Over the last decade, the fitness trend known as CrossFit has become a prominent alternative to typical gyms and has more recently made its way into the greater Danbury area.
CrossFit can be defined a fitness regimen of constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. But CrossFit has something that a normal gym lacks — a sense of community.
“At the gym, you’ll get the guy with his headphones in that doesn’t want anything to do with you, always taking your machine,” said CrossFit RedZone owner Kurt Kling. “Here, we’re all working together for the same goal.”
Each class is an hour long and is taught by personal trainer in a group setting, varying from just a few people in one session to upwards of 20 in others.
The class begins with a general warm-up and mobility preparation, which can include activities like running or rowing. After the warm-up, the class begins its workout of the day, known as a “WOD” in the CrossFit community.
The WOD is a high-intensity interval-style workout that is completely different every day and can be completed either for time (task-priority) or repetitions (time-priority).
The types of exercises done at CrossFit are different from what you might see at a typical gym. You won’t find any treadmills or weight benches here.
CrossFit mainly implements Olympic-style weightlifting and gymnastics into its regimen, but also includes activities like kettlebell swings and tire flips. All the exercises are scalable and modifiable based on ability and fitness level.
“We have a strength and conditioning program designed for everybody,” said Kling. “It’s all about the program design.”
The workouts have a team mentality, with some participants battling against each other to get the best time and others encouraging those who may be struggling to complete an exercise. After the workout is over, members write their name and time or repetitions on the white board to compare.
“It’s aggressive,” said CrossFit Ridgefield member Mark Ciferri, “but nothing else works like this. Nothing.”
There are CrossFit locations throughout the area. There are two locations in Danbury, two in Newtown, one in Ridgefield, one in Brookfield, and one now open in New Milford.