are able to modify the WOD (workout of the day) for any level of fitness and still make it effective. An example of a WOD is doing an overhead squat, dead-lift and hang power snatch, which will all be timed for a certain amount of rounds, and the weight can be modified based on your level of experience.
The science behind CrossFit has some great advantages, for all levels of fitness. With the correct guidance you can create some excellent results and fitness gains. Learning to lift with power, explosiveness and correct biomechanics was something that only the athletes and professional lifters knew how to do and could benefit from. Now, the general population is getting introduced to this style of training, and they are able to reap its rewards. With CrossFit, you are utilizing full body movements, which mean you are using various muscle groups to complete a task. These specific tasks are functional type of movements that create full muscle recruitment, which in turn burns a lot of calories, but also stimulates muscle growth and fat loss. Granted the loads are heavier in CrossFit, but when focused on the movement and doing it for a certain time frame, the amount of calories burned and the muscles used will create a great fitness workout routine. It is not about doing two-hour workouts with CrossFit, it is about the intensity of the exercises and the muscles that are completing that motion that give CrossFit its unique fitness niche that produces amazing results.
If you are an experienced fitness enthusiast and you are looking for a great way to take your fitness to the next level, taking a few CrossFit classes could add some variation to your routine. When using a combination of muscular endurance, power and strength movements, and cardiorespiratory training, you can achieve great fitness gains. As with all fitness facilities, find the CrossFit Affiliate gym that is right for you. Most cities have various locations so check them all out and see which one is the best fit.
Kisar S. Dhillon is a professional fitness trainer living in Portland, Oregon. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Kinesiology, Post Baccalaureate Studies in Exercise Physiology and a Master’s in Business Administration. He has 17-years experience in the health and fitness industry and is currently the owner of 1-2-1 Fitness, LLC. You can follow him on Twitter and on YouTube.
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