At RIP Training, we are affiliated with CrossFit. It has been a foundational part of our gyms and our methods for training. Put quite simply, we believe it CrossFit because it works. One of the original tenants of CrossFit that came from the founder Greg Glassman over 20 years ago was show us something that works better for overall fitness and we will adopt it. This is shown to be true in the way that our regular programming will incorporate some of the best aspects from many other sports such as running, gymnastics, weightlifting, powerlifting, strongman, rowing and others.
Even to this day with CrossFit being a household name and many people having used it training methods for years, most still don’t know what CrossFit actually is and how it is defined as a training method. So the first thing is the definition of CrossFit – Constantly Varied Functional Movements performed at High Intensity. And the second is the goal of the CrossFit training method – to improve work capacity across broad time and modal domains. This results in CrossFit being know as a GPP program, whish stands for general physical preparedness.
So, now that we know what CrossFit actually is lets talk about that first part of the definition, Constantly Varied. Now what does that mean? Well in regards to our training method it means that we will use loads from light to heavy, time domains from short to long and do this will all different types of functional movements. So is Constantly Varied just random then? No, definitely not. With any good GPP program there is always a method to the madness and just randomly picking out different movements and workout structures would result in its own issues over an extended period of time.
But why Constantly Varied? Well the main reason is because we are trying to build a broad and inclusive level of fitness that means we are well rounded in every aspect of our fitness, not just really good in one or a few areas. So this means that we need to vary the length of workouts, the types of movements we do and the weights that we lift regularly in order to be hitting as many areas as possible and not leaving any big gaps in our fitness.
Having constantly varied programming doesn’t mean there can’t be structure though. We can still have periods in which we will focus more one aspect of fitness or bias a certain skill we want to develop or movement we want to practise. This is very common place and allows those who do this style of training to stay engaged and see quicker progress in one area whilst still improving their overall fitness and capacity in other areas.
There are many different types of training out there these days that will all have different levels of variance and this is a good thing. But keep in mind that some will have more true variance than others and that if you want to be the most well rounded in your fitness then having the most amount of variance will be important.
