Trying Crossfit: A Fitness Practice that Fits Your Body Movements

Credit: Courtesy Crossfit Vancouver

Crossfit allows you to achieve results without killing yourself

I first heard about Crossfit through a friend who worked at lululemon athletica. Then I started seeing it on Facebook newsfeeds. It didn’t take long for me to decide I had to try it out for myself

Every day I look for efficient new ways to improve my life and my health. Turns out Crossfit is perfect for that. A conditioning and strength-based fitness practice that promotes overall physical fitness, it allows you to achieve physical and mental results without spending too much time working for them.

Step 1: Understanding Crossfit

I booked my first session—a two-hour initial workout—for a Friday at 6 am, though I wasn’t sure how I could possibly work out for two hours at 6 am.

I was greeted by a chipper trainer named Corey Lapell, who started by telling me about the history of Crossfit.

In the late 1990s, Crossfit was developed in Santa Cruz, California by Greg Glassman, whose mission was to develop a code for fitness via clinical trial (measuring inputs and output).

The code for fitness covers three foundations:



1. Functional Movements: Movements that are based on real-world natural movements
2. Intensity: The amount of energy, strength and concentration required
3. Variance: Intermixing types of exercises for different lengths of time

Step 2: Crossfit Fitness Assessment

After learning about the history, it was time for my fitness evaluation, which is done so I can monitor my improvements.

My fitness evaluation consisted of:

• Warm up
• Jog around the block
• 400m run while holding a medicine ball
• Push-ups
• Pull-ups
• Sit-ups
• 8 rounds of squats for 20 seconds to see how many I could do (I got to rest for 10 seconds between each 20-second set)

I felt great afterward, and learning what I was able to complete makes me want to improve my current scores. It is always worth trying something new to see if it works for you.

As winter approaches I will be entering the Crossfit program to test out its theories and evaluate the changes in my mind and body. I am always looking for ways to improve everything I do and Crossfit will be a great addition to my life.

Want to try a class? You can download an elite coupon for a free class, and learn more about Crossfit.

Blair Kaplan is the owner and CEO of Living Free Canada, Canada’s online health and wellness community which features elite coupons from companies that reflect a fun and healthy lifestyle. She began writing at an early age with a column in the Winnipeg Parent Newsmagazine and has been published in various publications around North America. She fell in love with blogging in May 2009. E-mail Blair.