We talk about fitness a lot in CrossFit, but what does that actually mean?

Greg Glassman was the first person to provide a measurable definition of fitness when he developed the CrossFit program – “work capacity across broad time and modal domains.”

By creating a measurable definition of fitness we are able to test and assess individual fitness levels.

The 3 standards of fitness that CrossFit is designed to meet are:

• The 10 general physical skills:

  • Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance

  • Stamina

  • Strength

  • Flexibility

  • Power

  • Coordination

  • Agility

  • Balance

  • Accuracy.

• The performance of athletic tasks: being able to perform well at unknown tasks in all types of variations and rep schemes.

• Competency and training in the energy systems:

  • Phosphagen pathway (max power-less than 10 seconds)

  • Glycolytic pathway (moderate power-up to several minutes)

  • Oxidative pathway (low power-longer than several minutes).

Meeting these standards helps ensure broad, general, and inclusive fitness. In order to pursue this definition of fitness, we perform constantly varied, functional movements, executed at a relatively high intensity. The CrossFit athlete is a jack of all trades and master of none. CrossFit’s specialty is not specializing in any one area. The sports and training techniques that CrossFit draws from include interval training, gymnastics, and weightlifting.

For more on how CrossFit defines fitness, and how that fitness is achieved through training and lifestyle, we highly recommend you check out the original article from the CrossFit journal, here.