An Innovative Sport That Redefines Functional Training

The world of sports is a well-established system with its own rules and principles, which cannot be changed and something fundamentally new can be introduced. That was until 2000 when Greg Glassman invented his own sport, which was called CrossFit. This system quickly gained immense popularity among athletes around the globe. Let’s learn more about the origin of this trend and its spread around the world.

The Story of a Man Who Turned Our Ideas About Sports

The inventor of the system known as CrossFit is Greg Glassman, who worked as a simple trainer in the gym. Greg was born in the family of a scientist in 1956 in California. It was from his father that he adopted a passion for the in-depth study of processes and the invention of new principles and techniques. As a child, Glassman faced a severe illness called polio, which destroyed his muscle tone and left him weak and helpless. The future creator of CrossFit did not want to put up with what was happening and decided to fight the disease no matter what. Sport came to the aid of the boy in all its diversity. Greg began to intensively engage in swimming, gymnastics, weightlifting, running, and other sports. His illness required enormous efforts from him to develop muscles and maintain tone. It was thanks to his illness that he studied many sports and managed to use their features to maintain muscle tone.

The love of sports led Greg to work as a coach in the gym. He treated his work extremely responsibly and with great dedication, trying to find the perfect training system for each of his clients. To this end, he recommended to his wards, in addition to lifting weights and classical exercises, to add elements from other disciplines, such as gymnastics, yoga, and athletics, to their training program. This approach did not suit the club’s management and Glassman was fired.

Greg did not despair and decided to teach his own training methodology in a hall rented at his own expense. Rumors about the new system soon spread throughout the city and attracted a huge number of applicants for innovative training. Greg’s training technique was especially popular with firefighters, rescuers, military and police officers, as they could not only improve their muscle tone but also significantly improve their agility, coordination and endurance through high-intensity exercises from a variety of sports, which was necessary for daily performance. responsibilities.

Inventing the system and spreading the brand

Gaining more and more popularity among the local police and healthy lifestyle enthusiasts, Greg decided to create his own brand, which would allow him to promote his technique to the masses. The name CrossFit indicates that this sport combines elements from different disciplines and is aimed at the fastest possible development of the body. Already in 2001, Reebok became a sponsor of this training system and developed a clothing line specifically for CrossFit.

Thanks to the effectiveness of the program and advertising campaign, already in 2005, 13 CrossFit gyms were opened across America. The growth of popularity did not stop attracting more and more clients, and already in 2013, Greg celebrated the opening of the 10,000th-anniversary hall. In 2015, CrossFit gyms became a truly international phenomenon with over 20,000 gyms around the world.
The popularity of this system has become truly unprecedented. Fan communities on social networks left laudatory reviews and shared successes with their followers. Since 2007, it was decided to establish international CrossFit competitions, for which already in 2010 more than 50,000 athletes from all over the world applied for participation.

At the moment, CrossFit continues to develop and open new gyms with enviable regularity. Each CrossFit-branded gym has a staff of certified trainers who have been specially trained to work with clients. Such gyms have the necessary equipment for a variety of exercises, both with their own weight and with weights.

The Main Features of CrossFit

A distinctive feature of this training system is its flexibility and unpredictability. Classical sports force athletes to train according to almost the same program, which gets boring very soon and hinders the progress of performance due to the fact that the muscles quickly get used to the same type of load.

In the case of CrossFit, you never know what to expect from your next workout, which is also a positive thing that affects the body’s ability to quickly respond and adapt to unexpected conditions.
According to the author of the program, CrossFit aims to improve ten body systems: cardiovascular system, respiratory system, muscle endurance, flexibility, strength, accuracy, agility, coordination, power, and balance. Such a high degree of influence on the body is achieved through a combination of exercises from weightlifting, pylometry, yoga, martial arts, powerlifting, gymnastics, kettlebell lifting, running, and other types.

In addition to diversity, a feature of CrossFit is its high intensity. Exercises replace one another at a very high speed with almost no rest, which makes the athlete activate all the resources of the body.
At the moment, due to the peculiarities of this training system, the Greg Glassman methodology has been adopted for mandatory use in the training of police, military, and schoolchildren in some educational institutions. Even the Royal Danish Life Guards undergo a mandatory CrossFit course, as does the well-known Miami Marlins baseball team.

In order to become a CrossFit coach, you can apply on the official website and take specialized courses. During the coronavirus pandemic, a special system of online classes was developed, which made it possible to study without leaving home.

Discover the Amazing and Diverse World of CrossFit!

As you can see, the effectiveness of Greg Glassman’s training technique has been tested not only by his devoted fans but also by the military, professional athletes, and police officers. A professional approach will help you quickly get in shape and achieve the desired results. As part of the CrossFit program, training is provided for different ages and even for older people. Such exercises will help to maintain health and maintain the tone of the whole organism for as long as possible. Become part of a huge and active community and let yourself discover new facets of modern sports!