The CrossFit Series: Part Two - Common Terms

Now there’s no way to fully understand CrossFit if you do not understand some of the basic terms you will hear almost every day.

The first term is “WOD.” It sounds funny to say that you will be doing a WOD every day in CrossFit, but WOD simply means Workout of the Day. These WODs can be performed in your local gym or in a CrossFit box. Notice I said box, not gym, because CrossFit prides itself on the aspect of community that is developed in your box. It’s a place where there will be failures, achievements and encouragement no matter what the outcome of your workout is. Some workouts are so intense that you almost need a fellow athlete willing you on to finish that last pull-up or back squat.

The next term is “AMRAP.” This might be the second most commonly used term in Crossfit besides wod. AMRAP stands for As Many Rounds As Possible. Large portions of CrossFit workouts are developed in the round system. For example, if I were to say that I’m doing a 12 minute AMRAP of 12 back squats, 10 burpees and 8 pull-ups, that would mean I would perform one round of each of those exercises, then cycle back through as many times as possible with a 12-minute time cap.

“Those who train in Crossfit tend to be slimmer and are better suited for endurance in these workouts,” said Alex Federov, a student at Merrimack College.

The last three terms all fall under the category of Olympic lifting. Olympic lifting is rarely utilized in local gyms, so these next three exercises are usually almost obsolete in the minds of first-time CrossFitters. The first exercise is the snatch. Snatching involves a wide-gripped deadlift pull and a shrug of the barbell into an overhead hold position similar to an overhead press, just with a wider grip.

Next is the clean. Cleaning involves almost an identical starting position and pull as a deadlift. The only difference between the two exercises is that at the top of your deadlift, a clean calls for a firing of the hips in order to bring the barbell to the shoulders of the athlete. The last exercise is the clean and jerk. This exercise is essentially a clean with a drop of the hips once the barbell is at the shoulders so the athlete can then push the barbell into an overhead press position.

“Olympic lifting is good because it trains explosiveness and precision. Exercises like cleans and snatches require a lot of technical skill to complete the right movement to finish the lift,” said Doug Summerlin, a student at UMD.

These three exercises are the most technical barbell movements and demand technique that CrossFit establishes before they are implemented in WODs and AMRAPs. The most difficult WODs are those that involve an Olympic lift, cardiovascular exercise and body weight exercises.

“CrossFitters tend to do workouts more oriented around overall fitness with this combination of movements and that’s what appeals to me the most,” Joe Taylor, a student at the University of Maryland says.