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CrossFit begins with a belief in fitness. The aim of CrossFit is to forge a broad, general, and inclusive fitness. We have sought to build a program that will best prepare trainees for any physical contingency—not only for the unknown, but for the unknowable. After looking at all sport and physical tasks collectively, we asked what physical skills and adaptations would most universally lend themselves to performance advantage. Capacity culled from the intersection of all sports demands would quite logically lend itself well to all sport. In sum, our specialty is not specializing.

CrossFit is an evidence-based fitness program. We believe that meaningful statements about safety, efficacy, and efficiency, the three most important and interdependent facets of any fitness program, can be supported only by measurable, observable, repeatable facts, i.e., data. The CrossFit methodology depends on full disclosure of methods, results, and criticisms, and we’ve employed the Internet as our primary means to support these values. Our charter is open source, making co-developers out of participating coaches, athletes, and trainers through a spontaneous and collaborative online community. CrossFit is empirically driven, clinically tested, and community developed.

We define fitness as increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains. Capacity is the ability to do real work, which is measurable using the basic terms of physics (mass, distance, and time). Life is unpredictable (much more so than sport) so real world fitness must be broad and not specialized, both in terms of duration and type of effort (time and modal domains).

The magic is in the movements. All of CrossFit’s workouts are based on functional movements. These are the core movements of life, found everywhere, and built naturally into our DNA. They move the largest loads the longest distances so they are ideal for maximizing the amount of work done in the shortest time (intensity).

By employing a constantly varied approach to training, these functional movements at maximum intensity (relative to the physical and psychological tolerances of the participant), lead to dramatic gains in fitness. Intensity is essential for results and is measurable as work/time. The more work you do in less time, the more intense the effort.

In implementation, CrossFit is, quite simply, the “sport of fitness.” We’ve learned that harnessing the natural camaraderie, competition, and fun of sport or game yields an intensity that cannot be matched by other means. The late Col. Jeff Cooper observed that “the fear of sporting failure is worse than the fear of death.” It is our observation that men will die for points. Using whiteboards as scoreboards, keeping accurate scores and records, running a clock, and precisely defining the rules and standards for performance, we not only motivate unprecedented output but derive both relative and absolute metrics at every workout. This data has important value well beyond motivation.

Yes! CrossFit is not just about olympic lifting, gymnastics, powerlifting or endurance training. CrossFit is for anyone who wishes to achieve elite-level performance in their athletic capability. Whether you enjoy running, triathlons, mma, football, lacrosse, skiing or any other sport, CrossFit can help you attain new levels in your fitness.

A TRIATHLETE'S EXPERIMENT

Understanding that the idea of CrossFit is not to specialize in any one area, there are areas of focus that do receive additional attention in the CrossFit community.

1. Endurance
2. Football
3. Gymnastics
4. Kettlebells
5. Mobility
6. Olympic Lifting
7. Power Lifting
8. Rowing
9. Running
10. Striking

At CrossFit Sandstorm, we offer all new customers the CrossFit On-Ramp Program. This 4 week program is designed to cover all fundamental movements of CrossFit. The On-Ramp Program is mandatory for any new athlete wishing to partake in our classes. By ensuring the On-Ramp Program is completed, the Coaches at CrossFit Sandstorm will know you have what it takes to complete any WOD.

Any athlete is given the opportunity to test-out of the On-Ramp Program. They will be required to demostrate functional CrossFit movements and complete a basic WOD. Any athlete who successfully tests out of the On-Ramp Program does not need to enter the 4 week fundamentals program.

Absolutely not! CrossFit was designed for everyone; functional movements that anyone can do in a set period of time. If you attend our CrossFit classes, you will not get "big" or "bulky" but, you will put on muscle. Muscle that you should have. Muscles that would help you lift a bag of dog food, push a dolly or wheelbarrow, change a flat tire, split some firewood, climb a tree. Yes, I said climb a tree. Many of the functional movements of CrossFit come from the basic movements of our caveman ancestors. Movements for survival and movements that we stress. You will be challenged to performed olympic lifts, challenged to perform pull-ups, rowing, running, jumping rope, and flipping tires, but you will not get big and bulky. You will develop lean muscle mass that your body needs to perform basic functional movements. If you don't believe us, just look at some pictures from the CrossFit Games and see if anyone looks big and bulky.

Absolutely! CrossFit is a core strength and conditioning program. Each workout you do helps to create lean muscle mass and drop body fat. In addition, the more CrossFit workouts you complete, the more you are going to need to clean up your diet. The reason is you'll need the proper nutrition to complete WODs at maximum effort. After a month or 2 of doing CrossFit, you will actually want to stop eating processed foods and refined sugars. You will want to live a healthier lifestyle. You may actually engage in the Paleo or Zone diets (preferred by many CrossFit athletes). So just think of it this way; you will be adding lean muscle, developing excellent endurance, eating healthy and losing weight, all at the same time.

Of course! All of the Coaches at CrossFit Sandstorm are (at a minimum) CrossFit Level 1 Certified. We are willing to sit down and talk with you about CrossFit and even offer up the opportunity to watch either, a full workout of the day (WOD) or an introductory On-Ramp session. Sometimes seeing CrossFit in person really helps in understanding how it works. So if you are shy, intimidated, not sure, uneasy, out-of-shape, overweight, have doubts, concerned about getting bulky, etc. we encourage you to come in and meet with us to really understand why CrossFit is becoming the new fitness standard in exercise.