Frequently Asked Questions

What is CrossFit?

The YYC CrossFit program is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

Our program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing. Combat, survival, many sports, and life reward this kind of fitness and, on average, punish the specialist.

The program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. We’ve used our same routines for elderly individuals with heart disease and cage fighters one month out from televised bouts. We scale load and intensity; we don’t change programs.

The needs of Olympic athletes and our grandparents differ by degree not kind. Our skiers, mountain bikers and housewives have found their best fitness from the same regimen.

This is a highly effective training program that allows all individuals to improve in all facets of their life, both mentally and physically and it’s FUN!

Do I need experience or a minimal level of CrossFit?

No! Just get started. Our workouts and exercise scale to any level – from broomsticks to barbells, we’ll tailor the workout to your ability.

Is it worth it?

We definitely would say it is worth it, but we are a little biased. The only person who can truly tell you if it is worth it, is you. The only way you can objectively know is to show up and participate in a workout.

Who has benefited from the program?

In short, everyone. This includes elite athletes, weekend warriors, office workers, moms, dads and grandparents. You do not need to be a high level athlete to benefit from the CrossFit training methodology, our system is scalable to allow any individual of any physical ability to get fit in a safe, fun environment.

Do I need to be in shape before I sign up?

Absolutely not! We have students who are in the 99th percentile of fitness and those in the 5th percentile of fitness. You are pushed and encouraged based on your current level of fitness. All we want is for you to give your best effort during each workout.

What type of results can I expect?

Although you will probably start feeling better and stronger immediately, new students can expect about 15-20% improvement in strength and endurance following the first fifteen sessions. In addition, our findings show that flexibility, agility and body composition are improved. Subjective things like increased mental toughness, energy levels, improved sleep and reduced joint stiffness are also reported. Most of our students are shocked at their improvements even though they would consider themselves exercisers before starting CrossFit.

What if I don't have time for this?

It is a common sentiment to feel that, due to the obligations of careers and family, you don’t have the time to become as fit as you might like. Here is the good news: world class, age-group strength and conditioning is obtainable through an hour a day six days per week of training, It turns out that the intensity of training that optimizes physical conditioning is not sustainable past forty-five minutes to an hour. Athletes that train for hours a day are developing skill or training for sports that include adaptations inconsistent with elite strength and conditioning. Past one hour, more is not better!

What type of exercise do you do?

The clean and jerk, snatch, squat, deadlift, push-press, bench-press, as well as bodyweight movements such as push-ups, sit ups, squats and pull-ups. No exercise machines here.

Do you offer on-ramp classes?

We do not have dedicated on-ramp classes, however we offer 4 Individual Sessions for all those new to YYC CrossFit to introduce the: foundational movements; scaling, modifications and adaptations; terminology of CrossFit; intensity and group dynamics.

These Individual Sessions are optional, however we do recommend them for anyone who is trying CrossFit for the first time.