Resources · Glossary

The CrossFitglossary.

WOD, AMRAP, RX, snatch, metcon... CrossFit vocabulary can be intimidating at first. Here's every term explained simply, no needless jargon.

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The basics

CrossFit: A training method blending weightlifting, gymnastics and cardio at high intensity, with workouts that change every day. It's also a brand (affiliate boxes) and a competitive sport.
WOD: Short for 'Workout of the Day'. A box's main session, different every day, done as a group and led by a coach.
Box: The name for a CrossFit gym. You don't say 'gym', you say 'box'. Kitted out for weightlifting, gymnastics and cardio, unlike a regular fitness club.
Coach: The certified instructor who runs the class: explains the movements, corrects your technique, scales the session and often does the WOD with you.
Athlète: The word used for anyone who trains CrossFit at a box, whatever their level. Also called a CrossFitter.
Metcon: Short for 'metabolic conditioning': the high-intensity cardio and conditioning part of a session. Often the heart of the WOD (as an AMRAP, for time or EMOM).
Warm-up: The warm-up at the start of a session: joint mobility and activation, to prep the body for the WOD and reduce injury risk.
Skill: The technical part of a session, after the warm-up and before the metcon: you drill a specific skill (double-under, muscle-up, snatch...).
Rep: Short for 'repetition': one complete execution of a movement. 10 reps of squats = 10 squats.
Round: A round: a sequence of movements you repeat several times in a workout. '5 rounds' means 5 times through the circuit.
Unbroken: Doing all the reps of a movement in a row without dropping the bar or stopping. Often abbreviated UB.

WOD formats

AMRAP: Short for 'As Many Rounds (or Reps) As Possible': do as many rounds or reps as you can within a set time. Example: AMRAP 12 minutes.
EMOM: Short for 'Every Minute On the Minute': at the start of every minute you do a set number of reps, then rest for whatever time is left.
For Time: You complete the prescribed work as fast as possible, against the clock. Your score is your finish time.
RFT: Short for 'Rounds For Time': a number of rounds to complete as fast as possible. Example: 5 RFT (5 rounds).
Tabata: An interval format: 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest, repeated 8 times (4 minutes total) on a single movement.
Chipper: A workout you 'chip away' at: a long list of movements done in order, once through, first to last.
Ladder: A 'ladder': the reps (or the load) go up or down each round. Example: 1-2-3-4-5 reps.
Death by: A format where you add one rep every minute (an ascending EMOM) until you can't keep up. 'Death by burpees': 1 the first minute, 2 the second, and so on.
Buy-in / Cash-out: A required effort done at the very start (buy-in) or very end (cash-out) of a workout, on top of the main work.
Time cap: The time limit on a workout. If you don't finish by the cap, your score is recorded differently (reps remaining, for instance).
Benchmark: A reference workout repeated over time to track progress. The most famous ones have first names (Fran, Cindy, Helen).
The Girls: A set of benchmark workouts named with female first names (Fran, Cindy, Helen, Grace, Annie...), created by CrossFit as progress yardsticks.
Hero WOD: A long, demanding workout dedicated to a fallen soldier, firefighter or police officer. The best known is Murph.

Intensity & performance

RX: Short for 'as prescribed': doing the workout exactly as written, with the official loads and movements, no scaling.
Scaled: Scaling a workout to your level (lighter load, simpler movement) while keeping the intensity. Everyone scales, beginner to elite: it's healthy.
PR: Short for 'Personal Record' (also PB, 'Personal Best'): your best ever performance on a movement or a workout. Beating your PR is the goal.
1RM: Short for 'Rep Max': the heaviest load you can lift for a given number of reps. Your 1RM is your max for a single rep.
No-rep: A rep that doesn't count: incomplete range of motion or a standard not met. The coach or judge calls 'no-rep'.
ATG: Short for 'Ass To Grass': a squat taken as deep as possible, hips well below the knees. The full range CrossFit looks for.
Grip: Your grip strength in the hands and forearms. The grip often gives out before the muscles on bars and pull-ups.

