Russ Greene (SFS ’09) is ready to pump you up! Greene started approaching fitness in a new way when he became a certified trainer for CrossFit, an exercise program held every week at Yates Field House. CrossFit is more than a program, however; it is a philosophy that focuses on the merits of vigor and strength over duration on various types of physical activities and how your ability can be enhanced through your own power. The CrossFit craze is spreading throughout the Internet, as members from around the world, including athletes, former Navy Seals and average exercisers post their workouts in a forum to compete.
What is CrossFit?
It is all based around the Web site www.crossfit.com, and it starts with the question, “What is fitness?” which is kind of a philosophical question. Most people define fitness by thinking about being able to do triathlons and endurance-based exercise — activities that are more about duration. The CrossFit definition of fitness is really more all-encompassing, thinking more about power and strength. We’re going to care just as much about something that lasts three minutes or even 10 seconds as much as we care about something that lasts much longer.
How does CrossFit work?
The goal is well-rounded fitness. Now how do we achieve this? The claim of CrossFit is that this is best achieved through exercise programs that are varied and intense, and we define intensity in terms of power output, using the physics formula, which is work over time. For instance, you would want to contrast a bicep curl with a jump because you are moving a certain amount of weight over a certain amount of distance. A big part of it is learning how to jump, how to throw, how to climb, how to squat, the basics of weightlifting, the basics of gymnastics and the basics of track and field. It’s astonishing how many people, even athletes, just don’t have these basics — runners who don’t have perfect running form and other athletes that can’t just dead-lift something off the ground.
How are you involved in CrossFit?
I am a CrossFit-certified trainer, and I have been for basically three years. I found out about it just over five years ago when I lived in New Jersey. Then I moved to Pebble Beach, Calif., which is 40 minutes from Santa Cruz, where the first CrossFit gym was [started] in a garage. Now there are nearing 400 different gyms [that subscribe to the CrossFit philosophy,] making it the largest gym [chain] in the country, more than Bally and Gold’s Gyms.
Why did you become involved with this type of fitness?
I talked to Greg [Glassman], who founded CrossFit, and the first thing you notice is how freaking hard it is. I was never a very good athlete in one specific sport. I did track, wrestling, swimming, but with CrossFit I found something that I found I could excel in.
Are there any other Georgetown students who are involved in CrossFit?
We have a workout every Saturday at 5:00 p.m. at Yates and we just go over the basic CrossFit movements and then have a more intense workout after that. Usually there are about four or five other guys who show up. Have there been any CrossFit competitions? On June 31 and July 1, 2007, I competed in the first-ever CrossFit games, and it was absolutely insane. That’s really the only way I can describe it. The first day was a Hopper Event, so basically, you draw a bunch of activities out of a huge container and do them at prescribed weights and times, and then there was a really intense run — it was in Aromas, Calif., where there are some really steep hills — that was described by [the organizer] Dave who was a Navy Seal for 10 or 12 years. The second day, we were totally exhausted, and the next day was a heavy weightlifting event. I tied for 10th [out of about 50 participants,] and I wasn’t very happy with myself, so I am going to try harder for this year.
How many days a week do you work out?
I have three days on and one day off. Working out is almost more about your recovery than the workout itself. I have to sleep a lot more than the average person and then focus on my nutrition. When you’re dealing with some of the fittest guys in the world you have to train everyday.
When was CrossFit first established?
They started the Web site six or seven years ago, and if there are two things that CrossFit really believes in, it is data and competition. When you’re talking about power, it’s force times distance over time so the question is how fast you do it. People will compare times through the Web site and get competitive between themselves. People will almost kill themselves, pushing themselves nearly to the point of death. We know this for certain because it has nearly happened.
What has stopped more people from joining the CrossFit philosophy? For one, there are still a whole lot of people that don’t know about it. Second, it takes a really certain type of person because you have to get really good at a bunch of things rather than excelling in one thing. The emphasis is not on looking good naked, and we don’t necessarily do the stuff that people do because they want to look a certain way rather than perform a certain way. It depends on what your goals are, and these goals end up overlapping sometimes. The motto for CrossFit is “forging elite fitness,” not forging average-person fitness. I think anyone can do it, but it’s really down to whether you want to do it or not.
— Interview by Meghan Keneally