What does WOD stand for? How do you AMRAP? What’s a T2B when it’s at home?
CrossFit is full of abbreviations, slang, and jargon. Our coaches will always explain the workouts in full to everyone attending the CrossFit Classes, but if you’d like to decipher more than just what’s on the whiteboard, here’s our CrossFit Glossary:
A
AMRAP – As Many Rounds/Reps As Possible
If a workout is described as an AMRAP, it calls for the movements to be performed as many times as is manageable in the amount of time given. The idea is to minimise rest/breaks, but the pace is dictated by the prescribed time – a 20 minute AMRAP and a 5 minute AMRAP are very different beasts!
B
BMU + RMU – Bar Muscle Up + Ring Muscle Up
A gymnastic movement that begins with hanging from the rig or rings before pulling to pass through a pull up, then a dip. The rep is completed with the arms extended in a supported position above the rig or rings.
C
C2B/CTB – Chest to Bar
A pull up variation in which, rather than stopping the pull once the chin passes the bar, the chest must touch.
CrossFit Games (sometimes The Games)
Held every year since 2007, this is the annual CrossFit competition owned and operated by CrossFit, Inc. Winners of the CrossFit Games earn the title of “Fittest on Earth”.
D
DB – Dumbell
Weighted at each end and short enough to be held in one hand. In CrossFit, workouts may call for either double or single dumbbell work. The Rx weight for males is usually 22.5kgs, for females it is usually 15kgs.
DUs – Double Unders
With the rope passing under the feet twice inside one jump, “getting” double unders is the focus for many new CrossFitters. A more advanced movement than regular skipping, or single unders (SU), it’s a two-footed jump, and a two-footed landing.
E
EMOM – Every Minute On the Minute
These workouts are interval-based, with a prescribed movement performed at the start of each minute. The rest period is the remainder of the minute, after you complete the prescribed movements, so can vary depending on how fast you complete the work. An EMOM can be any length of time.
F
FTP – Functional Threshold Power
This isn’t exclusive to CrossFit by any means, and is actually a term used in cycling, but nevertheless, it is the maximum average power one can hold for an hour. For example, if you can cycle 300 watts for one hour, your FTP is 300.
G
GTOH – Ground To Overhead
A vertical pull into a vertical pushing movement to efficiently get load from the ground to above the head with arms locked out. GTOH movements include snatch, clean & jerk, and cluster.
H
Hero WOD
When a first responder or member of the military dies in the line of duty, a CrossFit Hero workout is created as a tribute to their name.
K
Kgs – Kilograms
1000 grams. Hopefully you already knew that one, but for the record 1kg is about 2.2lbs.
Kipping + Butterfly
A bone of contention in the fitness community, kipping and/or butterfly variations of movements in CrossFit allow for a greater number of reps to be performed at greater speed than strict – they use full-body motion to perform more work in less time.
O
OBB/BOB – Over Bar Burpee (sometimes Burpee Over Bar)
Drop to the floor, next to and parallel to the barbell, before standing up into a lateral hop over the bar. Two-footed take off, two-footed landing.
OBJ/BJO – Over Box Jump (sometimes Box Jump Over)
Like a regular box jump, except upon landing on the box, the jump is to the opposite side of the box. The box can be faced at the start of the rep, but the BJO is often performed laterally for speed. Two-footed take off, two-footed landing.
The Open
A worldwide CrossFit competition, anyone over 14 years of age can enter The Open. A workout is announced every Thursday over 5 weeks, which must be completed, and a score submitted, by the following Monday. A judge or video submission is necessary for a valid score.
P
Progression
These are scaled variations of an Rx movement. A progression for a Chest To Bar would be a pull up, a banded C2B, a jumping C2B.
R
RFT – Rounds For Time
When a workout is described as rounds for time, it should be completed as quickly as possible. Alternatively, a workout may be “for quality”, meaning the movements shouldn’t be rushed. The latter is often used for workouts with strict or tempo movements as opposed to kipping/butterfly.
RPE – Rate of Perceived Exertion
This is a subjective way for a person to measure how hard they are working during their workout. The scale runs from 0-10, with the higher the RPE number, the harder the amount of effort. Coaches can use RPE to explain the appropriate intensity in a given workout.
Rx
This is a medical expression meaning “as prescribed”. When a WOD is performed Rx’d, it means all the movements are completed using the prescribed weight and rep scheme. All WODs can be scaled.
S
Sanctionals
This is the trademarked name for independently owned and operated fitness competitions run by the CrossFit affiliate community. The winning male and female athletes of each Sanctionals is invited to compete at the CrossFit Games.
Scaled
When a workout is scaled, the weight or number of reps is adjusted to allow anyone to complete it, regardless of their ability, to produce the same level of intensity.
STOH – Shoulder To Overhead
A vertical pushing movement to efficiently get load from the shoulders to above the head with arms locked out. STOH movements include strict press, push press, push jerk, and split jerk.
Strict
A movement is described as strict when no momentum is used to move a load from A to B, and only the required muscle groups are used. In a shoulder press, for example, the barbell is moved overhead without any “help” from the legs.
T
T2B/TTB – Toes to Bar
This is a gymnastic movement and involves hanging from the rig and kicking the legs up to touch the metal between the hands before bringing them back down again.
Tempo
When a movement is “tempo”, it is performed according to a specific count to increase the amount of tension in the working muscles and therefore improve strength. For example, a tempo back squat may be programmed as 41X1 (or 4101) – this would mean squatting down to the count of four, pausing in the bottom of the squat for the count of one, standing up at “normal” speed, and then pausing at the top of the rep for the count of one.
W
WOD – Workout Of the Day
This is the most common abbreviation in CrossFit boxes. The way most of them work is by having this as the main workout of the day, which is coached several times throughout that particular day.