Gymnastics movements

Air squat: The bodyweight squat, no load: bend the legs below parallel, then stand back up. The foundation of everything.Watch the demo
Pull-up: The pull-up on a bar, chin over the bar. Done strict (no swing), kipping (with a swing) or butterfly (cycled fast).Watch the demo
Kipping: The body-swing technique (a hip-shoulder pendulum) that lets you cycle pull-ups, muscle-ups or HSPU more efficiently than strict.
Chest-to-bar: Abbreviated C2B: a pull-up where the chest touches the bar, below the collarbone. Harder than a chin-over pull-up.Watch the demo
Toes-to-bar: Abbreviated T2B: hanging from the bar, you bring your feet up to touch the bar, then back down. A core staple.Watch the demo
Knees-to-elbows: Abbreviated K2E: hanging from the bar, bring the knees up to touch the elbows. A progression toward toes-to-bar.
Muscle-up: Abbreviated MU: going from a hang to support with straight arms above the bar (bar muscle-up) or rings (ring muscle-up). Advanced.Watch the demo
HSPU: Short for 'Handstand Push-up': a push-up balancing on your hands, head toward the floor, usually against a wall. Strict or kipping.Watch the demo
Handstand: The handstand, balancing on your hands. The base for HSPU and handstand walks.Watch the demo
Wall walk: From face-down, hands on the floor, you walk your feet up the wall into an inverted plank, then back down.Watch the demo
Double-under: Abbreviated DU: a jump rope rep where the rope passes twice under your feet in a single jump. It takes timing.
Box jump: A two-footed jump onto a box (a platform), then down. Box height is scalable.Watch the demo
Box step-up: Stepping up onto the box one leg at a time, support leg fully extended at the top. The joint-friendly alternative to the box jump.Watch the demo
Burpee: Drop to the floor chest down, stand up and jump, then repeat. The cardio move everyone loves to hate.Watch the demo
Pistol: The single-leg squat, the other leg held straight out front. A test of balance, strength and mobility.
Ring dip: A dip performed on the rings: you have to stabilise as well as press. Harder than on parallel bars.Watch the demo
Push-up: The push-up: lower the chest to the floor, then press up. In CrossFit often 'hand-release' (hands lifted at the bottom).Watch the demo
Sit-up: The sit-up for the abs, often done on an AbMat (a pad supporting the lower back) for full range.Watch the demo
GHD sit-up: A large-range sit-up on the GHD (Glute-Ham Developer). Very effective but to be introduced gradually.Watch the demo
L-sit: A gymnastics hold: supported on your hands, legs straight out horizontal forming an L. Core and pure strength.Watch the demo
Rope climb: The rope climb, up to the target at the top. Using a foot-lock technique, or 'legless' (no legs) for advanced athletes.
Ring row: A horizontal row on the rings, body braced at an angle. The ideal progression toward the pull-up; the angle sets the difficulty.Watch the demo

Weightlifting & barbell

Snatch: The snatch: taking the bar from the floor to overhead in one movement, arms locked out. The most technical lift.Watch the demo
Power snatch: A snatch caught with little knee bend (above parallel), without dropping into a full squat. Faster, lighter.Watch the demo
Clean: The clean: bringing the bar from the floor to the shoulders, into the 'rack' position on top of the chest.Watch the demo
Hang power clean: A power clean starting from above the knees (the 'hang'), caught with little knee bend. Very common in metcons.Watch the demo
Clean & Jerk: The clean and jerk: the clean (floor to shoulders) then the jerk (shoulders to overhead). One of the two Olympic lifts.Watch the demo
Split jerk: The jerk where you drop under the bar into a split stance (one leg forward, one back) to lock out heavier loads overhead.Watch the demo
Push jerk: A jerk where you drive the bar with the legs then drop under it in a dip, feet parallel.Watch the demo
Push press: An overhead press driven with a leg dip, without dropping under the bar. Heavier than the strict press.Watch the demo
Shoulder press: The strict press: pushing the bar from the shoulders to overhead with no leg drive. Also called the strict press.Watch the demo
Thruster: A front squat flowing straight into an overhead press, in one fluid movement. Brutal in a metcon.Watch the demo
Deadlift: The deadlift: lifting the bar from the floor to the hips, back braced, with the legs and hips doing the work.Watch the demo
SDHP: Short for 'Sumo Deadlift High Pull': a wide-stance (sumo) deadlift continued into a high pull of the bar to the chin.Watch the demo
Back squat: The squat with the bar on the back (upper back). The variation that lets you lift the heaviest.Watch the demo
Front squat: The squat with the bar in front, on the collarbones (rack position). Very demanding on the core and quads.Watch the demo
Overhead squat: Abbreviated OHS: the squat with the bar held overhead, arms locked. The ultimate test of mobility and stability.Watch the demo
Wall ball: From a squat, throw a medicine ball at a high target, catch it and go again. Legs and shoulders on fire.
Kettlebell swing: A kettlebell pendulum driven by hip extension, to eye level (Russian) or overhead (American).Watch the demo
Turkish get-up: Abbreviated TGU: rising from the floor to standing while holding a weight (kettlebell or dumbbell) locked out overhead. Strength and stability.Watch the demo
Bench press: The bench press: lying on a bench, push the bar from the chest upward. Upper-body strength work.Watch the demo
Walking lunge: Lunges done walking, rear knee close to the floor. Often loaded (dumbbells, bar overhead) in WODs.Watch the demo
Medicine-ball clean: A clean done with a medicine ball instead of a bar: floor to shoulders through a squat. The gateway to the Olympic lifts.Watch the demo
Goblet squat: A squat holding a kettlebell (or dumbbell) against the chest with both hands. Great for learning the squat position.
Cluster: A squat clean linked straight into a thruster, without setting the bar down: floor to overhead in one movement.
Devil press: With two dumbbells: a burpee followed by a ground-to-overhead movement. One of the most breathless movements out there.

