CrossFit defines fitness as increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains. This means being able to do more stuff in less time. To be able to accurately measure our fitness we need to keep track of certain performance markers. Much like body composition you would want to track your weight, body fat percentage and waist measurements, we track workouts and strength numbers. We periodically test certain workouts and lifts to make sure we are on the right path!
So how do we assess our fitness?
You could go super technical and start looking at V02 maxes, speed gate testing or force/accelerometer jump tests, but for the average person looking to get fit, this is overkill. Sure, you could say you’re fit if you can run a 6-minute mile, but if you can’t squat your own bodyweight then I’d say there’s some imbalance in your fitness. CrossFit aims to have a good balance in all aspects of fitness instead of specialising in just one thing. The 10 general physical skills outlined by Gregg Glassman are; CV endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy.
Markers of fitness: Some good benchmarks in CrossFit include Helen, Grace and Fran. Front Squat, Deadlift and Bench Press. And of course, 2km row. All of which we have tested at ION at the end of the last block.
We are very specific with our strength blocks here at ION and work off specific percentages during the majority of classes, so regularly inputting your data at the end of class will help to keep your estimated 1RM’s up to date so we are working off the correct percentages! On the flip side, If you have taken time off from training then it’s best not to use your old percentages as they will most likely be higher than current strength levels.
The best use of Wodify is not to compare your daily WOD scores to other people in the box, but to track your daily progress so that when you look back at the end of an 8-week strength cycle or interval rowing block, the improvements are clearly displayed in a nice graph with the kg’s going up or the times coming down! Wodify celebrates the small victories, it will give you a nice gold star whenever you hit a PB in workouts or in day to day strength portion of classes, this can help people stay motivated.
As CrossFit seeks to increase work capacity, we need to be able to measure that capacity to have an accurate representation of our fitness and show that the training is working. It is important to adhere to the workout standards (Hitting depth on squats, full lockout on thrusters, not cutting reps off a WOD etc.) otherwise we cannot accurately keep track of progress if the standards are not met.
So, keep logging your workouts in to Wodify and you can look back in a year from now and see how much fitter a human being you have become!