Saturday 28th August 2010

Over the next week we're going to be introducing some of the people and websites that have influenced us in our training and lifestyle.

First on the list has to be our number one inspiration, often referred to as 'Main Site' or simply 'dot com' in the CrossFit world, it's....CrossFit Main Site

CrossFit was developed by Greg and Lauren Glassman in Santa Cruz, CA  who opened their own fitness facility in 2002.  Without the need for advertising the popularity of their gym soon grew, largely due to the highly successful training methods, effective and functional equipment that could not be found in other commercial gyms and a valuable sense of community spirit among members.  In 2003 the first CrossFit affiliated gym opened in Washington State and since then a further 2000+ affiliated gyms have opened worldwide from Brazil to Japan, Australia to Iceland.  Rather than working as a franchise, CrossFit is based on an open source model making information freely available online.

From the beginning, the aim of CrossFit has been to forge a broad, general and inclusive fitness that prepares its participants for any physical contingency.  The CrossFit program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience.  The skills and adaptations developed lend themselves to all physical tasks giving participants a natural life advantage.  CrossFit is not a specialized fitness program but rather it focuses on competency in each of the ten recognized fitness domains; cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy.  It does this by prescribing constantly varied, functional movements performed at high intensity (intensity is relative therefore exercise prescription can be adapted for anyone from elite rugby players to sedentary, elderly women), thus eliciting optimal muscular, cardiovascular and motor adaptations.

Safety, efficacy and efficiency are the three most important facets of CrossFit and are supported by measurable, observable and repeatable facts, i.e. valid data.  This allows trainers to see their consistent progress and provides an important means of motivation – one of the many reasons that CrossFit gyms experience retention rates twice that of most commercial gyms.  The implementation of CrossFit is akin to sport – in fact, CrossFit has been labelled the sport of fitness.  Through harnessing the natural camaraderie, competition and fun of sport and games, CrossFit training yields an intensity that cannot be matched by other means.  CrossFit guides people of all abilities toward improved health and athletic ability through workouts that are fun, challenging and varied.

I highly recommend you check out the CrossFit Main Site.  Have a read through the FAQs and watch videos of exercises and workouts.

Also the CrossFit Journal is an invaluable source of information on everything from nutrition to learning the Olympic lifts to injury rehabilition and so much more.

Thursday 26th August 2010

Things are progressing nicely at CrossFit Leeds.  Artwork has begun on the walls and the platforms went down yesterday, as well as the rest of the matting, which has really made the place come to life.

We're on target for opening Monday 6th September - more on that coming shortly.

CrossFit Velocity Divided We Fall Games

CrossFit Velocity are hosting the next competition in the UK CrossFit calendar.  The Divided We Fall Games in association with RazorStorm and Concept 2 are being held on Saturday October 23rd in Swansea and CrossFit Leeds will be there.  This is a team competition with 4 per team and at least 1 female in each team.  We're looking to take as many people as possible down to Swansea so if you enjoy a bit of friendly competition and want to get involved get in touch and let us know.

Further details on the Divided We Fall Games can be found here

Tuesday 24th August 2010

If you haven't heard of Kelly Starrett, AKA Kstar, you need to check him out.  This guy is the man when it comes to mobility and rehabilitation and luckily for us he's just started blogging a daily mobility WOD.  Check out the first installment below and add this site to your favourites - a small amount of pain for a lifetime's gain.

The Beginning

Welcome to the CrossFit Leeds Blog

Here you'll be able to find our Workout of the Day (WOD) and an abundance of useful information on health, fitness and anything else that makes life more enjoyable and interesting.

As work progresses with the new gym we'll be posting plenty of updates and pictures so you can watch us grow and see all your lovely new equipment arriving.  Throw comments at us and let us know what you want from CrossFit Leeds!

Grand opening is currently planned for the first weekend of September, but we'll have a definite announcement and more details on that coming soon.

Thanks for joining us.