CrossFit... What is it?

A couple of years ago Zumba was all the rage. You couldn't watch TV without a commercial selling videos. Xbox Kinect also made a few Kinect video games for it. It was a huge new revolution! Now it's died down. I still do Zumba for many reasons. 1. The rage had died down, it's not nearly as jammed packed in classes now. 2. It's great cardio 3. it's so much fun 4. It has given me so much more confidence with my husband ;) and in the very rare times I go to a club. Zumba is a great workout, I do it a few times in the week, I highly recommend it for anyone. I'd even recommend it for those who want to CrossFit but are still a little overweight or are scared to try it out. It's great for working out your heart. Plus, Zumba is starting to do songs that are just about your arms, legs or abs! so you get to start working out those muscles as well. I digress. 

But now I feel like the new thing is CrossFit.

What exactly is CrossFit?

Well, according to Wikipedia, CrossFit is a "strength and conditioning program designed to help people gain a broad and general fitness". CrossFit incorporates a lot of different exercises together. I have been to a class and I gotta say it was pretty intense. It's not something you can jump into expecting to come out feeling like a champ. That class kicked my ass. In the classes defense though, I was very overweight. If I tried to do what I do now I would have had the same reaction. 

The above hierarchy is basically what CrossFit is about. CrossFit has the same concept of Zumba: keep moving. "Constantly varied, high intensity, functional movement" You want your heart rate to keep going, never giving it a rest, working those muscles to get stronger. In CrossFit you're involving your own body weight (also like Zumba) or using heavy weights.

When I was the class, we did a lot of squats, lunges, push ups, high intensity cardio moves. Some with weights some without. I did most of it without weights just because it was my first time, which I recommend for anyone. 

The point of CrossFit is to work out every single muscle, in a different way. A lot of workouts aren't just squats or lunges. You could also work out your shoulders as well or your back while doing squats or lunges.

I highly recommend this style of exercise for those who are a bit more fit, those who have lost a lot of their wight already and want to tone and tighten. Your heart rate is going to go through the roof and if your heart can't handle it, it could be dangerous. Also, make sure you're doing these workouts properly. If you do a simple move the wrong way, you could seriously injure something or pull a muscle.

What are your opinions on CrossFit? Do you have any workouts that you do and love?