Until I came to college, I was pretty sure that CrossFit was just something that gymrats made fun of when someone asked them if they were doing cardio that day. Apparently, as I’ve been told many times in the last few months, I was very wrong. Yesterday, when my friend told me that pull-ups were just too easy for him, now, I finally conceded that point. So if it’s not a joke, then what is it?

People not involved in CrossFit (like myself) would be tempted to describe it as a mixture of cardio, weightlifting, and gymnastics exercises. CrossFitters often have a problem with that. It’s not that it’s wrong, but that definition doesn’t really describe what the experience of doing CrossFit is actually like.

CrossFit was founded by Greg Glassman, the company's current CEO. Glassman defines fitness as “increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains,” and developed the CrossFit training method in order to further its participants fitness over the course of more than a decade. The trouble with traditional training methods is that they are relatively cyclical and stagnant. How does one get bigger biceps? Traditional weightlifting proponents would answer that you do a hell of a lot of curls. CrossFit doesn’t try to give you bigger biceps. CrossFit tries to make you stronger, and as a result, your biceps will get bigger. I promise.

The other major aspect of CrossFit that always comes up is the sense of community they get from their clubs and classes. One CrossFitter, Lauren Winkler of Marin, CA, described her experience with CrossFit as “an exhilarating way to master a skill. It’s definitely a lifestyle and everyone is really supportive of one another”. Another, Matt Karlson of Montville, N.J., said “most Crossfit athletes were competitive athletes at some point in their lives. Crossfit is a way to experience that competitive aspect again without having to train for years in order to acquire the skill necessary to compete. That's why so many people get addicted after their second or third class, it's just really fun… It’s playtime for adults!”

I think that the last way that Matt described the sport captures the essence of Crossfit particularly well. It’s not about the athletics as much as it is about getting to play with your friends. That’s why people keep coming back.

The fact that two people from opposite ends of the country had such positive and similar things to say about CrossFit, to me, shows just how extensive the reach of CrossFit’s message has become over the last several years. CrossFit has grown from a small fitness program into an International sport, which is gaining traction among people of all ages.

The biggest CrossFit competition of the year, The CrossFit Open, started last Thursday. This is the major community event for CrossFit, in which a new workout is posted every week for five consecutive weeks. At the close of the submission window for each workout, athletes are ranked on their scores by age, state, region, and country. The open also serves as a preliminary qualifying round for the CrossFit Games, the sort of World Cup of CrossFit, which seeks to find the best CrossFitter in the world. The victor of the Games is granted the title of “fittest man/woman in the world.” The cool part of the CrossFit Open and Games is that someone who started doing CrossFit at their local gym last week could compete in them. It is, in this way, unlike any other professional sport in the world. It’s entirely open. All you have to do is sign up, be one hell of an athlete, and you could be “the fittest man on earth.”