By Shaina Hayutin, Coach at CrossFit Newtown  CrossFitters aim to be generalists, not specialists. This is why we run, lift weights, do handstands, row, jump on boxes, work skills on pull up bars, change intensities and time modalities – the list goes on and on. The aim is constantly varied, but that does not mean it’s random. It means training everything equally. Finding that balance can be difficult. This is why returning to the basics is an essential tool.  The CrossFit methodology was formed based on four theories: Sickness Wellness Fitness Continuum The Hopper  Three Metabolic Pathways  10 General Physical Skills  To learn more, I highly recommend reading the original CrossFit Journal article by Greg Glassman, “What is Fitness.”  To summarize each: Sickness Wellness Fitness Continuum: This model demonstrates how the CrossFit Pyramid and prescription aim not just to get people from sick to well, but from well to fit....Read more

By Shaina Hayutin, Coach at CrossFit Newtown  CrossFit has never aimed for aesthetic results. Sure, we may start to shed fat and build muscle as a result of practicing the methodology, but we’ve never made fat loss the target. The primary goal has always been to train humans to live more functional lives and to improve health markers. From the beginning, CrossFit’s focus has been work capacity: to train and test what our bodies are capable of. This is why you’ll never see a CrossFit gym full of mirrors. Maybe there’s one in the bathroom, but out on the gym floor? Absolutely not. Can you imagine? That thing would get broken immediately from one drop of a barbell. It’s simply not what our culture is about.   CrossFit has literally changed the landscape of the entire fitness world, not only because it finally gave fitness an actual definition; but, more importantly,...Read more

By Shaina Hayutin, Coach at CrossFit Newtown  The days leading up to the 4th of July reminded us what discomfort feels like. Caught in the middle of a heat advisory, we lost power at the gym. No lights, no sound system, no AC, a water cooler that was only kind of working, and heat. How did we respond? Coach Molly initially, quite literally froze when the power went out, and then proceeded to say “welp, let’s keep working out!” Coach Jake happened to be attending the class and immediately turned on music from his phone to keep the vibes alive and well. And then, Coach Carrie instantly sprung into problem solving mode. Between the three of them, 5:30pm class continued, 6:30pm athletes were contacted to be forewarned of the circumstances, and the status of said power outage was being addressed and communicated in quite a timely fashion. What a wonderful...Read more

By Shaina Hayutin, Coach at CrossFit Newtown  On February 10th, 2001, the first CrossFit workout was posted on Main Site. Since then, the methodology has affected the entire fitness landscape for the better. What started as an underground, guerilla marketing experiment, has exploded into a global phenomenon. Like it or hate it, CrossFit has made a massive impact on the fitness world. Now that it’s become mainstream, how can we reinvigorate the next generation of CrossFitters? We start by taking a step back.  Adrian Bozman, O.G. seminar staff leader and now head of the CrossFit Games, said on a recent episode of the podcast Varied Not Random, “Anytime something becomes mainstream, it’s going to be diluted – for better or worse- it’s just the nature of the beast. You look around [the fitness space] and it [CrossFit] has infected everything. You can go to ‘insert regular gym chain here,’ and...Read more

By Shaina Hayutin, Coach at CrossFit Newtown  If you’re a CrossFitter, you might have fallen into the trap of thinking that being super sore every day is the goal. Soreness equates to how hard you work, so if you’re not crippling sore every single day, you’re not working hard enough, right? Wrong.  There is a difference between feeling a healthy dose of soreness and feeling so sore you can’t walk up and down stairs properly, or get in and out of your car without wincing. We want you to feel recovered and able to tackle your day-to-day. So, how do we manage appropriate levels of soreness?  Several factors come into play: Warming up properly Cooling down/stretching consistently  Staying hydrated Getting adequate sleep and rest  Fueling your body properly None of this is new information. These factors are not fitness trends, they are simply healthy behaviors to engage in if you...Read more