WOD is “Workout of the Day.” At CrossFit Cayman we post a workout for each day. Some insight and thoughts on sets and reps:The WOD descriptions are very literal; don’t read into them. If it says “squats” it means bodyweight (aka “air squats”) – no added weight, unless it says back squats or front squats.A “rep” or repetition is one iteration of a movement. One bench press, one squat. A “set” is a group of reps: 10 reps =10 bench presses, 10 squats. 3 sets is do a group of repetitions, rest, repeat, rest, repeat. So, 3 sets of 10 (reps) is 10/rest/10/rest/10. The rest interval is up to your recovery time, and the goal of the WOD. Obviously, if it’s a timed WOD, you want to rest less.Also, rest and reps are frequently inverse.

Sometimes a WOD says deadlift 3-2-2-1-1-1. This means a set of 3 reps, a set of 2 reps, another set of 2, a “set of one” aka a “single.” This few reps indicates maximal load, and indicates longer rest times.Back to literal: if the WOD says 21-15-9 reps of bench and pullups in “rounds” (or any two or three exercises as given) you do 21 reps of exercise 1, followed by 21 reps of exercise 2, and 21 reps of exercise 3 if there is a third one. Now do 15 of the first, 15 of the second…9 of the first, 9 of the second.Most likely you will be breaking the 21’s and 15’s (and maybe the 9’s) into subsets, aka “breakdowns.” This is based on your strength and conditioning. Remember if you need to adjust the weight downward, do so, since these are timed WODs.

Part of the CrossFit philosophy includes pursuing/learning another sport or activity, and many CrossFitters are also martial artists and competitive athletes in a variety of disciplines.However, if you work the WODs hard, you will find yourself at an improved level of fitness, and for lots of us, the WOD is our primary “sport.”If you pursue another activity, you will need to balance your work/rest cycles and be sure to allow for recovery. Sometimes, you will need extra days off or to consider a WOD as “active rest” done at a lower intensity.

No. The awesome thing about CrossFit is that it focuses on not specializing on any one component of fitness. Because each workout is different daily, there is no way for a person to get bulky or big since they will not be specializing in weightlifting. Getting big and muscular is very hard to do. Just ask any average male. It takes years of hard work, the right training program, and a lot of food . . . it just doesn’t happen by accident. Weight training will add a few pounds of needed lean body mass which will in turn make you leaner and give you a better looking physique. Women simply don’t have the levels of testosterone needed to support the type of muscle growth you fear. Unless you are taking anabolic steroids, gaining too much muscle is probably the least of your worries. And if you are taking steroids, gaining muscle is still probably the least of your issues.

You’ll have a better understanding of how classes are run and the method behind what we do at CrossFit Cayman. It’s quite likely you will have learned some new things, be a little bit “sore” and excited to come back for more. You will feel successful to have worked out with a great community  of athletes, many of whom you did NOT expect to be CrossFitters.