In a corner, a man single handedly jumps over 3.5 feet to stand on a box, on the other end, a woman flips over a 100 kg tyre with ease and there are many others thrusting and pulling weights of 40 kgs in a set of 21-15-9 each, in just about two minutes. And if you were wondering what all of this is about, here’s the answer. This is the usual scenario at Potens Fitness, where people come in for crossfit training.
Crossfit which has constantly varied high intensity functional movements is the fitness regime that has caught on with many who don’t just want to be a size zero, but want to be fit. Talking about the training regime, Sandeep Gadde, a crossfit level 1 trainer, says, “There are a varied number of workouts that we do within a stipulated amount of time. There are many layers to it like endurance, strength and conditioning.
For example, there is the Fran, which has two movements — thrusting and pulling weights. While men lift weights of around 42 kgs, women lift 30 kg weights. They have to do both the movements for 21, 15 and 9 times each. And all of this, an elite level person (one of the advanced level of crossfit) can do in just about two minutes.”
That’s the whole point of crossfit, to do the functional movements as fast as you can.” And crossfit, Sandeep says, is not just for athletes. “There are no prerequisites for crossfit. Anybody can do it. But yes, when they join, depending on the mechanics or the form of the person we may lower down the intensity. With time, they can increase the weights within a decreased amount of time,” he says.
Many from the city are opting for crossfit because they believe it’s all about ‘whole’ fitness. “I used to go to a gym but I didn’t get the desired results. Last November, I joined crossfit. Earlier, I used to go for three classes a week but now I go for all six days. It’s an intense session and it’s not for someone who’s just looking to get thin. It’s for people who actually want to get healthy and fit,” says Shivangi, a working professional.
But when you are doing such a high intensity workout regime, injuries are bound to be there. “There will be injuries here and there. In the first few days, it’s quite painful and sometimes people throw up too. But once your body gets used to it, it’s not sour anymore. You also have a few cuts and marks because of the box jumps and more,” she adds.
Fitness enthusiast Rishikesh Kumar, who joined crossfit last December, too had a few injuries. “I had a muscle tear on my shoulder but it’s a part of the game. Over the days, I have gained better agility, my endurance level is more and of course, more strength. Crossfit is gaining popularity in the country now because it’s scientifically proven to be better than just going to gyms,” he says.
Sandeep, too, adds on the benefits of crossfit. “They are all functional movements like squatting, running and the first few days are tough. But the results are great. It has better neuro-endocrine response and also results in muscle growth. It doesn’t focus on the smaller muscles. Instead by focusing on the bigger muscles of the body, it results in better smaller muscle growth,” he says.
