GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Terminology

Workout of the Day (WOD): The Work out of the Day or “WOD” is the workout that you will be completing in your workout sessions.

Chipper: Everyone who does CrossFit is in a chipper mood all the time–oh wait, that’s not right. “Chipper” refers to a WOD that you have to chip away at in order to finish. It consists of a series of multiple movements (usually 5 to 10) where each athlete is trying to finish the entire thing as fast as humanly possible.

As Many Rounds As Possible or As Many Reps as Possible (AMRAP): An AMRAP is a prescription of frequency and intensity within the WOD. When you see AMRAP in the WOD, you will complete a circuit as many times as you can within a given time frame. For example, with a 5 minute AMRAP: 5 deadlifts, 10 pullups, 20 Double-Unders. This means you will workout for five minutes and do as many rounds or reps within the prescribed circuit as possible.

Every Minute On the Minute (EMOM): An EMOM is a prescription of frequency indicating that you will do the required exercise at regular intervals during the workout. For example, you would do the prescribed movements at each single minute interval. This means you would do it at the one-minute mark, and then the two-minute mark, and so on.

MetCon: The term METCON is shorthand for metabolic conditioning, and is often a part of the WOD. A METCON usually requires several movements done with a set of prescriptions that often include a component of time and/or intensity. This might be where you see an AMRAP or a specific weight prescription for a given lift.

RX: When a WOD is performed RX’d, that means the athlete performs all modalities using the prescribed weight and reps. All WODs can be scaled down to meet your fitness level, but the goal is to get to a place where the RX is challenging, yet doable.

POOD: A POOD is a Russian unit of measurement used for kettlebells.1 pood =16 kg/35 lbs; 1.5 pood = 24 kg/53 lbs; 2 pood = 32 kg/71 lbs.

PR: The term PR stands for personal record and is used when describing an individuals best performance level for a given movement of exercise. This can apply to any type of measurement used during a workout. For example, if you are engaged in a workout and you squat 135 pounds for the first time, you have achieve a PR. Or if you just attained a new best time on a specific WOD like “Fran.”

Exercises

Thruster: The thruster is a common movement implemented in CrossFit WOD’s. To perform this exercise, the individual uses a barbell and starts in the front rack position. From this position, the individual drops into a full front squat position. Once the individual has reached the required depth in the squat they return to the standing position in an explosive motion and push the weight up over their head. The repetition is complete, when the individual returns the bar to the front rack position.

Double-Unders (DU): The Double-Under is an intensity variation for jumping rope. During the exercise, the individual will swing the rope around for two revolution for each jump.

Pistol: A pistol is a one-legged squat, which helps to isolate each leg to build lower-body strength and balance.

Snatch: The snatch is an Olympic lift that in involves taking a barbell from the floor to an overhead position in one, explosive and fluid motion while using a very wide grip. The snatch has several variations (power, hang, etc.), and is highly technical. It involves several phases and incorporates many muscle groups. To perform the lift well requires a lot of coaching and practice.

Clean: The clean is another Olympic lift, however it differs slightly in that the lifter is taking the barbell to the front rack position from various starting points while utilizing a narrower grip. This movement also includes several variations (power, hang, etc.), and is likewise highly technical. Sometimes you will hear the phrase “Clean & Jerk.” During this variation of the clean, you will finish the movement by pressing the weight over your head.

Kipping: Kipping implies the use of explosive strength in order to gain momentum when performing pullups, hand stands, pushups, and dips. For example, kipping pullups are completed without dropping from the bar. This modality starts on the pullup bar with a powerful hip drive, explosive kick, and strong pull from the arms in order to create enough momentum to get your chin up over the bar.

Tabata: Tabata is a work-rest method associated with many CrossFit WODs. Here’s an example: For 20 seconds, complete as many reps of a given exercise (sit ups, pullups, pushups, etc.) as possible. Then rest for 10 seconds and repeat this seven more times for a total of eight intervals. After your 4 minutes are up, your score is the least number of reps for any of the eight intervals.