O1xygenAustralianJulyAugust2015_

MOVE REPS WEIGHT

DEADLIFT 5 1.5x YOUR BODY WEIGHT

ROWING MACHINE 500 m N/A

THRUSTER 15 20KG BARBELL

HAND-RELEASE PUSH-UP 15 N/A

Do these for a

prescribed amount of

time, add a significant

amount of weight, and

you’ve got a typical

CrossFit workout. (Still

scratching your head?

For an in-depth look at this

latest fitness craze, see

“What the heck is CrossFit

anyway?” below.)

Because of its intensity,

the workout of the day

(or “WOD” – pronounced

“wad”) can be as shor t

as five minutes. “But

you don’ t show up, work

out for five minutes and

leave,” says Symonds. “You

do a thorough five- to

10-minute group warm-up,

thengointoa15-to

25-minute strength or skill

period, and then move into

the WOD, which can be five

to 25 minutes long.”

With Oxygen readers

in mind, Symonds has

designed a special

CrossFit workout, which

we have lovingly dubbed

“The Stacy”. This fast

and furious total-body

workout will increase your

strength, power and cardio

endurance, building muscle

and incinerating fat like

nothing else; use it to test

the upper limits of your

physical capabilities. Follow

the guidelines carefully

and give it your maximum

effort when needed, to

make the most of this

exclusive program.

YOUR

WOD

SET UP: Stand with

a loaded barbell

on the ground in

front of you, with

the bar just above

your toes. Squat

down and grasp

the bar with a

shoulder-width

overhand grip; in

this position, your

shoulders should

be just in front of

your knees[A].

ACTION: Extend

your legs, first from

the knees, then

the hips, to come

up into a standing

position;

ensure that the

bar stays close to

your body from the

beginning to the

end of the move

[B]. Push your hips

forward, then

reverse to return to

the start.

deadlift

TARGET MUSCLES: erector spinae,

gluteus maximus, quadriceps

A

B

The WOD

can be

as short

as five

minutes.

TRAINER’S TIP:

Always start and finish each rep with

the barbell on the ground.

Mix together a dash

of weightlifting, a

sprinkle of gymnastics

and a dollop of

metabolic cardio

conditioning, all

executed at max

intensity in a

designated period

of time, and you’ve

got CrossFit. This

supercharged form

of group exercise has

taken workouts to a

whole new level, with

centres popping up

all across the country.

It is so popular that

Reebok has signed

on as a sponsor of

the sport, as well as

the popular CrossFit

Games, and has even

come out with its own

line of Reebok CrossFit

apparel.

Each CrossFit

centre programmes

its own classes, which

change every day. If

you prefer to work

out on your own, you

can also go to crossfit.

com and download

the WOD to do at your

own gym.

Because CrossFit

is designed for

“universal scalability,”

anyone at any age and

ability level can do

the workouts. There is

also an overwhelming

sense of teamwork

with CrossFit, since

you’re generally in

competition with

yourself rather than

with others. “When

you do CrossFit, you’re

pushing yourself to

the max, and very

rarely do people get to

do that,” says Jordan

Symonds, co-owner

of Reebok CrossFit

Liberty Village in

Toronto, Canada.

“People bond over the

pain and hard work

WHAT THE HECK IS CROSSFIT ANYWAY?

SOME OF THE TYPICAL CROSSFIT

MOVES MAY LOOK FAMILIAR, BUT

THEIR STANDARDS DIFFER FROM

TRADITIONAL WEIGHTLIFTING

EXERCISES. (CHECK OUT THE

THRUSTER ON PAGE 94 FOR AN

EXAMPLE.) KEEP IN MIND THAT IF

YOU DON’T MEET THESE STANDARDS

DURING A REP, IT DOESN’T COUNT!

fact

140 | JULY/AUG 2015 | oxygenmag.com.au

Training