CrossFit has truly created a culture all its own. And with that, its own language, too. Here’s how to speak CrossFit, even if you haven’t yet stepped in a box.
AMRAP: as many repetitions as possible. Perform them within a prescribed amount of time or until failure.
Related: 8 Pushup Routines That Are Better Than ‘AMRAP’
Box: a gym where you do Crossfit workouts. It’s often a warehouse or large, stripped-down space containing only the essential exercise equipment to CrossFit like free weights, benches or boxes, suspension trainers, medicine balls, climbing ropes, mats, and pullup bars.
BP: bench press
BS: back squat
BW: bodyweight exercise or workout
C&J: clean and jerk
CLN: clean
C2: Concept2, a brand of rowing machine used at boxes. (It’s also one of the 5 Best Cardio Machines on the Planet.)
DL: deadlift
EMOM: every minute on the minute. Do a prescribed number of reps or exercises at the top of every minute.
Firebreather: an extremely fit athlete
FS: front squat
The Games: an abbreviation for the CrossFit Games, an annual competition to find the fittest male and female CrossFitter.
Globo Gym: a mass-market gym like Planet Fitness, YMCA, or 24-Hour Fitness
Girls: several benchmark workouts named after females like Cindy, Fran, or Nancy. These are used to test an athlete’s progress over time.
Related: How Many Calories Does CrossFit Really Burn?
HRPU: hand-release pushup
Heroes: benchmark workouts named after law enforcement officers, soldiers, and firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty. The workouts are a way of honoring the fallen.
KB: kettlebell
K2E: knees to elbows, a core exercise. Hang at arm’s length from a pullup bar and bring your knees up to your elbows.
ME: maximal effort. Go all out for the time or reps prescribed.
MetCon: short for metabolic conditioning, a type of short, high-intensity workout, designed to improve your cardiovascular capacity and rev your metabolism
MP: military press
MU: muscleup (This is one of the most difficult upper-body exercises. Here’s How to Do a Muscleup.)
OHS: overhead squat
Paleo: a diet based on the theory that humans should eat the foods available to them in nature. It’s based on Dr. Loren Cordain’s book “The Paleo Diet.”
PC: power clean
Pood (PD): unit of weight measurement for the kettlebell. One pood equals 35 pounds.
PP: push press
PR: personal record
PSN: power snatch
PU: pullup or pushup
Related: 4 Tests Every Fit Guy Should Be Able to Pass
Pukie: an unofficial CrossFit mascot. Pukie is a cartoon drawing of a clown throwing up after a tough workout–which is seen as a badge of honor in some CrossFit communities.
Rx: as prescribed. Don’t change any weight or reps during a workout.
SN: snatch
SQ: squat
TGU: Turkish getup, a total-body exercise. (Learn how to perform the movement with the 7 Secrets to the Turkish Getup.)
T2B: toes to bar, a core exercise. Hang at arm’s length from a pullup bar and raise your toes to touch the bar.
Uncle Rhabdo: a controversial, unofficial CrossFit mascot representing the concept of “no pain, no gain” to the extreme. The condition, rhabdomyolysis (rhabdo) can occur when the muscles work so hard that individual fibers break down, releasing proteins into the blood stream. In extreme cases, it can lead to kidney damage or even failure.
WOD: workout of the day. A box’s coach may create his or her own WOD or there’s an official WOD published on CrossFit.com daily.
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