What is CrossFit?

CrossFit is...

An American training methodology primarily designed for fire fighters/ police/ army etc. The system has been adopted by US Navy SEALs, numerous Police departments, has huge grass roots support amongst the US military and thousands of well informed civilians.

The Canadian Army tested CrossFit against the program developed by their own PT Corps to train their soldiers to pass 7 tests at the end of the recruit training cycle. Out of the 7 tests, CrossFit won 5 of the tasks and drew 2. The injury levels were much much lower in the CrossFit group than the normal military PT group. On the basis of those results the Canadian Army adopted CrossFit wholesale.

CrossFit has been around since 2001, when Coach Greg Glassman, a gymnastics coach, started posting free workouts on his website. These workouts of the day (WODs) are still freely available on the Crossfit website.

The principles are simple: Do functional movements at high intensity in constantly varied combinations. The program mixes gymnastics (body weight exercise), weighted exercises including Olympic lifts and mono structural exercises (running, rowing, swimming, skipping etc.). Each workout is designed to tax an Elite level CrossFit athlete, so make sure you scale way back when you start. You can train at home in your garage, at your local globo gym (for as long as you can stand it) or come and train in the company of like minded people in Central London and enjoy the benefits of amazing coaching and a supporting community.

CrossFit is the ideal training method for anyone who wants to loose weight or who has limited time but still wants results. Most CF workouts take under half an hour including warm up and a stretch at the end. Don't think you can get fit in half an hour? Try it. We're not going to pretend you won't work hard, but you will see results.

The benefits include:

Increased physical strength and endurance
Decrease in body fat
Time efficient workouts
Varied workouts
Confidence and positive mental attitude, exercise has many mental health benefits
Stress relief
Back pain relief
Positive body image

Want to find out more? Google CrossFit, have a look at any of the now 1000+ affiliates around the world, see what people are saying. Don't take our word for it, as a mostly internet based phenomenon, there are years of information and data available.

If you want more information from us, then use the contact us page. The first step is to book a free introduction class, where we'll answer all of your questions, tell you all about CFCL and put you through an easy 5 min workout.

Latest News

0600 Morning WODs added:
Melina starts 0600 Workout of the Day classes, starting Tuesday the 7th September.
Classes will run every Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday

CrossFit Endurance Certification: 5-6 March 2011

Fight Gone Bad on the 25th September.
Join CrossFitters from around the world all doing FGB for charity on Saturday the 25th
Kick off is at 1200, BBQ and beer to follow. Info here

CrossFit Endurance workouts added to the schedule.
This week and next (26th and 2nd Sep) CFE sessions on Thursday at 1900, thereafter Tuesdays and Thursdays Jon Shelby will be coaching sprint/ Interval sessions at CFCL

Sunday - Runday.

Melina will be coaching a long run/ time trial on Sundays at 1500 in one of London's parks. There may well be beer afterwards :-)

Sunday WODs now running 1100-1400. Brad and Jon C will be running Sunday WODs, at last you can train 3 on 1 off and not have to worry about missing training on a Sunday

Thursday mobility WOD at 1800 & 1900. Dell will be running a twenty minute mobility Workout every Thursday at 1800 and 1900. The class will include self inflicted torture using a foam roller, PNF and 3D stretching and a hockey ball if you're really unlucky :-)

New L1 Certification date agreed: December 4/5 - Anyone want to go on it?

CrossFit Coaches Prep Course: 13/14th October sold out

At CrossFit Central London, the training happens in small groups, with expert coaches and a high coach to student ratio. The positive, encouraging atmosphere feeds the sense of community you get when people share sweat and agony, achievement and triumph. People who’ve never tried it will never understand it. Those who put their egos on the line every day join a worldwide community of like minded people. People who will push themselves close to the limit to beat you in a workout, then cheer you on to do the best you can do and go out for a beer on a Friday night after training.

We see our role as educators. Our aim is to make you self sufficient, to empower you to be able to help yourself, program your own training, understand your own nutrition and be able to make informed decisions. All of this takes time. Our members will still be learning new skills, improving others and expanding their fitness horizons for years into their training. Our prescription of constantly varied, high intensity, functional workouts keeps things interesting, helps you get better at real world tasks and pushes your athletic development at a rate you would not believe until you try it for yourself.

This is the best you can get, the return on investment is huge, the experience life changing. The membership page gives an indication of the range of membership packages. We do not compete on price, we compete on quality, skilled professional coaching and training. There are plenty of places out there A LOT cheaper. You get what you pay for. Please check out the lower price places before you come to us so you know what you are getting. The real cost of entry is the effort you are prepared to put into your training and the energy you are prepared to put into the community.

You don’t have to be fit to start, we can accommodate everyone from arthritic grandmothers to Olympic athletes. There are only two requirements. Turn up and train.

Want to learn more? Then call or email us to book a free introductory appointment or to arrange to come down and watch a Workout of the Day (WOD) Class.

Here is a video from CrossFit Cleveland that gives you an insight into the CrossFit experience.