The equipment

Barbell: The barbell. An Olympic bar weighs 20 kg (men) or 15 kg (women), before you add any plates.
Bumper plates: The rubber plates you load on the bar, built to be dropped. Colour code: red 25 kg, blue 20 kg, yellow 15 kg, green 10 kg.
Kettlebell: A cast-iron ball-shaped weight with a handle, abbreviated KB. Used for swings, goblet squats, snatches, Turkish get-ups.
Dumbbell: The dumbbell, abbreviated DB. More and more common in CrossFit (snatch, thruster, devil press) because it works each arm on its own.
Medicine ball: The weighted ball (3 to 15 kg), the med ball. Used for wall balls and medicine-ball cleans.
AbMat: A small pad that supports the lower back during sit-ups, to train the abs through a full range.
GHD: Short for 'Glute-Ham Developer': a machine for the hamstrings, glutes, lower back and abs (GHD sit-ups, hip extensions).
Rig: The rig: the metal structure with pull-up bars and racks where hanging movements and squats are done.
Ergo: A catch-all for the cardio machines: the rower (Concept2), the SkiErg and the Assault bike. They measure effort in calories or metres.
Pegboard: A board with holes you climb using two pegs, moving them up with strength and coordination. An advanced gymnastics movement.

Ecosystem & famous WODs

Affiliate: A box officially affiliated with CrossFit, under licence from the brand. CrossFit Gratte-Ciel is a CrossFit and Hyrox affiliate box.
The Open: The 'CrossFit Open': the worldwide competition open to everyone, once a year, the first step toward the CrossFit Games. You do it at your box.
CrossFit Games: The CrossFit world championship, crowning the 'Fittest on Earth' each year after the Open and the qualifiers.
Hyrox: A timed fitness race: 8 km of running alternated with 8 strength and endurance stations. CFGC is a Hyrox affiliate box and runs dedicated prep.
Murph: A famous Hero WOD: 1.6 km run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, then another 1.6 km run, often done on Memorial Day. CFGC runs it every year.
Fran: The most famous benchmark: 21-15-9 reps of thrusters and pull-ups, as fast as possible. A short, brutal reference test.
Free access: Open-gym access outside coached slots, to train on your own. Included in CFGC memberships during opening hours.

FAQ

The questions
we get asked.

The definitions beginners ask us for most.The rest is in the glossary above.

What is a WOD in CrossFit?

WOD stands for 'Workout of the Day'. It's the main session at a CrossFit box, different every day, done as a group and led by a coach who scales it to your level.

What is an AMRAP?

AMRAP stands for 'As Many Rounds As Possible': you do as many rounds (or reps) as you can within a set time. For example, a 12-minute AMRAP asks you to repeat a circuit as many times as possible in 12 minutes.

What is an EMOM?

EMOM stands for 'Every Minute On the Minute': at the start of each minute you do a set number of reps, then rest for whatever time is left in the minute before starting again.

What is a PR in CrossFit?

A PR ('Personal Record') is your personal best on a movement or a workout: your best performance to date. Beating your PR, whether a load or a time, is one of the great joys of CrossFit.

What do RX and Scaled mean?

RX ('as prescribed') means doing the workout exactly as written, with the official loads and movements. Scaled means adapting it to your level (lighter load, simpler movement) while keeping the intensity. Everyone scales, it's normal and healthy.

What do you call someone who does CrossFit?

They're called a CrossFitter, or simply an athlete. At CrossFit Gratte-Ciel, we mostly call you by your first name.

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